One more link for today...

Some good points and opinions on being a creative consultant on the CoreBoards.

Eventually I do have the desire to start my own service(s). Multiple disciplines...to keep me occupied...and to keep it fresh :) ...My time will come. Just need to gather up all the usable info I can...and one day capitalize!

Bullseye

Yikes...producers of reality TV will do ANYTHING
...Sucks to be that guy!

So Bob and I are 1-1 in dart games today. I hope to get over .500 before I leave for the day. I can FEEL it! He won the last one though:

Not as popular as the camera

Decent write up here

And then a total trashing here ...Link courtesy of Craig

lol...ya win some...ya lose some :) Not everyone liked the new XBOX 360 either...At least I got a decent new photo for the portfolio!

Theme of Density

Working on some Xmas 05 cards. Not quite satisfied yet...so I'll keep at it. They started off with the idea of using a density of circles or pixels to simluate the shapes I wanted. Sort of giving that "techno" feel when viewed more closely. That evolved into using that density for snow...which I think works well...combined with the playful triangles making up the trees. Just have to play with the effect and pattern a bit more:

more detail:

Sign

So are Milk Dud's made in Hershey, PA...or Japan?

CycloCross!

Helped the Team today...in setting up and manning the last CycloCross race of the season at the fairgrounds. Great turnout...some true "hard-men". Awesome sport...but the season is too far into the cold to get me to do it. I am definitely NOT a cold weather rider. Anyway, had a fun time...I already miss riding!
Beautiful grounds in Augusta for the race:

The start of the Junior race:

The MUD-Trap!

One of the many tight switchbacks:

Hustle!

Livestrong

Today was a day to help one of our cancer survivor friends decorate for the holidays. For years he has had "the pinnacle" of winter wonderlands in his yard...and is usually featured in his local paper. This year he hopes to still be number 1 as far as Morris County is concerned :) (Picture the Griswold house from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation...well, ok...not that crazy!)

Good day chatting with friends and helping one man achieve his vision. He successfully battled lung cancer a few years ago...and its amazing to see how well he is doing now :)

Livestrong!

Crowds

I wonder if there will ever come a time when I feel the NEED to shop on black Friday. Physically go to the store...and buy gifts. Its just hilarious to watch these psycho's on tv or online to be the first in line on Friday morning. Hey, I'm all for a good deal...but is it really worth the hassle? Just embrace the comforts of technology letting you easily order from home! Wouldn't want any Cabbage Patch doll riots from the 80's to return! Or maybe it would be entertaining to once again see Mom's slugging it out in Toys'R'Us for the rights to the last one on the shelf!

Storytime

Hung out with Quin today

Gotta love those stories :)

Came to the conclusion that after taking doxycycline antibiotic for 5 weeks, Rosacea is not the cause of my scalp itch. Supposedly this would have helped the situation...but didn't. So the search continues as to what it could be. 4 years later I am getting closer...but still left without an answer. Seborrhea dermatitis is the next suspect...but unfortunately there is no cure. Fun fun :(

Pulled a Johnny Mac

Yesterday I had the absolute worst tennis match...EVER! OMG I was so frustrated. And you know what...I totally lost my cool. I should have realized the signs early on. The opponent I was playing was very "glassy-eyed" and lazy-eyed when casual talking before the match. Little did I know he'd end up calling EVERY ball out that was even close to the line...WTF! So within the second game after him calling out a second serve (that was CLEARLY in) I lost it. So out of character...but I basically said:

"Dude, no way...I don't meant to be a bitch...but you're giving me a another second serve...or I'm walking out. How the HELL could you call that out?"

He gave me a second serve. On the change over I apologized...and we were ok. So after the match he says:
"Yeah, the lighting in here sometimes screws me up (no shit asshole). I wear contacts, occasionally have double vision, and have astigmatism."

Dude, WHAT THE HELL!?!?! You should not even be playing tennis like that. No wonder you were calling everything out. Thanks for ruining my night.

But on my end, I think I could have played tons better...but I guess those two glasses of wine during lunch did nothing but hinder my playing...ugh!

Should have downed more of my Mountain Dew:

Depeche Mode!!!

Pretty excited! Got tickets for Depeche Mode @ MSG on December 8th! A little before my time...but they've done some great recent work. First album I purchased of their's was Ultra. That kind of got me hooked...and then got into some of their earlier stuff. If I could sing...I'd want the voice of David Gahan.

