Dimensional Innovations

This was probably the most interesting trip to date. The company designs almost entire aspects and cultures of stores and restaurants, almost acting as a brand consultant. They tend to cater to large companies and schools/colleges. Recent examples include Fork and Screen seating for AMC Studios and certain light fixtures for a disclosed college.

They make almost anything that the client wants from almost anything the client wants. A material that they focused on the most was a plastic alloy that was used for many furniture fixtures such as desks, tables, chairs, and cabinets. The material is seamless and easy to clean while coming in different colors.

Since the company works with almost every type of material, their tools and practices were varied. Machines worth mentioning were a large Bending machine that tool metal and bent it to the proper angle despite the complexity of the shape. They also possessed a tool that curved metal and plastic into defined shapes.

This was the most enjoy able trip to date. The facility was beautiful and the people giving the tours were knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. They all seemed to enjoy their jobs and they seemed to enjoy the fact that they got to work on their own pet projects.

Film: Design And Thinking

During this film, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming flood of what seemed to be knocking. Pounding even, of a hammer slowly drawing its way skyward only to slam harshly down onto the moral and prospects collecting above my head. I understand the importance of these films and lessons, but I (and I'm sure others as well) have been taught this since I was a child. While it was interesting to see the minds behind these different companies speak, they all seemed to have the relative same opinion on how things should be done, which again, is the way we've been taught since showing interest in design.

Also, that guy who oh so subtly didn't want to say he worked with Steve Jobs sure talked a lot about how great it was to work with Steve Jobs. I understand that people have their heroes and working with those heroes is awesome, but he comes off sounding "holier-than-thou" and like a pretentious prick.

METAL DESCRIPTIONS

Ferrous Alloy- Metals that contain Iron. - Mild Steel, Carbon Steel, Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Wrought Iron

Non Ferrous Alloy- Metals that don't contain Iron. -  Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Silver, Lead

Iron - Strong hard magnetic silver grey metal. Atomic Number 26, FE.

Steel- A hard gray alloy of iron, carbon, and often other elements.

Aluminum Alloy- Alloys in which aluminum is the majority metal. Often mixed with tin, zinc, manganese, copper, and magnesium.

Magnesium Alloy- Mixtures of magnesium with other metals usually, aluminum, zinc, silicon, copper, zirconium, or other rare earth metals.

Titanium Alloy- Mixtures of titanium and other chemical elements. They are usually light in wight and are resistant to corrosive substances and high temperatures.

Zinc Alloy- Zinc dominant metal mixed with bronze, nickle silver, brass, etc. Often used for electrical fuses, anodes, meter cases, roofing, etc. Atomic Number 30.

Copper Alloy- Alloy that is mostly copper. Used to make brass, bronze, cupronickle, aluminum bronze, and constantan.

Nickel Alloy- You've probably guessed it by now, its an alloy that - that's right- main base metal is nickel. This is mostly a section for metals like - Monel Metal, Nichrome, and Permalloy.

Lead and Tin Alloy- Oh man, almost done. These two group are separated on the percentage of the alloying material. tin is a soft metal used in soft alloys while lead is soft and malleable and often a cause of illnessess to humans. Lead is mostly unused in common manufacturing practices.

Precious Metals - OH MAN. THE LAST ONE. AREN'T YOU STOKED!? Precious metals are materials that have high values which are often related to their rarity. These include gold, silver, iridium, rhodium, palladium and platinum and almost all of them are used in electronics and other technology based manufacturing.

Chapter 2 Reflection Paragraph

This chapter felt like a grand "Too Long; Didn't Read" of the entirety of Industrial Design. ID is more than just drawing pretty things, its about function. A car isn't just steel, its motors and electronics, and alloys. Products have brands and brands have to be kept in mind. Blah blah blah, yada yada yada. It's a synopsis of the field. They give some examples like innovation of watches to show how times change with technologies and interests, but it felt unnecessary, as if I already knew that. Like it was common sense. They gave a little talk about modern technologies such as phones and their importance and how things might change in the future. I kind of felt like this chapter was all common sense. Sorry.

Chapter 1 Reflection Paragraph

It's an intro chapter. What do you want me to say? They talk about the importance of design in the growing, expanding world and how it is important that we understand the gravity of the profession. Materials are a thing to be knowledgeable of so we see them as something beyond a list of numbers on a piece of paper. They then talk about their backgrounds and where they come from. I can't really have an opinion enough to reflect upon it.

Field Trip Zahner

Zahner is a local Kansas City design shop that focuses on creating signs, signage, and artwork for buildings in the Kansas City area and around the world.
Materials they often used were steel,  aluminum, various woods, plastics, and even electrical components.

They use the rather obvious tool sets such as CNC Machine, band saw, metal press, paint gun, sand blaster, and my favorite, the water cutter.

Over all, this is probably the worst tour we've been on. Our tour guide sped through it, talking rater quietly, and wasn't the most informed. It was extremely secretive and closed off with a "guard" following us around, making sure we stayed on track and didn't take pictures. My favorite moment was probably seeing the huge room at the back of the shop where they created the larger pieces. It lead to an Aha moment as well, with me actually knowing that they really do make large pieces indoors.

Sketches of Frank Gehry

Watching this after critiques was probably one of the worst ideas ever. Spending four stressful weeks working on my piece of shit lamp all built up to a 3.5 hour critique just so we can skip lunch, trek across campus, and sit in a dank, humid, stuffy library room and watch a movie about one of the most important architectural minds of all time.

The film itself was interesting in the way it was shot, often using real footage of the man working, showing his creative process, and showing the buildings being constructed all while having intertwining interviews and behind the scenes talks. The film found a way to humanize such a monumental figure which I found really interesting, yet at the same time, certain aspects made me question why so many people thought he would be famous.

He told the story of his Rabbi/ Sunday school teacher commending his artwork and how many thought he had golden hands. Yet, when you looked at any of his drawings, even his recent work, it looks like a mound of scribbles. And its' not even an elegant or beautiful mound of scribbles.