Ben Bailey

Hockey Skate

2011-10-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to get into hockey design for a while. This is a 2.5 hour render that I attempted at skates for the first time. I would love to land a job at a hockey company.

Chair Finished

2011-06-05T11:51:00.001-07:00

So this quarter was definitely the most demanding quarter. I think I really learned how to organize myself and start working smarter than longer. Overall great quarter, really glad it is over now. Learned a lot about work ethic.

Staying on Track for Development

2011-06-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

This quarter I really tried to concentrate and stay away from getting to far off of the upward sloping graph line of production. Not that design is a perfect process, however in the past I think I have strayed from staying concentrated on continuously developing an idea, and really following a process. In the past I would choose one idea and not want to develop it any further. I would be content with where it was. I had spent so much time on the idea already that further development was unnecessary and there wouldn't be enough time left. That wasn't yielding the results I wanted so I over compensated. I would then keep changing ideas after the ideation phase until I had something that seemed revolutionary. As opposed to continuing to develop features or details of a chosen direction I would keep changing directions and would just be spinning my wheels. I think this was another thing I really learned an got better at this quarter. Following a design process and sticking out with the selected idea and continuing to develop until it was time to build or finish. I think now that I have learned this that I can start to refine my specific process that I like to follow.

Innovative vs. Well Designed

2011-06-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

So the chair quarter is finished. I think I really struggled at the beginning of the quarter to figure out what I was going to do with the chair. All of our projects in the past have been based around creating an innovative design feature or product. That is really the goal to do something strange and different, and that is pushed on you. "You are a student do something crazy." I totally agree with this statement. However I was having trouble translating it to the chair project. The chair is something that has been around forever and had millions of variations. At first I was trying to think of something innovative. For the chair quarter I think this was the wrong approach. I didn't need to create some innovative feature. I could still do something different simply based off of the design. The innovative things were going to be in the design details, in a new or interesting shape. This really was the turning point and helped me focus in on my design. I really learned a lot this quarter about work ethic and design overall.

Dutch Furniture

2011-06-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

For this project I tried to really create a product based off the ability Dutch design has to make the strange blend in beautifully as normal. Overall I think in the end I did a good job but after discussion at crit I could have removed the alarm clock or changed it to swivel somehow. Also all of my boards this quarter I have been happy with, however I wish I had tied them together more. Chet's boards always are obviously together and it just makes his presentations jump off the wall that much more. We determined the best way to do this was to have similarities but not exact similarities, which can end up being more distracting.

Modern Ornamental Audio

2011-05-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

This is a project I finished for our Design Communications class. The speakers are supposed to follow a product trend I see in the market. I think the combination of modern design with classic ornamental or decorative designs is something that is becoming very popular. So with these speakers I tried to achieve that with combining design elements from a phonograph along with elements from a modern speaker.

3 hr design challenge

2011-05-16T09:01:00.001-07:00

So today our professor came in and asked us what all of our favorite fruits were. He then told us you have three hours to design a ring based off of the fruit we had just named. It proved to be a really great experience. I think that often in the workplace this is something that can happen often. A boss may ask to have a design for a certain object in 2-3 hours and they expect something that looks nice. I enjoy doing shorter projects like this. Sometimes I feel this is when I do my best work. Often spending to long on a project I feel that is gets muddied down and some of the magic of the original idea is lost. Apple is my favorite fruit and here is the final render I had at the end of the class.

Chair Revision

2011-05-09T07:56:00.001-07:00

Currently in the process of revising the front of the chair. After meeting with some fiberglass experts it sounds like the mold I had planned on building would create complications. Here is the direction I am leaning towards, more minor revisions to come.

Final Design for Eyewear

2011-05-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

The image I think doesn't have the same chemistry between my alarm clock and it's image board. I think that is simply because of the choice of wood for the glasses. I wanted to use minimal materials like on my image board. Also I wanted to take elements of the simplicity of the designs. I think in this way I achieved following my image board. However I think it was more impactful last time when colors were similar and added cohesiveness to the two images. This is something I plan on trying to do again for the next project.