Auto Concepts

Some WILD, funky sketch concepts from auto studios in Cali for the LA Auto Show Design challege. LOVE that first Audi rendering!

And if you read the comments at the bottom...one is by Ravi Sawhney, president of RKS design. Could be someone posing as him...but maybe not :)

Center for Creative Success

No pics to post...but had a great lecture at Kean. By the way...the new building I spoke at is really called "Center for Creative Success". I wonder which is more cheezy...that or "New Engineering Building" at VT.

Positive feedback from some neophyte IDer's. They had NEVER had a product designer speak to them before...so hopefully I represented ID well. I was a little offended by the kid in the front row texting from time to time. But I definitely got his attention (and kept it) after looking him in the eye...pointing to my photoshop rendering...and saying:

"Dude, if you can't do this when you graduate...you will NEVER get a job..."

BlackHorse Taven for lunch tomorrow...compliments of Studer-san! Something tells me it will be a loooooooooong lunch break.

Tennis tomorrow night...supposed to play some guy named Craig. After a few weeks of paying non-membership prices...I received a tip to say that I AM a member. They won't question it...and give me the discount. Lets hope the spacy high school kid working the desk last week is there again :)

Lecture Time

So last week I was asked by Kean Univesity's design department to give a talk on product design. For the most part a general overview of my experiences, the company I work for...and how to document a project from beginning to end. Although I "kind of" do a lecture every week when I teach...this is a little different in that I can directly communicate my opinions on industrial design to the students. Should be fun. Not nervous at all now...but we'll see 5 minutes before the the lecture begins :)

Used my company's general layout for the presentation...since most of the projects belong to them. And added in some new flavor. Hope it equated to a good response. Now comes the decision on what to wear. Semi-casual blazer w/ jeans? Or the more proper suit, no tie preferred.

The progress:

Last Hurrah

The time of year has come again where I have to put the sports car in hibernation for the winter. One last cruise for fun! Absolutely beautiful day today so it was well worth it. Explored some new roads which would be great for cycling in the spring. All for now...

X marks the spot:


Lake Montana:


Say "bye bye"

Chinese Design

Pretty cool and lengthy article about Chinese design on Business Week's website:

Nice that they profiled a few designers and made mention to actual numbers of designers on staff at places like Lenovo and Haier. For some reason I always find it fascinating to see what other designers are doing...and the story that goes along with them:

How does an american and up at a company like Lenovo?
What was the path they took to get there...and to end up in China?
Am I missing out on something?
Or is it all in my mind thinking that working at an electronics giant is the way to go...

After taking part in the CES show last year...the Chinese are definitely making progress. I'd love to visit one day to put a visual in my mind of what it is REALLY about.

In progress

Tonight we'll be finishing up some ortho's in class...and continue onto some perspective sketch layouts for the concepts. I must say that I was a bit disappointed in the beginning. Mostly due to the fact that there were no ID students in the class. But suprisingly all the interior designers have shown some healthy interest in the product design projects we've been doing.

There's been some awesome for development recently...and some excellent communication of surfaces...and what they are doing. Guess I finally got my contour lines lesson plan right this semester!
Some orthos and stuff:

Similarity

Opened the new Innovation magazine today to find an article on an open MR scanner designed by Philips...promoting a less claustrophobic product and friendly overall experience. Some pics in the article focus on children...and having a device like this give off appeal and not seem so menacing. Funny, because a few months ago while researching hand held electronics, I came across this baby monitor by Philips. Same sort of overall design language...and soft colors catering to children.

Of course most of these diagnostic scanners looks similar...driven by a sort of orbital shape with the intersection of a bed. But it seems on the recent Philips model, the form is softened...making it a bit more approachable. Just kind of funny how it visually relates to a consumer children's product :)

Anyway, just a cool similarity I noticed...pics below:

Revamping

Whoa...whats wrong with me! Haven't updated this thing in forever. Been busy with work, teaching, and other stuff. Like.........working on revamping the portfolio. I was struggling with it forever...format, what projects, page layouts. Finally this past weekend I was able to knock out quite a bit of progress.

So after countless hours of what to do...I decided on having a few subdivisions for consumer, medical/commercial, promotional, and conceptual. Hoping to get away from my student portfolio...I will be relying on the content of the new ones. So, depending on who I am showing these to, I can cater the discipline of product design that is most suiting.

Never know what the next opportunity will arise...and I will be ready! Sneak peek: