Readymade News

An Illustrated Weekly World of Design, 30 June 2009

 

The Sustainer is a unique solution to produce fuel and electricity in remote rural areas, for example in the African countryside where only 5 to 20 percent of the population have electricity. In many of these situations, access to energy would facilitate development, higher productivity and better education. Moreover, locally available resources can be used instead of expensive imports. 

Says Jan Hein Hoitsma: 'The Sustainer is a containerised installation which can be used in rural areas to convert oil-bearing crops and seeds into edible oil and biodiesel. The seeds are stored in an integrated bunker which feeds the oil press. After the oil has been extracted, it is then refined into edible oil or it can be used as raw material for the biodiesel process. The 'press cake' by-product can be used as livestock feed. Many nuts have shells/husks which can be used as fuel for cooking. An integrated tank unit allows for the biodiesel to be directly dispensed into, for instance, diesel vehicles. The Sustainer is fitted with 4 wind turbines and its side panels consist of foldable solar panels which generate electricity. The electricity can be supplied directly to the grid or can be stored/buffered in a battery pack which can, for instance, provide electricity in the evenings or at night. The Sustainer is also fitted with a 25 kVA generator which runs on diesel or biodiesel and which guarantees a constant supply of electricity. The availability of electricity can make life more comfortable in many areas - just think of a refrigerator, lighting and a computer.' Via Innovation Africa. 

On the topic of sustainable energy, there is continuing support for large farms of solar panels in the Sahara desert that could provide clean electricity for the whole of Europe, according to EU scientists working on a plan to pool the region's renewable energy. The Desertec Foundation is proposing to erect 100 GW of concentrating solar power plants throughout Northern Africa. 

   

We have mentioned OXO before, more known for ergonomic kitchen tools. Now they have used their universal design expertise to innovate the medical syringe, a design that has not changed much in 40 years. The Cimzia pre-filled syringe uses several smart improvements to improve ease of use; a non-slip finger grip, over sized plunger and thumb pad, an oval syringe barrel magnifies graduation and a rounded finger loop for easy removal of pull cap. Via Core77 and Fastcompany. 

The 29th of June was World Industrial Design Day. 'This international day of observance is celebrated in order to raise awareness about the benefits of industrial design in improving our quality of life' icsid.

Plakkies are flip flops using recycled car tires for the soles, an initiative between KidsRights and students of the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft. The result is fashionable footwear made by economically disadvantaged people in KwaZulu Natal. 'A special factory was established to facilitate the project with the aim to offer permanent employment in one of the most socially and economically neglected parts of South Africa. The factory now employs 70 untrained residents from slum areas, many of whom are infected with HIV. This job offers them a chance to rebuild their lives, often after years of unemployment' Design.nl. 

Other news from the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering of the Delft University of Technology has developed an industrial design reference wiki; Wikid. Wikid aims to be a design tool, it has 142 articles so far, ranging from design theories to methods and techniques. Via Product Design Hub. 

Between 10 and 5 reports on the final three applicants for the 2009 South African International Young Design Entrepreneur (IYDE) award. The finalists are Given Gugulethu Nkuna, Majolandile Andile Dyalvane and Ricky Lee Gordon. The South African winner will join 8 - 10 other finalists who will visit the UK in September 2009 to undertake a common program where they will take part in valuable networking both with key UK design sector partners and amongst their IYDE peers. The tour will include elements of the London Design Festival program – openings, seminars, and events - concluding at 100% Design.

An Illustrated Weekly World of Design, 09 June 2009

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News from the DMY Berlin Design Festival 09, Oskar Zieta has produced the Fidu bench which can be manufactured in lengths of 400 to 3000mm using metal sheets, CNC production and fidu technology (free inside pressure forming).

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Nils Holger Moormann has cleverly designed the knotted table, using wood, iron and rope the construction appears simple and elegant. Via Spotd.it.

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Forbes recently did a piece; Trendsetters: Industrial Design that covers designers from multiple disciplines, from pure industrial design to furniture and even Shai Agassi is mentioned. The piece is about designers who capture a "forward way of thinking" that reflects longevity rather than quick disposal. Jonathan Ives is of course mentioned for the influential designs he has worked on for Apple.  

 

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Core77 reports on 12 concepts phones from Motorola, the ideas come from 31 of Motorola's designers, from five different offices around the globe, who have been dedicating a portion of their time since late last year to a project called "Motorola 2033", resulting in a curious set of research-based blue sky concepts rooted in some fantastical, yet plausible suppositions.

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More on the development of the next big thing, Smartbooks are smaller than netbooks yet larger than smart phones. Freescale Semiconductor has commissioned six prototypes, ranging from the touchscreen-slate-with-QWERTY-ears to a modular mini-notebook and a leather-clad clamshell. Seems like these are simply new forms of MIDs (mobile internet device).