Inspiration Board for Eyewear

2011-05-03T15:35:00.001-07:00

Alarm Clock Render

2011-04-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

Updated version of the alarm clock. I would like to take this further. Could have minute details changed but this is close to the final idea.

First look at the Chair

2011-04-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lacking updates on chair sketches/photoshop renders. Here is the current look I have going for my chair. It consists of a fiberglass seat and wood legs. The legs may change to steel rod if engineering problems occur which seems likely.

Alarm Clock

2011-04-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

How do I percieve getting up. I think most people who sleep in base getting up on how far they can push back their chores for the morning before they have to leave. This alarm clock takes that to a literal sense and has the alarm start at the desired time and go off every ten minutes just like a snooze button. Except every time you decide to hit the snooze button as opposed to ten minutes passing it informs you of what you won't be able to do if you decide to continue sleeping. I think it is a fun simple way of looking at the alarm clock system. This could turn into something fun to discuss at work to. "I have been getting up a Pee? like every day (see image)." The image below is a quick representation of what the product will become. I am currently in the process of developing it further and will post when ready.

Visual Resumes

2011-04-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

Recently we have been working on visual resumes in class. I think this is going to prove to be a great tool to add to the skill set. Beyond resumes it can help bring interest to inspiration boards as well as research graphics. Here are a few examples of some of the boards I have put this new skill to use on. Included in order are my experience of being in Chicago, my inspiration for my RVCA USB's, my experience of being at UC, and my inspiration for an alarm clock project I just started.

Placement

2011-04-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well it's about time I get back to blogging. Recently I have been doing a lot of thinking about where I want to go with my career. I may be just seeing this because I have been frustrated with I.D. recently but many people that are extremely successful at their profession often don't start off traditionally in that field, or studying that field. Is this because they have a different perspective then every other person educated in the field or because they have a different process. With graduation fast approaching this is something that has really been staring me in the face. Back around February I kept having thoughts of where I wanted to go in design. I slowly came to the conclusion that I should just go with the flow and wherever I end up design is going to be the best fit for me. Anyways still definitely thinking about this every day and I am still completely lost in the fog. No answers yet, 2 years left to go hopefully I will figure something out.

Final Presentation Board

2010-12-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

Course Evaluation

2010-12-02T08:05:00.001-08:00

Overall this was an excellent course and I really feel that I learned a lot. I think I learned how to communicate my designs in a forms and details. Beyond learning technical skills I think the most important thing was learning how to speak. The layouts and the technical skills can come with practice and I supposed that speaking can as well. However we never really learned anything about who you are presenting for or what you are presenting. I think that is the most important thing what you are presenting? Did I ever really truly deeply think about that.

I think that the class was great the way it was. The only small changes I would have liked to see I guess are a little bit of interest in the sketches. We got to do sketching but not to much was learned about that. Secondly I would have liked to do at least one traditional crit. Because in the end that is how we present and you can do all the practice tools you want to help prepare for that. However like in sports practice can help prepare you and get you ready but you really get better from game experience. I'm not saying that we need to do them a lot because I really enjoyed the break from them. I would have liked to do only one so you could critique how we did that.

I do want to say thanks Michael though because I really enjoyed this class and feel that I really learned a lot, hopefully it benefited you as a designer as well because I'm told teaching does that.

Blog Critique

2010-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

I think this blog was a good way to keep motivated and constantly thinking about design. I know I would not have done it probably had it not been required but I like to think I will keep it updated. It has proved to be a great tool with showing companies current work as well as friends and family. Hopefully I can keep up on the random writing about theories and such, because I know not many people are reading it so there is no pressure really in what I am saying. Also it has provided a good web between the class to see other people's work. I think that is the most important thing it has done. Like Michael said strengthening the class is always good and is only going to benefit yourself in the long run, and the sharing of ideas and thoughts on a blog is a good tool for doing that.

Personal Evaluation

2010-12-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

I think this quarter as a designer I have really grown. I think I have a far better grasp of what creates a great product beyond form and function. You've got to sell it ....... tell a story. I really do feel that was my most lacking skill. Showing off my products on image boards, portfolios, and in presentations. I think that is what I learned most this quarter and I am again excited to update my portfolio and create something with some depth to it and a clear understanding of the value of the products I design.

