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  • How to attract your target audience through design

    Hopefully by now you’re well on your way to developing and refining your chosen ideas. During my school workshops I saw some really good beginnings of drawn and sketched designs. Here is my advice on how to use design to attract your chose target audience; consider this both from your product and a packaging design perspective.

    My two key areas I will talk about here are ‘colour’ and ‘packaging’. I’ve picked a few examples of projects as reference for you. One thing to note on both of these areas is to keep things simple; the more complicated you make the look of your designs and packaging, the less chance your audience is going to want to pick it up in the Design Museum’s shop and, ultimately, buy it.

    Colour
    There are many ways to use colour in your designs and packaging, so try out plenty of options.

    Colour can be a tricky area for designers as colours can mean different things to different people and not all colours are effective as when you would expect them to be. For example, pink is a colour traditionally known to appeal to a female audience, but take a look at what cycling brand Rapha have done to utilise pink in their packaging, which mainly attempts to appeal to a male audience. The subtle use of the pink makes the products feel premium and looks well designed; not all use of colour has to be bold.

    On the other hand, a bold single colour on your designs and packaging can help your product stand out against others on the shelf. Take a look at how food brand Makers & Merchants brand and package their products; simply just with the use of a bright red colour which is striking and looks appealing.

    Packaging
    By not over complicating your packaging, your audience will quickly and easily be able to see your product and figure out its function.

    When designing your product’s packaging, think about how much packaging is actually needed. You will have spent lots of time designing and refining the actual look of your product, so perhaps minimal packaging could be used to attract your audience in the Design Museum’s shop.

    A few great examples of this are firstly from Mustang jeans, who actually used their jeans as the outer wrapping when a customer ordered a pair from their online shop.

    Secondly, take a look at the Turbo Flyer toy, a wooden snap-out aeroplane toy which is housed in minimal packaging which reflects the design of the product itself.

    By Industry Expert Paul Jenkins

  • Ask the Expert – developing design and business ideas

    Emilie: Expert Panel, do you have any final tips to share with teachers and students about developing designs and business ideas?

    Emilie: Or any final questions from Catherine from schools?

    Harry T: Only try help your students understand how important enthusiasm is in the pitch. If you think you’re idea is awesome, likelihood is others will.

    Catherine RS: Another question from Fitzwimarc School, for Christoph and Steven. What are the special qualities of past winning products?

    Steven Preston: All of the previous winners took something that was already familiar and gave it a unique twist; it was that creative re-imagining that added value and ultimately made their designs successful. I should also point out that each DV winner so far has been commercially successful in the shop

    Emilie: Yes there are lots of resources to help you on the website www.ventura.designmuseum.org

    Chris Garcin: I think the discussion has raised some of the tips I was going to pass on – keep it simple, have the brief, or theme at the centre of an idea, think who goes to the Design Museum shop and what they would buy, explore ideas by sketching, get into rough models to try out ideas, have conviction in your idea and have fun!

    Komal: For those schools unable to visit the museum, we have lots of helpful blog posts from our Industry Experts.

    Catherine RS: That’s a great observation Steven, which I’m sure will be very useful to students. Successful ideas need to be unique, but also have something familiar that attracts customers.

    Christoph Woermann: There is no easy answer for special qualities that make a product pass straight over the finishing line. It is always a mixture of the creativity of the idea, the simplicity of its realisation, the commercial viability, a fun factor in having it, its uniqueness etc.. Never forget though that the presentation in the pitch is a unique chance to make to stand out. In the past we have seen social media campaigns, theatre performances, free prototypes and above all great fun with the pitching teams. This is an important part in the whole process, too. Hope that helps as a pointer.

    Emilie: Great point Christoph thanks, believe in your idea and go for it

    Catherine RS: Thanks Christoph – that’s enormously helpful. The competition is getting harder and harder, so ALL of the top ten ideas are potential winners, and it’s the personal conviction of the students alongside the idea that helps to push it through!

    Catherine RS: That’s it from me! My closing tip is to refer to the original brief and the judging criteria as you refine your idea and get ready to pitch in school.