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Via Designboom, Google Sketchup and The Guggenheim have partnered to launch DESIGNIT, a virtual architecture competition which ‘invites the public to use Google earth and Google Sketchup to
create and submit designs for virtual 3-d shelters for a location of their choice anywhere on earth'. Architecture for Humanity is adding an unofficial 3rd prize, the Purpose Prize which urges people to "add a social component to the competition by selecting a community that could utilize your design to improve their living standard.It can be a homeless family in New York, a displaced group in Northern Sri Lanka or a refugee camp in Chad. Bonus points for incorporating off the grid technology. Let's shine a light on the basic human right of shelter for all." Good idea.

Stay tuned next week for some very exciting news.

An Illustrated Weekly World of Design, 12 May 2009

We are now publishing An Illustrated Weekly World of Design on Tuesdays. This week we are looking at examples of design for development.

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Kickstart is one of the most successful examples of using design and a solid business model to improve farmers earning capabilities. Kickstart employs a 5 step process for a systematic approach to end poverty.

1. Identify Opportunities; what business will be profitable for these people in this place? Selecting the right business model is the most critical factor in determining the likely success of a new business.
2. Design Products; what tools will make this possible? We start with a challenge, design a tool that will generate income.
3. Establish a Supply Chain; how can we produce these? The greatest invention cannot change the world if it does not get manufactured and distributed.
4. Develop the Market; how do we convince someone with little money to make a big investment? We want to get as many people out of poverty as possible.
5. Measure and Move Along; is this going as we planned? Once we reach the tipping point, KickStart will make a profit on every sale. We will reinvest these to develop new technologies.

Perhaps more interesting from a design point of view is Kickstart's design criteria.

1. Income Generating. Every tool must have a profitable business model attached to it.
2. Return on Investment. Anyone who purchases a KickStart tool will be able to fully recoup his or her investment in six months or less.
3. Affordability. The tool has to be affordable to the target audience.  Since we are designing for some of the world’s poorest people, this means that retail prices have to be less than a few hundred dollars, ideally less than $150.
4. Energy-Efficient. All of our tools are human powered so they must be extremely efficient at converting human power to mechanical power.
5. Ergonomics and Safety. Our tools must be safe to use for long periods of time without stress or injury.
6. Portability. Tools must be small and light enough to carry home from the store by foot, bike or minibus.
7. Ease of Installation and Use. All of our products must be easy to set up and use, without additional training or requiring any additional tools (not even a hammer or screwdriver).
8. Strength and Durability. We are asking people to make a significant investment and we know that our products will be pushed to their limits, so we design and build to withstand abuse.  We then offer a one-year guarantee on all of our products.
9. Design for Manufacturing. To be truly effective, a tool has to be produced in large quantities, but in the developing world manufacturing capacity is limited. We design around these limitations.
10. Cultural Acceptability. Local culture will not change to adopt a new technology.  The technology has to be adapted to the culture.

Ideo was involved in the design of the Money Maker Deep Lift Pump, see some of their other Social Impact projects here.

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D.Light is one of the success stories from Stanford's Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability course.  D.Light's mission is to 'replace every kerosene lantern in the world with high quality and affordable light and power solutions, thereby providing everyone access to a basic human need: safe and bright light.' Read more about the D.Light story on Sam Goldman's blog.

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Another project from Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability is  3 Brick Design, designing affordable cook stoves for the developing world. The project blog describes the design process where the team has developed and is testing prototypes.

 

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Great design can come from anywhere; Mrs Mujonjo from Uganda made a mobile phone charger using 5 D size batteries and the charging cable. Via Afrigadget.

An Illustrated Weekly World of Design, 14 April 2009

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Via Core77, the Fiat 500 has been named 2009 World Car Design of the Year.  '[The 500 has] heart-warming style. It is genuine, straightforward, without gimmicks. It is a welcome addition to a car world full of non-humanistic designs.'

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More car news; a novel partnership between Segway and GM has produced the P.U.M.A concept vehicle, this 2 seater is aimed for networked city people. . And an interview with Shai Agassi on TED, Shai is the person behind Better Place which is working to build an electric car network using available technology.

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Be sure to check out Going with the Grain Challenge, 'The Going with the Grain Challenge is to design an original and compelling object that can be made from a single sheet of FSC-certified plywood measuring 4-feet x 8-feet x 1-inch.' For inspiration see the 4X8 Workshop Fab Lab BCN from 2007, Keijii Design, Unto This Last and of course Ponoko.

 

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From CherryFlava; a new product aimed at reducing the number of shack fires; the Britelite Candleholder, which has been designed by Steinhobel Design.

       

An Illustrated Weekly World of Design, 23 March 2009

The 22nd of March was World Water Day,  water is a crucial resource now and by 2030 the demand for water will increase by 30% reports the BBC. Here are some designs that are tackling the challenge in developing countries.