Questions for a Professional Designer

2010-12-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

I guess there are a lot of things I would like to ask a professional designer but if I had to narrow it down to three things at this point in my design career none of them would really be related to technical skills or anything of that nature. So here are the three I would ask.

1.) As a student I am struggling to find my identity as a designer and what I want to do. When I do you do suggest holding out for a job that I really find interesting or simply taking one gaining experience and hoping for the dream job later.

2.) As you progress in the design field and move up in a company how much less designing do you get to do? I obviously would like to move up, however if it means being far less involved with the design I would honestly rather stay at a lower position my whole life.

3.) What was a pivotal thing that happened to you as a designer?

Start to the interior of the Ice Shack

2010-11-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

Housewares Design

2010-11-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

This is the final presentation board that I had hanging up for the final critique in our Design Communications class. I will most likely try entering this into a Student Housewares Competition some time in the end of January.

Time to Work

2010-11-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

Ready for some free time. This time not to slouch around as much. Oh it will happen for the first week simply out of recovery of being a complete nerd in DAAP and feeling like I never leave the place. After my week of doing absolutely nothing though I am really ready to start redoing my portfolio and finishing off a few projects from this quarter to be portfolio ready. This is the first time that I feel excited to put together a portfolio. I think I have finally reached the point where I am starting to feel proud of my designs and not having to struggle through creating a portfolio that I know looks bad. The skills are there now to create something good and that provides motivation and excitement for me to follow through. Only have to make it to December 7th then life can go back to normal and I can get going on the new portfolio. It's all about telling a story this time.

Goals Review

2010-11-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick review of my goals from the beginning of the quarter.

I wanted to improve on my presentations of my products, as far as imagery and story are concerned.

Get a job at a consultancy.

Create a really nice portfolio, along with work from the quarter that can eventually go in it.

__________________________________________________________________

As far as presenting my projects I feel that I have a deeper understanding of how to verbally present to an audience. Furthermore I think my graphic layouts have improved drastically from where they were. I still think I really need to work on telling a story about my products visually. Communicating these things in person during an interview is no problem for me, however I think that I need to learn to do this better visually still. The story is there I just need to show it and then the portfolio will really be poppin.

Well I didn't get a job at a consultancy but I did get a great job at sharpie which sounds really fun and it is in Chicago which is one of my favorite cities. I think this should provide for a great learning experience.

I was pretty happy with how my portfolio turned out. I think that it could have been better though. I am very anxious to revamp it while I am out on co-op. Some ideas have started brewing after interviews and discussing certain projects. As well as having new projects to add to it. There is always room for improvement and I'm excited because I know what I want to do now I just need the free time (school to end , co-op to start) and it will be done.

Housewares Start

2010-11-17T10:55:00.001-08:00

This is two ideas I did some quick ideation development on for a housewares project I am entering in. The top idea I think is the final direction that I am heading towards. It is a portable dishwasher based off of the needs of college eating habits. 60% of college students don't own dishwashers and 55% eat meals on the couch. This is a way of giving a student a cheap dishwasher that doubles as a side table and makes cleaning as easy as leaning over on the couch. Simple idea and there is still some development to be done.
The second idea is a portable cooking set for college students that includes a pot, pot cover, bowl, pot cover, skillet, and plate all in one that transports easily for college students who move a lot and don't like carrying around all of their dishes.

Earbuds: Mixed Media Renders

2010-11-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

This was a great exercise in rendering techniques along with the USB renders from earlier. Here we worked with any of our tools combining 3D modeling and Abode tools to create a faster better render. I really wanted to have fun with this and go with a little bit more of an artistic style type render. Nixon's advertising pages really inspired me to try and do something a little strange that helped tell and story and represent the product.