    Emilie: What a fantastic web chat! Thank you all for joining us this afternoon, and sharing questions and expert advice.

    Emilie: Sadly we have run out of time

    Chris Garcin: Good luck students!

    Paul Jenkins: Thanks everyone, I hope I’ve been of some help! Good luck students!

    Harry T: Thanks for coming everybody. Best of luck with the rest of the competition. Maybe meet some of you at the celebration in the Spring.

    Christoph Woermann: To all the teams that participate in this year’s challenge: To take part already makes you a winner because you will learn a great deal about teamwork, meeting deadlines, operating a small business and realising that everything you really want will also happen. Good luck, you can all make it to the final round and remember, the design museum and the designers get always inspiration from you all.

    Emilie: our final chat will take place on Thursday 6 November 2014 at 3.30pm, on Chatzy, where we will share advice on: FINALISING IDEAS, PRESENTING AND SUBMITTING ENTRIES

    Emilie: Until then best of luck to all the students and teachers taking part, and thank you again to our Industry Experts for joining us and don’t forget submission date is 12 November 2014! Good luck again!

  • Design with environment in mind

    To consider and control both environmental and social aspects at the moment of designing can be a very hard job, but here are my top design products to inspire you:

    1. Reducing the amount of different materials used makes the product easier to recycle. This lamp uses only cork and metal, no screws nor glue.

    2. Using locally sourced materials reduces the negative environmental impact caused by transport and boosts local economies, usually improving social development. These containers were made in Mexico using the fiber of an edible fruit that grows from a vine that grows in the area.

    3. Considering standardised measures of materials can generate less waste. This desk was designed using one sheet of plywood with very little wasted.

    4. Making use of recycled, recyclable or biodegradable materials will reduce the environmental impact. This water container is made of recycled paper, which is easier to recycle than plastic.

    5. Painting a material usually complicates the recycling process. It’s nice to take advantage of the natural appearance of materials. This cube toy was designed taking advantage the natural beauty of the material.

    6. Looking after fair trade conditions will promote that products are developed in an environment that ensures decent working conditions and fair remuneration for workers. This means that a socially responsible product will improve the overall quality of life of the people involved with it. These baskets were made by indigenous people of the Philippines using traditional basket weaving techniques, with local materials upcycling old plastic containers. This project was made to boost this certain community.

    7. Designing for disassembly will help the people in charge of recycling the product making all parts easy to pull apart. This can be achieved by avoiding the use of adhesives to bond materials of different types. Mechanical joints are always better, like this wooden stool that uses no glue and no screws, it structures it self by the way it was designed.

    8. Giving a second function to a product causes the product to extend its use stage. This bottle cap doesn’t have to go in the garbage. It can be a toy instead.

  • Drawing helps you think

    Every designer draws. Getting your ideas down on paper helps you to make sense of your thoughts and create original work. Below are a few tips to help you with your sketches:

    KEEP IT SIMPLE!! Everyone wants to make their work look good but producing a masterpiece at the design stage just wastes time. A quick line drawing should be enough for you to get an idea of what your product does…some of the best designs have literally started on the back of a napkin!

    (Milton Glaser’s sketch and final design for the “”I ‘Heart’ New York”” identity)

    REFINEMENT . The best designs need a lot of refinement- design classic the Dyson Vacuum cleaner was redesigned 5127 times! So draw, draw, draw and draw again until you’re happy with the design of your product. A pencil and paper are a lot cheaper than a prototype!

    (James Dyson’s original Dyson vacuum cleaner)

    COLLECT IDEAS AND SHARE. Don’t worry if you don’t feel confident drawing your ideas. Fashion designer Paul Smith has a great ‘eye’ for fashion but lacks the skill to sketch out his designs. Instead he collects words and patterns to create a ‘mood board’ which shows his designers how he would like his clothes to feel, they then sketch up ideas for him to approve. Partner up with a friend in your group who can help visualise your thoughts.

    (Paul Smith’s notes and designers sketches)

    GOOD DRAWING/BAD DRAWING: Drawing is a safe way to make big mistakes and learn from them. No one is going to die over a bad drawing- so relax and let your mind wander to the craziest of places. And remember, the rubber is there for a reason…

    (Russian designer Nicolai Ladovskii’s design proposal for a block of flats in Moscow)

  • Prototyping – Making Ideas

    Now your team has an idea or even more than one. Time to test your ideas. Get making; prototyping; take your idea from a sketch on a page to something you can hold in your hands. Then you have something to show people – use their comments to help you make your idea stronger. Use anything: paper; cardboard; stick together other objects. Prototyping can be scary at first, but it gets easier the more you do it. And once you do, you will want to prototype every time you design.

    Below are some of great prototypes. Notice none of them are complicated or anything like the finished product.

    Bowtiful bow tie – http://bowtifulties.com/2013/03/bowtiful-packaging/

    Supersoaker – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Soaker_50

    Dyson vacuum cleaner – http://www.core77.com/gallery/vienna-design-week-2010/23.asp and http://www.dezeen.com/2013/07/26/dyson-launch-smallest-vacuum-cleaner/

     

  • What makes a good idea great?

    Enterprising ideas: Simple ideas with big appeal – what makes a good idea great?

    Explaining what makes a good idea great is tricky, first it’s understanding what makes a an idea ‘great’ in the first place.

    Personally, I think it’s an idea which makes you smile, it captures your full attention, you immediately ‘get it’, you value it’s cleverness, usefulness or sheer beauty.

    You don’t have to be an experienced designer to hit upon a great idea, the process gets easier with experience, years of brain training! But with applied dedication, curiosity, perseverance and imagination anyone can come up with that winning idea. It’s all about having an open, enquiring mind. And, the time to properly consider and develop your thinking into strong concepts.

    Remember, everything’s been done before, it’s about learning from what’s been done and making things even better. A completely innovative, fresh new idea will always stand out, that’s what you should strive for.

    To be really ‘great’ the idea really has to answer the brief in the most succinct way, the simpler the better.

  • Why Prototype?

    You have begun to formulate and develop great ideas for unconventional, innovative and eye catching products. You’ve researched your target audience and their wants and needs, you’ve researched the Design Museum shop and your direct competitors. But how do you really make sure your design idea will work when it is produced?

    In order to ensure product designs will be successful, manufacturing needs to be considered right from the first step of the design process. This also means thinking about:

    Materials – what will the product be made of and where do I source these materials?
    Production – how is it made?
    Functionality – will it work in the way I intend it to?
    Aesthetics – will it look the way I want it to?
    Budget – will all of my requirements fit within the Design Ventura product budget?

    A good way to begin exploring the manufacture of your product is to begin prototyping.

    Making mock-up examples of your products early on in your design process will give you an immediate insight into whether your product will work, or if you need to simplify your design, change your material or use a different manufacturing process.

    Sometimes it is easy to get carried away with a great idea, but when it comes to manufacturing, it doesn’t work. Prototyping will give you the chance to look at manufacturing in the early stages of design. If you can identify potential production problems in the prototyping stage, you will have more opportunity to develop your design and solve these issues, ensuring your Design Ventura product is the best it can be!

    Read more about another designer who designs by making here: http://www.designsojourn.com/rethinking-the-hairdryer/

    This blog has been illustrated with some examples of prototypes made by Beal High School students during a Design Surgery workshop at the Design Museum with Museum Educator Lea Jagendorf, Design Industry Expert Wyn Griffiths and Business Industry Expert Nada Milanovic.

  • Sliderz development

    Over 6,000 students in 150 schools across Great Britain took part in the Design Ventura 2013, the Design Museum’s flagship design and enterprise competition.

    Students were challenged to work in teams of 4-6 to answer the brief of designing a new product for the Design Museum shop to be sold for around £10.

    This is the story of the process of realising the winning concept into a real saleable product.

    It all started with the announcement of the winners, Weald of Kent Grammar School on the night of the Celebration and Awards Event.

    The team work with product designer Chris Garcin and graphic design studioMultiAdaptor to develop their product.

    The first meeting takes place at the office of MultiAdaptor.

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