Roaming Rome: International Design Competition

Posted by Pereka:Designer / at 23:19 / / 0 comments

The magazine LivingRoome launch the Roaming Rome international design competition, in cooperation with the Messe Frankfurt Italia and in occasion of the Expò “Ambiente Italia” (Rome 6-8 June 2009)

Art 1. Contest Subject

The magazine Livingroome launch an international design competition, in cooperation with Messe Frankfurt - Ambiente Italia. Entries should present projects for :-

Accessories, object for travellers: technological, useful and emotional objects that independently on where we are will bring us in a place of memory. Objects addressed to the person and the place that will guest them.

Or

Set for little travel kit’s peddling and retailing (made using bike, scooter, Apecar, electric car) that, not on gadget logic, creates a new design’s micro-distribution.

In order to promote the idea of a “Moving” design, that moves with people or reach them in the house, in the streets, in all life’s moments.

We live in a period of continuous movement due to study, work and love, of continuous information flux and each person travelling carry, dream or desire “emotional” objects.

It’s the theme of the Travel Sculptures of Bruno Munari, but also of electronic objects, personal objects and much more to chew on.

“Nomadism” should be considered in relationship to the person that will be reached by moving, emotional objects. The revival of retailers using Apecar, rickshaw and other little means of transport, that even if produced by large retailer deny it with the aim of taking back districts.

Art.3 Contest Secretariat and Contact Information

Further information concerning participation in the competition may be requested to:

Segreteria del concorso Roaming Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 302, 00198 Rome

Phone: 0642903957

Mail to roaming@signdesignroma.it

Art.4 Prizes

The total amount of the prize monies is 10.000,00 Euro divided as follows:

a) Professional Category

1st prize 5.000 Euro

2nd prize 2.500 Euro

3rd prize 1.000 Euro

The commission will select projects it feels are worthy of special mention for display at a special exhibition that will take place in Rome during the 2010 edition of the Fair Ambiente Italia - Messe Frankfurt.

The Jury and LivingRoome Competition activities will include realization of several pre-competition prototypes.

b) Student Category

Prize 1.000 Euro

Also for this category the commission will select projects it feels are worthy of special mention for display at a special exhibition that will take place in Rome during the 2010 edition of the Fair Ambiente Italia - Messe Frankfurt.

Should the competition conclude without a ranking and without winners, due to there being no suitably meritorious projects, the jury may, at its final discretion, divide the prize money as it sees fit and distribute same among the designers whose projects it feels are worthy of special mention.

REGISTRATION:

Dead line 31 december 2009

SUBMIT MATERIAL:

Dead line 11 january 2010

CONTACT DETAILS:

Email:
Website:	http://www.signdesignroma.it/roaming_rom...

What Is Ecodesign?

Posted by Pereka:Designer / at 01:22 / / 0 comments

Ecodesign is a method of designing products that takes into account their impact on the environment at all stages of their life cycle. It may for example result in the choice of a recyclable or biodegradable material for packaging or the development of a washing powder effective in cold water to reduce the energy consumption of washing machines.

Ecodesign is an approach to design of a product with special consideration for the environmental impacts of the product during its whole lifecycle. In a life cycle assessment the life cycle of a product is usually divided into procurement, manufacture, use and disposal.

Design which addresses all environmental impacts of a product throughout the complete

lifecycle whilst maintaining other criteria (such as cost, quality and appearance.)

•Use less material

•Use materials with less environmental impact

•Use fewer resources

•Produce less pollution and waste

•Reduce the impacts of distribution

•Optimise functionality and service life

•Make re-use and recycling easier

•Reduce the environmental impact of disposal

Green Design By NYTimes.com

Posted by Pereka:Designer / at 01:16 / / 0 comments

Beyond Design, 10 Skills Designers Need to Succeed Now

Posted by Pereka:Designer / at 23:40 / / 0 comments

Article By: KEN MUSGRAVE,Tue Jul 14, 2009

Judging by the number of inquiries we've received lately there are quite a few recent graduates who have not landed that all-important first job in the profession. Of the few portfolios I've reviewed, it seems that this year's graduates continue the trend of improvement in skills and capabilities. That said, there are several attributes key to success that don't always get the attention they deserve in most design schools. Ultimately, those attributes will prove as important for a designer's success in today's economy as sheer design skill. Here are my top ten "strengths" that graduating designers--or any designers, for that matter--should bulk up on:

Passionate Curiosity: Continually explore and understand. More often this is a key differentiator between those who will make an impact and all the others.

Imagination: Bring ideas and opportunities together in ways that were not initially obvious. It can be a powerful and defining capability for a designer.

Objectivity & Self Awareness: Assess yourself and your work, and view yourself through the eyes of others with a realistic understanding of your capabilities.

Crisp Communication: Build credibility. Often the language of design is very different from the language of business. The ability to effectively communicate across the disciplines is critical for a designer to influence an organization.