Time to get a chip on my shoulder

2010-10-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

My current strength right now is knowing that I have none. I am not comfortable with where I am as a designer, I'm not where I want to be. However I find it refreshing to think about. It's not that I am depressed with my work. I often really like some of the work that I have done and allow myself to be happy with it, but not for too long. Recently however I think I have been allowing myself to be too comfortable for too long and that's a bad thing, that is completely hampering to my improvement. I am too young and nowhere near a good enough designer to be comfortable. The lack of return calls from companies I have applied to snapped me out of this state of relaxation with my designs. I have to improve and I think it is actually healthy to look back at your own work and say "damn I could do better than that." This is the strongest strength I have as a designer right now.

Furthermore I think it is time to get competitive. Even though I used to disagree with that statement and would tell myself that I design for myself and because I enjoy it. I see nothing wrong now with being competitive and if anything it will fuel my fire to be better. That's not to say that I am going to hide techniques from classmates or steal and cheat from people. I am going to treat design like I do sports. My class is my team, I want us to be the best possible and I want us to be better than all other schools. When it comes to jobs if a company turns me down, that is fine I am the only one to blame for that, however I will want the place that hires me to be better than the companies who didn't give me a shot. I used to look at this mentality as shocking but in the sports world when a team cuts a player it isn't looked at as bad to want to be better and then beat the team that cut you when you are on a new one, in fact it is honorable.

With that said I need to get uncomfortable. It's time I got a chip on my shoulder.

Good Design

2010-10-31T17:11:00.001-07:00

This is something that I think I will never truly have an answer for but something that I should always have an attempted answer for. Currently I think that good design beyond being emotive and impacting people at an initial level has to have the research built into the design. There are many designs that look awesome but how many take problems found in research and have problem solving features built into them. Currently I think a great design impacts emotionally and has problem solving features whether they are visible and recognizable or not. As always to I think the simpler the better.

Mixed Media

2010-10-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

I think using multiple tools to create a design is something that can be very beneficial to creating a great looking design page. Furthermore I think it is something that can be beneficial in CAD using Alias for those crazy forms and SolidWorks to keep it simple. Overall using all the tools at your disposal as a designer can make things look better and cause their creation to be faster as well. Above are a few good examples of mixed media pages.

Work Ethic

2010-10-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

Recently I have really been pondering the amount of work and time that goes into being in DAAP. Is it worth it? Am I really giving up having a life outside of DAAP during the week. Right now I'm not really sure. I think that I have to learn to moderate. Example I refuse to pull an all nighter this whole quarter unless there is completely emergency. I shouldn't have to do that. Really what it comes down to is I need to manage my time better. I need to organize and have a plan for how I am going about doing things. That is really how I am going to get the most work done, also I have to schedule time to have outside of DAAP. A career is very important to me however from my visits to nursing homes last quarter nobody was really giving me advice on how to get a job or an important way to earn money, it was all about living life. Even though many people think that it is crazy to listen to them they probably realize what is important after being through it all. Maybe I really won't know until I go through it all. Anyways I got a lot of work to do and I'll probably be up all night, peace out.

USB Final Designs 2

2010-10-24T17:51:00.001-07:00

USB Final Designs 1

2010-10-24T17:48:00.001-07:00

USB Sketches

2010-10-24T17:46:00.001-07:00

USB Design

2010-10-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

To start off this project we surveyed 113 people about USB drives. From what I felt was the most important results I made this research graphic.

Inspiring Designer

2010-10-16T13:16:00.001-07:00

Honestly it is hard for me to say that I follow any designers. I realize that this sounds strange and that like any aspiring athlete I should look up to another athlete. However I have never really had one designer I am a huge fan of and it's not that I choose to do this I have just never done it. My inspiration more so comes from looking at design sites and checking out all different kinds of designs. I think I guess one designer that I do consistently look at and the only one who I can really name is Spencer Nugent who runs a site called sketch-a-day as well as idsketching. I think he does a really good job of using contour lines and through quick and simple design communicating the shapes exactly how they are. Furthermore I think he creates really interesting layouts to sketch pages. Check out his sites at

http://www.sketch-a-day.com

http://www.idsketching.com

Information Design

2010-10-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

Definitely one of the hardest parts about showcasing a project is how to get across what you learned from your product research. Ultimately what you learned from your research is very important because all of the features and the design is general should revolve around a quality solution to the problems you found in your research. So the best way I think to do this is through an interesting and simply visual that really gets the point across of what you found to be the most important results of your research. Honestly who likes reading graphs and statistics, not many people, this is why you need an interesting graphic that coincides with your research and helps to further emphasize what you learned or what topic you researched. Here are a few good examples.

