Design Studies: Summer Reading Material & Other Plans

Part of our last assignment for the year with regards to Design Studies is to identify 5 books I will read as a result of this module, 5 things I want to do to my blog etc. and 5 people I will make contact with.

These include (and have already purchased some):

- Blink - a book by Malcolm Gladwell, the author of first semesters read "The Tipping Point".

- Semiotics: A Graphic Guide by Paul Cobley, as I found semiotics very interesting.

- Designing Infographics by Eric Meyer, I have become increasingly interested in infographics and data visualisations as a result of several paths during Design Studies and would like to learn how to incorporate this clean presentation style into my future projects.

- I plan on investing in several of the books in the series for my course anyway, however Basics Design offer one called Design Thinking, which is something I need to consider more deeply, namely the user and the effect a design can have on it's surroundings as often we get caught up on the aesthetics only (stemming from reading about ethnography).

- Wordpress for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson. This sort of leads me into my next top 5 catagory of what I plan to do over summer, and as you tell, regards moving over to Wordpress very slowly but surely.

All of these are available on www.amazon.co.uk.

The 5 things I plan to do over summer are:

As I am already an avid blogger and tweeter, I have not added these to my list as it is something I already regularly do.

- I do plan however, to move from Blogger to Wordpress over summer, and archive my posts.

- Finances permitting, I'd also like to take a short trip to The Netherlands to visit, along with visiting Norway (which is already booked), allowing me to visit their Architecture & Design Museum, as well as possibly visiting a Jewellery exhibition as I plan to travel with JMD student(s).

- Complete my LinkedIn profile and begin to use this more thoroughly.

- Organise my Flickr account into a more manageable system, along with updating it with recent albums.

- And finally, StumbleUpon more things every day - and as a result try to blog about a new find at least once weekly.

Finally, 5 people I would like to make contact with:

- HKU Utrecht if I am lucky enough to be invited to apply directly to them for an exchange opportunity.

- Continue to follow people on Twitter, while always looking for new companies and designers to follow. (I currently already follow most guest lecturers from this year's lectures etc.)

- Although it would not be a new connection, I plan on staying in contact with our current 4th years, keeping up to date with their job prospects and life as IED graduates, hopefully giving me an insight into life after DJCAD.

- Aim to get published by finding an amateur online design magazine, and make contact about perhaps submitting an article.

- Get, and start using Skype - as suggested by Lauren Currie (@RedJotter) some weeks ago.

Plumen 001

Although it may sound like some kind of chemical compound used to "get rid" of foreign secret agents, the Plumen 001 is in fact a lightblub. I have come across this deisgn in several places now, namely on the Dezeen website, at EcoBuild and at the Deign Museum, along with in several design magazines. It's what environmentalists have been eagerly awaiting - a clean redesign of the energy efficient light bulb. We openly welcome you to our homes, Plumen 001!

There is a small issue with this though, and that is the small fortune you may have to part with to light your home with these. At a painful £19.95 each, the price is sure to be an issue for mainstream consumers. Although efficiency is something we must concern ourselves with due to the environment becoming an ever more important factor in our daily lives, the current (and often dreaded) energy efficient light bulb does leave a lot to be desired - so it seems Hulger and Samuel Wilkinson (the brains behind the Plumen 001) may have cracked onto something here, especially given that the UK have relatively recently introduced the EU ban on importing high energy filament bulbs. I guess rival designers will soon pounce on this nice little niche in the market, and come up with their own solutions to the energy efficent lightbulb - which should eventually drive prices down.

Taken at the Design Museum, March 2011

So, it would seem this is at least a step in the right direction. Yay for green design! I just now need to justify to myself why £19.95 is a reasonable price to pay for a lightbulb. Damn it.

London: Snap Happy

I thought I'd take the time to share a few photos I took while visiting London:

Ai WeiWei's Sunflower Seeds

They make me happy! A mix from The Design Museum, The Tate Modern & The Millennium Bridge.