Effective Storytelling: Fold and translate your ideas into the priorities of your client or organization.

Flawless Execution: Get things done. Long gone are the days in which a designer handed work off to a project team to figure out. (It was never a good modus operandi, anyway.) Today, a designer has to work with cross-functional teams to advance designs and shepherd them through to production--every step of the way.

Business Acumen: Create value in your markets. Effective designers need to understand how their businesses (or their clients) what role design can play to bring an advantage to their customers.

Global Awareness: There are really two aspects of to global awareness: understanding how changes around the world are affecting the customers and markets; and understanding that the talent pool for designers today is global.

Context: Bring ideas and designs to the table that are relevant by considering current economic, social and business trends.

Talent: Talent is intentionally last on this list. Having a real talent for design is as critical as it has ever been. However, talented designers are far more common than those designers who have real talent complimented with the attributes that are outlined above.

Ten years ago, this list would have been less than half as long. In ten more years I expect that the demands on the designer will be that much broader. To be effective, designers have to get out of their studios and more fully engage their organizations. So my final advice for new graduates is to use any free time while chasing your first job to sharpen your skills, build depth in your portfolio and add new capabilities to your toolbox. You should assume that the best of your peers are doing the same.

resource: http://bx.businessweek.com/business-innovation-by-design

As a Designer, Do We aware about ROD?

Posted by Pereka:Designer / at 00:06 / / 0 comments

As a Designer, We are aware about creative and inventive works or ideas. When we do the design work, we are trying to focus more on aesthetic value, creativity and functionally of our design works. But do us conscious about the ‘ROD’ on our design. What is ‘ROD’?

ROD is a short terminology of Return-On-Design. It is actually similar with the terminology of Return-On-Investment (ROI).

Why, we as a designer need to aware about ROD? Yes, in my opinion as a Designer, ROD is a part of our scopes of work. If we want to use our title as " Designer",then it is not enough for us to just concentrate only on creative activity and artworks task. We, as a designer need to conscious and know about management, economy and business matters as well as we have to take account of our design activity to think about the cost, time and revenue for us as a designer and ROD for our client. In Design business, ROD is one of the powerful weapons to persuade the client on our Designs works. Clients normally want to know what they will get in return if they want to appoint or use us as their design advisor or consultant

.
Writer: S.Fahmi Yusoff, Bizarreka Design

Here,I found useful article in Q&As format about ROD, wrote by Chief Thinker, ReZonant , Issue BG98 May09

What is Return-on-Design?

Return-on-Design (ROD) refers to benefits that businesses enjoy through their investments in design. However, returns could be positive or negative depending on the design or lack of deployed. To help sustain a positive design process, it is necessary to consistently measure the ROD. For example, is the new website design that your marketing manager got done delivering new tangible leads?

Who could use this measurement process?

Virtually any business that has invested in design-related activities could set up a process to receive metrics. For example, a large FMCG company would regularly use feedback mechanisms to get information from end-users and retail managers.

Where can one observe greater ROD?

The simplest answer would be any product or service that involves user interaction. A commonplace example is that of a bus-stop. A well-designed bus-stop would not only help deliver a better experience to users but also keep them in a frame of mind that makes them receptive to advertisements played in the bus-stop, thus generating more returns for the advertiser. And in turn the bus corporation. It is a win-win for all.

Should you worry about measuring ROD even before you think of a design project?

Would you not measure and assess the past performance of mutual funds before investing in them? Then why would you ignore a critical component of your marketing and possibly product features? The sooner one sets up mechanisms to get metrics on the outcome of your design investment, the easier it gets to provide a comprehensive brief to your design team.

What are the types of design that one can measure returns on?

Examples would be product design, graphic design, online design, environmental graphics, corporate re-branding, advertising and perhaps even architecture. Buildings that are designed to save energy provide accurate metrics over a long-term on the quantity of savings achieved and help set parameters for design of future spaces.

How can one measure ROD?

At a basic level, investors in design could set specific targets based on previous performance of their product and get metrics before and after the design process is implemented. The best metrics are your sales figures. If you see a dramatic jump is your topline post the design exercise, a large part of the credit could go to the re-design. For example, the design of bags of potato chips plays a significant part in creating a brand out of 50 gram packets of the snack.

What is the key to measuring ROD successfully?

The single most important aspect of measuring ROD could be the isolated analysis of design attributes from other business attributes. This could get tricky but quite possible. For example, if you wish to measure the success of your newly designed business card, it is important to see how customers react to cards given by various people in your organization. A true metric can be obtained, if one were to isolate the fact that recipients of your card may not give a completely impartial observation to someone higher-up in the management as compared to someone who is a trainee.

Can design help build turnover growth?

In many businesses, design is critical not just to promote the product but increase usability itself. Apple products typically achieve tremendous PR just because of the products themselves. Design can sometimes cause dramatic and exponential growth in turnover and volume. However the same yardstick may not apply to all businesses.