Here is a good link

http://www.colorful-data.net/

Communication through Film Trailers

2010-10-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

I like to consider myself an avid movie fan. There are some great movies out there, however it doesn't always relate to a great trailer. To many times I see trailers predicated on what others are saying about the movie in newspapers and magazines. Other times you see trailers that just simply summarize the movie and leave the ending to question, trying to entice you to pay $9.50 just to find out what happens at the end. The point is there are a lot of bad movie trailers out there. To me what makes a good trailer is rather simple. It gives you a sense of what you are going to experience. The cinematography, emotions, and a hint to the plot line. It is really all about creating an emotive response in the viewer that is what they will experience when they go see the actual movie. I think I found a perfect example in a trailer for No Country for Old Men. It gives a great look into the dark and exciting action thriller that will ensue without destroying any of the story really. Furthermore it chooses great music and narrative clips from the movie itself not some hollywood narrator with a deep voice. Essentially it isn't showcasing anything other than the movie itself. Anyways here is the link enjoy.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/miramax/nocountryforoldmen/

Choose the one that says TRAILER

New Portfolio

2010-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hey check out the new portfolio. The link is on the top right of the page.

I am pretty excited with how this has turned out. My portfolios from the previous two years have I feel just been a struggle and a learning process to how to really create a portfolio. I think my problems previously have been simply how to showcase my projects. I felt that I had good designs but I wasn't communicating their features and the work that I put into them. This is one that I finally feel proud of. I think there are still some things I could work on, but hey the more portfolios I do the better they will get I guess.

Inspirational Brand

2010-10-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

The inspirational brand I have chosen is Nixon. As a designer I can appreciate the extreme attention to detail that is put into each design. This goes behind engineering details and small design details. This is more about an understanding of the emotions evoked by a product and a full understanding of the customer. I think Nixon is a strongly emotional brand and not afraid of polarizing themselves. Personally I don't think that is a bad thing. You can't appeal to everybody so don't make your product dull by trying to, you will have greater success if people hate your product because in turn somebody will love it. They know who there consumers are and aren't afraid to alienate the rest of the market from them. Furthermore when they design a product like the 51-30 Gunmetal as pictured above they take it to heart. The emotion and feel of the product really relates to the name and I think I don't need to say anything about the marketing image. Nixon is simply a really cool company and if you hate them well they don't care.

What Makes a Good Portfolio?

2010-09-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

There is much debate around what makes a good portfolio and how to best present your products to a viewer. Simply put I think that a good portfolio needs to do one thing only. Highlight your designs. This can be done in many ways and be prevented in many ways as well. When I say highlight I mean it shows off the strong features, process, and idea behind the design. This is essentially showing off your skills without but it shouldn't come off that way it should come off as showing off the product. Highlighting a product is very easily ruined as well, which often can make a good project come across as bad. This is done through distracting layouts, bad organization, clutter, and bad storytelling. So in saying there here a few examples of solid portfolios or portfolio pages in my mind.

http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_file.asp?individual_id=162066&portfolio_id=866808&

http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_file.asp?individual_id=72279&portfolio_id=1295709&specialty=4&sort_by=6&c=1&

http://www.uc.edu/propractice/ind_design/Mueller_Oliver_11.pdf

SPEAKING OF I REALLY NEED TO UPDATE MY PORTFOLIO SOON TO COME

Back to the Grind

2010-09-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Once again I find myself back in Cincinnati. Once again I face the endless nights of work without sleep. Aside from these facts I am excited to be back. I am really happy with all of my classes and excited for the potential work that may come of them.
Currently our main design studio is revolving around designing a workstation. I have chosen to design an ice fishing hut. This is something I feel is very lacking in design features and I'm not really sure if there is many out there for purchase. This should make for an interesting project and hopefully something that I won't get bored of easily.
Also interviews are coming up quicker than I am ready for and I really need to spend a lot of time getting my portfolio ready for hopefully a solid consulting firm. This is not made easy by the fact my computer is broken.
Anyways just a quick update of things starting back up at UC and I will try and post as much as possible.

