On Friday a few of us headed back to Herman Miller’s Design Yard to meet with engineering, color & materials specialists, design facilitation, and research to go over our protoypes.

We brought with us detailed specifications of our work which included information about how we intended to assemble them, as well as the materials we were thinking about using.

Each of us had 40 minutes to go through our specs and work out any red flags. The time flew by of course but the feedback was very helpful. There are a number of changes to my project that I will make. None of them are major departures from what I had prior to getting there. But each of them will make my project stronger structurally.

I was really impressed with the level of engagement by all the people at Herman Miller. The ideas and suggestions came rapid fire as one would expect from professionals who work on related projects day in and day out.

After everyones’ work was reviewed we got a more detailed tour of the materials room as well as a room that is full of classic furniture (a lot of it by George Nelson) as well as some new additions to the Herman Miller offerings that extend current lines of work (like a molded plywood version of the Eames’s DCM)

It was really great to have the opportunity to take part in a meeting that was not too dissimilar from one that I would have as a professional designer. Not many get that opportunity!

Last week the 3D Department and I went to NYC for 3 days to soak up as much as we could from designers, museums, galleries, and show rooms in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

While intense in terms of pacing, the lasting effect was one of informed excitement. We were able to see the work and studios of many of the big names in our field- IDEO, Rich Brilliant Willing, The Rockwell Group, Antenna Design, Ecco, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects, Bill Moggridge, AMT Studio & Jan Habraken, Jason Miller/Roll&Hill, and others.

Obviously it was great to see their work. But most of it I had seen before. So the added value for me was the ability to ask questions and hear personal anecdotes.

I learned a lot about the numerous paths a designer can take in defining his/her career. But as Eric Chan, principle of ECCO Design said, it is really important to follow the path that feels the most like ‘you’, and not force yourself into an area that will not bring you satisfaction at the end of the day.

I am very grateful to the many people who took the time out of their day to talk with us. Thank you!</>

Below is a photo gallery (using an iPhone-sorry!) of some stops along the way. I wish that could have taken more photos, but you know how these things go…

An outdoor art installation involving city light posts being completely covered by zip ties.

Billie Chen and Tod Williams showing us a current project in India.

Tucker Viemeister and Josh Walton sharing stories about working at Rockwell Group.

The Rich Brilliant Willing guys. They aren't as pissed off as they look. They're actually really nice (for the record).

Moooi showroom.

Moooi showroom.

Plywood show at MoMA.

Eva Zeisel display at MoMA. RIP Eva!

Plywood object from MoMA show.

Flavin time.

Gaudi artifacts at MoMA.

Over-photographed work from the Bouroullecs.

Gratuitous Grcic at MoMA

Drone at MoMA

Love Egon

Bill Moggridge is talking to us at the Cooper Heweitt offices.

Tour of the empty Cooper Hewitt from Bill.

Materials Connexions front window.

Material Connexion library.

Sample materials from Materials Connexion.

Sample materials from Materials Connexion.

Material Connexion library signage.

Korea Town after korean BBQ with the gang.

Front door at Kikkerland.

Jan and Alissia at their studio. Jan is talking about the work that he is doing for Kikkerland.

No description needed.

Kitchen at IDEO NYC.

Pretty pretty lights at Flos.

Starck is perhaps first to the high-end market with a domestic object for the iPad.

The fog made the Empire States Building look like it was ablaze.

Repose at B&B Italia

Shiny Alessi

Today is the first day of my last semester at Cranbrook. I already wish that I could stay for another few years and get additional Masters degrees from other departments here…

It is time to bring everything together so that I have a solid showing in the degree show in May (not to mention a completed thesis).

I was one of the 6 students in our department to have my work selected by Herman Miller to be fully prototyped and ultimately shown at ICFF and/or NeoCon. What this means essential is that each of us is given some money to use for the creation of our projects. I wish I could show the renderings of it, but we promised to keep it under wraps for the time being. A hint- it has something to do with work space (ok- lame hint).

I believe we will head out to Herman Miller again to consult with their engineers and materials specialist regarding our projects and how best to put them together. I have a fairly good idea about how to put together what I have, but they may offer suggestions and hopefully point us to some preferred services for things like upholstery. The great thing about being in Detroit is that there is no lack of machine shops, upholsterers, etc to work with.

I am really excited to start working on it once we get back from New York. I am hoping there may be yet a little bit more time in this semester to squeak out an additional project. I guess we’ll find out soon enough!

The Mirror Hooks project is almost complete. Currently the White Oak version is done and ready to receive jackets, scarves, and bags. Once I get back to school in a couple of weeks, I will have the Walnut version completed. It is great to finally have this project nearing completion.

Here is an image that demonstrates the reflective quality of the plated aluminum:

All of the work on the Dome Light prototypes has resulted in the Orbit Light. The name is in reference to the way the light switch dial rotates around the glass dome like planets around a star.

At this point, I feel that most of the design issues that surfaced during the prototyping of the Dome Lights has largely been resolved. The light quality is much better. I think the light switch mechanism is much more obvious for people who are experiencing the light for the first time.

It was hard to let go of the tranparency of the glass domes in favor of a frosted effect. But once I made the change, everything came together. The main focus remains on the light quality with a secondary emphasis on the dial mechanism. As the images below will illustrate however, clear glass died hard. Initially I tried to change the diffusor into something sculptural that helped direct light inside the dome as well as its emission into space. This did nothing but make the whole thing overly-complicated.

If money and time permit, I’d like to have some additional glass domes made that have greater variety of height and shape.

I ended the 3rd semester with a completed version of the coat tree/valet artifact that I am now calling ‘Clip Tree’ (sometimes sticking with a name is hard…).

Here are some additional images of (thanks PD Rearick):

I have finally finished the first prototype of the Mirror Hook coat rack that I began last semester. I am pleased with the way it has turned out. It functions both graphically and functionally. The white oak inlay softens the materials palette and provides a good contrast to the chromed aluminum. I will have the Walnut inlay completed this week for the second Mirror Hook. The CNC router went a little goofy and so I will have to do some hand finishing to get the inlay to fit just so.

This design is a good reference point for developing it with other materials and processes. For example, the inlay could be bamboo, or plywood, and the main body could be mirror-polished aluminum, or even mirrored acrylic. For this version, I want to create more of a luxury item to end cap the spectrum of possibilities.

Here is a detail image of the inlay

Here is how it is put together:

So I finally had the custom dowel work completed by H.A. Stiles in Maine.They came out perfectly. I had 2 sets made; one in Walnut and one in White Oak. I needed to adjust the dimensions of the clip connectors for each of the plastic parts so that the joining of the two was flush and beautiful. It is really great to be able to make changes and then print out new parts in a day. If I could get this project manufactured, the clip components would ideally be made from a hard molded rubber.For now, they will remain ABS.

I reused a plywood base from another project to plug the posts into.

After verifying that the amount of racking of the posts was acceptable, I’ve begun work on making the bases out of 2″ thick Walnut and White Oak. This should be completed very soon leaving me with functioning prototypes in the next few days.

UPDATE: Here they are:

Here is a rough rendering of what they will look like:

And here is how they are put together without any hardware:

Over the weekend I took an Arduino workshop here at Cranbrook, taught by members from OmniCorpDetroit. I’ve been wanting to dip my toe into electronics programming for a while and the Arduino platform seems to be the most accessible for someone like me.

In the class, I learned how to connect the Arduino to a breadboard and program it make LED’s blink, turn off and on with a button, and dim with a potentiometer. Good times! I am hoping to ultimately work on some sort of lighting interface. Perhaps I could even get a printed circuit board made someday!

The world is a much more dangerous place now!