Can ROD be achieved in context to employees?

In an increasingly insecure global business environment, the thin line between the success and failure of organizations could be their people. Design could be used as a tool to engage and secure key talent that will help businesses tide over difficult times. A simple example is an employee feedback form that could be fabricated to look like a hotel registration form with humour built in. Or a certificate that has a caricature of the employee receiving it.

There may be many more methods that businesses could devise themselves to measure ROD. If you treat design as a vital extension of your business and foresee significant investments in the middle to long-term, it is imperative that systems to measure performance of design investments are in place. It may not be a bad idea to begin your metrics with a small mechanism such as a response form and scale it gradually along with your design investments.

-source:http://www.businessgyan.com-

What Is Wayfinding?

Posted by Pereka:Designer / at 14:18 / / 0 comments

Wayfinding is a process in which people navigate an environment. At its simplest, wayfinding simply involves getting from one place to another, but it can encompass everything from walking down the street to the post office to navigating utterly unfamiliar waters. Wayfinding requires an ability to orient oneself within a space, using cues from the surrounding environment to gather information about location. Many people use this term specifically to refer to indigenous navigational methods such as those used by the Polynesians, but wayfinding can be practiced by anyone, and with the use of any tools.

This term was coined in the 1960s, and it was initially used in discussions of urban environments. In cities, people rely heavily on cues placed by other people for wayfinding, using street signs, directional signs, and major landmarks to orient themselves and reach desired destinations. Over time, the term came to be used in reference to navigating every environment, with some people claiming the term to talk about traditional navigational methods.

People can wayfind with maps, compasses, sextants, observations of the sun and stars, and the use of environmental cues like signs, rivers and streams, and major natural landmarks such as mountains and forests. With wayfinding skills, it is difficult to be lost, as the traveller will know where he or she is at any given point in time, and the traveller should also be able to correctly identify the path which must be taken in order to reach a destination.

Some people are naturally skilled at wayfinding, and they can hone their skills with practice in a wide variety of environments. Other people struggle with the concept, often finding themselves lost or confused in new environments. Wayfinding consultants may offer advice and information about effective signage and other communications to ensure that people are not lost in built environments, and some consultants also work as teachers, leading workshops to teach wayfinding skills.

Finding the way from one place to another can be an adventure in and of itself. Some people enjoy using more traditional methods of navigation to get around, while others may prefer to rely on global positioning satellites (GPS) and other modern tools to find their way. Both techniques are a form of wayfinding, although traditional navigational practices often require more experience and skill. People who are interested in learning about the use of traditional navigational tools can take classes and workshops which provide access to such tools, along with the training to use them.

-sources, wisegeek.com -

‘Wayfinding’ is about communicating the right information at the right place and creating an integrated wayfinding system for pedestrians, riders and drivers. It is about getting from A to B and on to C as easily and efficiently as possible with the aid of clear, accurate, high quality information.
S.Fahmi, BizarrekaDesign

Wayfinding isn't just about signs, it covers a wide range of environmental and behavioral factors that can affect people’s ability to interpret and navigate the world around them. Wayfinding plays an important role in how an organisation addresses its users, and how those users perceive the organisation.

Nik.M.S.A, BizarrekaDesign

Poor wayfinding will create frustration and disorientation and will reflect poorly on the Organisation. Retail sites will lose customers, passengers will miss connections, patients will be late for appointments and staff will lose productivity.

Nik.M.S.A, BizarrekaDesign

Architectural Wayfinding Design

Architectural Wayfinding Design and Information Wayfinding Design are mutually reinforcing and complementary design strategies for creating successful wayfinding systems, which require the collaboration of architects, graphic designers, and management to achieve coordination of internal building and external site design features. Architectural wayfinding design addresses the built components of wayfinding design, including spatial planning, articulation of form giving features, circulation systems, and environmental communication.

Imp o r t a n c e

Successful wayfinding design is integral to universal design because it fosters easy comprehension and use of built entities (region, city, neighbourhood, building, park, landscape feature). It includes overall spatial organization of the setting, articulation of form-giving features, individual architectural and environmental features, and information provision.

Design of building features can assist users to find their way and maintain their sense of orientation, factors that contribute substantially to their satisfaction and frequency of use of a built setting.

Good wayfinding design is directed at the broad universe of users: people with a variety of perceptual abilities, bilingual or multi-lingual populations, children and aging users. Global population trends have stimulated new interest in providing for reduced abilities related to aging in universal design generally, such as reduced visual ability,memory loss, physical deterioration (reduced endurance, strength, and balance, requiring motorized compensation in fast-moving environments like airline terminals.

Wayfinding strategies should communicate effectively to the broadest group possible, including people with a wide range of sensory, physical, language and intellectual abilities; social and cultural backgrounds; age, gender, and stature differences.


-sources, Bizarreka Design (2009) -