Model Making

2010-08-08T06:49:00.001-07:00

CHEEEESSSEEEEEE

2010-08-08T06:29:00.001-07:00

Munich

2010-08-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been able to update the blog I've been pretty busy lately. So about three weeks ago we went to Munich to experience the Bavarian area of Germany. It was a lot of fun because one of our best friends from school is studying there so we got to hang out with lots of people from Cincinnati. Best part of the area was by far the Englischer Garten which is in the previous video. Very huge relaxing park lots of kids hanging out swimming in the chillingly refreshing river. Munich definitely had more of the stereotypical German appeal that us Americans think about when we think of Germany. Quick summary; we saw the contemporary art museum, a man who had alien vs. predator statues in front of his house, visited some bier gartens, hung out in the englischer, visited the local soccer stadium, and just did lots of walking.

Munich

2010-07-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

We stumbled across this while walking through the Englischer Garten in Munich

Hopefully Final Form More to Come

2010-07-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

Looking for a final form

2010-07-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

Paris Pics

2010-07-05T08:06:00.001-07:00

Paris

2010-07-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

So last week we took a trip to Paris. It was fun getting there. We rented a car which ended up being a lot cheaper as well as allowing us to drive on the autobahn extremely fast in the six speed car the dealer hooked us up with.

First day we were they we walked around in the parks by the river for the most part. Really nice and relaxing. Then we went out for a nice dinner in St.Germaine. After dinner we were looking for somewhere to go for the night and found a bridge with around 300 kids sitting on it just having a spontaneous party. So we decided to simply sit on it and we spent the night there hanging out with the young locals.

Next day was the busiest tourist day I have probably ever experienced. Walking taken to a whole new level, also while running on very little sleep. In the morning we went to the Musee d'Orsay which was one of my favorite museums we have been to. Then we walked around through the parks some more, and went to Notre Dame, which was pretty amazing but I have to say the Dom in Cologne is more impressive. From their we headed to the Modern Art Museum which has all the usual inner components of the building on the outside of the building. The museum had some really cool stuff and some pg-13 stuff that was a little weird if you ask me. From there we went to meet up with my roommates parent's for dinner. This was proceeded by us going to the Louvre until it closed. The Louvre way to big to try and see in three hours we basically walked through it saw the Mona Lisa and would stop occasionally to look at something we found interesting. Then from there we went over to the Eiffel tower and stayed there until that shut down. Then it was back to the hotel for some much needed rest. On the third day we tried to go to the catacombs but ran out of time. It was time to head back and cruise on the autobahn. Short trip but a good one overall.

Berlin

2010-06-15T02:27:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we decided to make a trip to Berlin with our new bus passes. We left early Saturday morning, and yes early means before 7 am. We arrived and headed to the Berlin design festival. It was very cool despite all the hipsters. The exhibition seemed composed of all very young designers work which was cool. The work itself was very on the artistic side of design which was interesting to see. After getting our fill of design we headed out to see the city. We had some dinner and of course watched the world cup while eating with the endless televisions set up to watch it on. After dinner we went and found our hostel which seemed almost too nice to be a hostel. After that we headed out to this old apartment complex that has been turned into basically a squatters place for artists who pay I think one euro a week in rent, ha. It was very neat, not sure if I could live there though like I'm told some of the people do.

This concluded the end of the daytime and it was time to head out. We found an English bar to watch the England vs. USA game. We were vastly outnumbered to say the least. During the national anthem I was singing pretty much as loudly as I could while getting cursed at and booed, awesome. That only inspired Chet, Will, and I to chant louder and more often during the game. Chants such as

"Drink some tea" clap clap clap "Eat some Crumpets" clap clap clap

"You've got bad teeth" clap clap clap "You've got bad teeth"

Just an example of a few of them, it seemed almost to easy to make fun of them, ha. To my surprise most people seemed to be really cool about it and most everybody realized it was all in good fun and we were getting taunted as well. One example

"Hey you can't do that he's too close to the end zone."

Anyways that was fun. The next day we spent walking around in the park, we visited the Berlin wall, and then it was game time again. This time it was the opening game for Germany. We went to the public viewing put on by FIFA. There was probably somewhere from 40,000 to 60,000 people there hard to tell when you're in the middle of the swarm. After the game we caught the train home around 1 am and got back at 5:30 am just in time for class at 9 am, ha.

Berlin overall was a very cool city. Seemed very down to earth and not packed with tourists. The town feel was very blue collar, which I liked. We will probably be going back.

La Boqueria (The Market)

2010-06-02T00:26:00.001-07:00

Barcelona

2010-06-01T23:48:00.001-07:00

It was quite the journey getting to Barcelona. We found great tickets that were only about 75 dollars round trip. However we landed in Girona around midnight which is about and hour north of Barcelona. We really had no plans for a hotel that night. We ended up spending the night at the Girona bus station until about six in the morning when the train came. In between the times of setting high scores in tetris on my phone I learned some things while sitting the night outside. First of all, this may sound weird but you start to feel like a wild animal (besides the tetris). When you walk past somebody in the street you treat it almost unhumanly, you start judging their body language, you try and look dominant, and all your senses are going. Mom don't freak out it really wasn't that bad a place. Secondly I was once again reaffirmed that my life is pretty easy, there were a few people who walked into the bus station at about 4 am looking like they had just got off work and had about a half hour bus ride home. Thirdly, I don't want to be homeless.

Anyways we ended up catching the train at about 6:11 in the morning and took it into Barcelona. Needless to say I was pretty much unconscious the whole way there. We ended up walking around and looked over the city from a hill that we had walked up. Then we hunted down our hostel and checked in. We resisted the temptation to sleep but ultimately took an hour nap. We then spent the rest of the day sight seeing and going to the beach. That was quite the long blur of two days.

Our hostel was in the lower gothic which was a perfect location to the beach and all the sight seeing. It was definitely the old part of Barcelona, all small side streets and cobblestone streets that were nearly impossible to navigate where you were. They had lots of cool little shops, restaurants, and bars. All usually small and locally owned. Very cool stuff.

The days that proceeded that were full of usually sight seeing, then a late afternoon visit to the beach, proceeded by a nap, then out for the night. Inserted in the sight seeing rituals were many Gaudi works and museums.

Some of the places I can remember seeing were Gaudi's church, La Boqueria (Best market ever), the bull fighting ring, Casa Mila (Gaudi Building), MontJuic (Olympic Park), Parc Guell (Gaudi Park), Barcelona History Museum, Contemporary Art Museum, Barcelona Art Museum, the Barcelona Pavilion, the '92 Olympic Stadium, the whole beach front, and lots more.

Overall Barcelona is a very cool city. It was a great experience and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, awesome 6 days.

View from Gaudi's Parc Guell

2010-06-01T23:40:00.000-07:00

Pictures wouldn't do it justice and neither did this little video.

It's hard to tell but the background is the ocean.

Red Dot Design Museum

2010-05-18T09:41:00.001-07:00

Well today was a Tuesday which means we have no school all day, man going back to a DAAP schedule is gonna be rough. On today's free day we decided to head out to Essen and visit the RedDot design museum, which is located inside a building at an old Coal Mine, very cool. RedDot is an industrial design based organization that gives out annual awards to top products on the market. This was by far the best design museum I have been too, it is pretty much strictly industrial design. It was four floors and a basement of endless products to look at. I highly reccommend that anybody who is in Germany and interested in I.D. try and make a trip out to this museum.

Getting Technical

2010-05-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

So for our project this semester in Wuppertal we are designing a shower radio. For the first month we have been strictly doing research and studying different shower radio products that each student has purchased. We have gone more in depth to materials and processes than we usually do in Cincinnati. I think overall this will prove to be a very vital experience. I'm excited to start thinking about the smaller intricacies of a design like leaving an indentation for product sticker placement so it doesn't just get randomly placed on in production. Thinking through small features like this and how to incorporate them into part of your design as opposed to simply putting them on as a last step. Try looking at the underside of a product next time you use it and it is often a dead giveaway to how detailed the designers and engineers went into making the product. Anyways enough rambling, this is a SolidWorks rebuild of the shower radio that I built. The render isn't the best but it was finished at four in the morning so bare with me.

BARCELONA!!!

2010-05-16T05:14:00.001-07:00

We recently found out that we have the a week off from school. We thought there was no better chance to do some traveling during the school year than this, so we are headed to Barcelona for 6 days. Should be pretty fun.

Cologne or Koln

2010-05-14T06:04:00.001-07:00

Koln Dom Church. It is quite an intimidating building and makes you feel very small and meaningless. Also it takes climbing quite a lot of stairs to get to the top. This was a fun easy one day trip only about a forty minute train ride away and of course free train ride again for students.

Looking to Travel

2010-05-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

The last month that we are here we will be traveling around Europe. Anybody who has any input on what they think are must destinations please feel free to comment or e-mail me.

Amsterdam

2010-05-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago we decided to make a trip to Amsterdam. We took the train all the way into the Amsterdam Centraal and to our surprise it was a national holiday. We pulled in at about 9:30 pm and everywhere you looked people were wearing Dutch orange and every street in the city was closed down for two days. It was shocking walking into that without expecting it. We hadn't booked a hotel yet and the first three places we tried we were told "Good luck you will be sleeping on the streets tonight, It's a national holiday." Somehow we ended up finding a hotel though and then we joined in the festivities for the rest of the night. Amsterdam had a very cool layout to the city. Rivers everywhere and people seemed to always be outside enjoying just being outside, there were coffee shops and local restaurants lining the rivers and every street with people hanging outside it was very cool. Overall I really enjoyed the trip there it was almost otherworldly. Things there are acceptable that aren't anywhere else that I have ever been, it almost makes you rethink everything you were ever taught is right or wrong. A perfect example of this is the photo above in the park. Yep you guessed it, thats an outdoor urinal. I guess that's Amsterdam.

side note- the stairs at our hostel were quite steep.

A slightly larger soccer match

2010-05-14T05:28:00.001-07:00

One Saturday we decided to take train into Dusseldorf to watch a soccer match. Which for us as student is very easy all travel is free and it is only about a half hour train ride. It was crazy as we were pulling in. There were swat cars all over the place. The trains were full of people drinking beer and wearing Fortuna red. Speaking of the beer public drinking is highly more acceptable and even expected. When we got off of the train to go to the stadium there were shopping carts that had been put out at the station, what were they for? Beer bottles and lots of them, ha. Anyways this was quite exciting as well to see soccer on a larger scale however it was wasn't the top division, I can't imagine how intense that must be knowing how many swat cars were lining the streets just for a division 2 game.

Local Wuppertal Soccer Match

2010-05-14T05:20:00.001-07:00

People here really are crazy about there soccer, even down to the small local teams. I have never been a soccer fan but I can appreciate the excitement of being at a game. This was the local team in Wuppertal who are in the third division and from the groans of the fans who calm their nerves by slamming beers and cursing they will be moving down a division after this season. Anyways this was my first taste of European soccer even on a small level it was fun to experience.

My Apartment

2010-05-14T05:18:00.001-07:00

WUPPERTAL

2010-05-14T05:05:00.000-07:00

It's time that I start this blog fresh again. No better chance than now.... or one month ago. I have been in Germany now for over one month and figured that documenting what happens here in my design classes as well as life in general could be good for me and for everyone else who is wondering what I am doing. I promise it doesn't involve strictly drinking beer. Anyways I will do my best to keep these posts updated somewhat regularly. Hope you enjoy.

Watch Sketches

2009-04-26T16:50:00.001-07:00

Proportion Study

2009-04-02T13:12:00.001-07:00

Chess Set

2009-04-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

A family of form study

Lemon Reamer

2009-04-02T12:21:00.000-07:00