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Worldchanging has published a post that include some of their past articles, including stories related to the Lifestraw.

"Half of the world's poor suffer from waterborne disease, and nearly 6,000 people - mainly children - die each day by consuming unsafe drinking water.

LifeStraw® water purifiers have been developed as a practical way of preventing disease and saving lives, as well as achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water by the year 2015." Vestergaard-Frandsen.

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The PlayPump is a innovative solution that uses the power generated from children using a merry-go-round to pump water into a storage tank, by 2010 there should be 4000 PlayPumps in operation. 

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The Hippo Roller has been redesigned by the San Francisco chapter of Project H, the new design  improves shipping efficiency by 250% by using a 2 part nesting capsule. See more of the design process here.

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Last month saw the finalists of the INDEX: I AIGA Aspen Design Challenge announced, one of the finalist is Martin Bolton's Improved Ceramic Filter for Rural Households because "it addresses problems with form and functionality in an existing product that is widely used". Martin is a student from the University of Johannesburg, his entry takes the existing Potpaz water filter and proposes a number of design solutions to create a similar, more ergonomic filter that works more effectively in the environment that it was designed for. See his entry here (will download pdf). 

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IDEO's contribution to water related design includes the Aquaduct "a pedal-powered concept vehicle that transports, filters, and stores water. It is designed to address water sanitation and transportation in the developing world." IDEO have also partnered with MoneyMaker pumps and Acumen Fund, see what they are doing here and here.

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In other design news, a review of Objectified by Kicker Studio and Luke Wroblewki's notes:

• "Every object tells a story if you know how to read it" -Henry Ford
• "What we need to do to design is to look at the extremes. The middle will take care of itself." -Dan Formosa
• "People react positively when things are clear and understandable." -Dieter Rams
• "A lot of what we are doing is getting design out of the way." -Jonathan Ive
• "Often our hardest job is to remove remove remove." -Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec
• "My job as a designer is to look into the future. Not to use any frame of reference that exists" -Marc Newson
• "I always try to bring multiple layers to a product so it is a puzzle you uncover." -Hella Jongerius
• "I like the concept of wearing in instead of wearing out." -Bill Moggridge
• "Design needs to be plugged into human behavior. Design dissolves in behavior." -Naoto Fukasawa

Lastly, the guys over at Fablab Soshanguve have launched a blog, good luck!

An Illustrated Weekly of World Design, 23 February 2009

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Drawing is a very effective tool for communicating ideas and can range from a simple napkin sketch to a finished render. IDSKETCHING.COM is a great collection of videos, tips and images from designers such as Rob Jensen and Marek Simko. More Syd Mead here and here.

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Very nice idea via Inhabitat, rechargeable batteries with solar cells. Knut Karlsen has been prototyping SunCat batteries, which circumvent chargers completely by integrating solar cells within the batteries themselves. Continuing with solar power news, ZTE announced the world’s first low-cost solar-powered mobile phone, good news for many people living without reliable electricity globally. HT ICT4D.

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In electric car news; Nissan suspends electric vehicle plans and Ford charges ahead. Toshiba and Volkswagen announced that they will be working together to develop electric drive units for VW’s new family of innovative small cars, via Alternative Energy News.

 

Via Putting People First, How to Keep Innovating is an article by Bill Buxton  where he outlines some tips to keep innovating, 'remember, you can learn from anyone'. 

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Ending off with South African furniture design; the Nguni Chair from Vogel Living design, marries traditional construction and local visual cues, via Elle Decoration.

An Illustrated Weekly World of Design, 16 February 2009

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We start off with a feel good article about graphic design before computers came along and made design faster and easier. Michael Beirut writes about late nights and sharp knives in The New York Times.

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Drawing is an art, there are some designers who are good at it and others are great, have a look at Rhys Newman and Wil Freeborn for inspiration and what can be done with a small sketchbook and basic tools.

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The top 50 entries are up as Greener Gadgets returns this year. So far Bware is in the lead.

'Bware is a small water meter device made for purpose of knowing how much water you use. The aim of a device such the Bware is to get people to be aware of the water they use and to try to educate them to save this valued natural resource.'

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Samsung's Blue Earth mobile phone will prove to be a hit with anybody who uses thier phone a lot or does not have reliable electricity. The touch screen phone is not only solar powered but it is made from recycled plastic called PCM, which is extracted from water bottles. Not bad for this device manufacturer. Via Inhabitat.

 

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Tesla Motors have released a teaser picture of the Model S. The sedan will be much cheaper than the Roadster and the company plans to unveil a running prototype of the Model S on March 26. HT Re*Move.

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Clive Roux has a new site; mygreenbrand. A Challenge to the Design Community is a must read.

Architecture for Humanity launches

Cameron Sinclair's TED project "Architecture for Humanity" is due to launch any day now. Dave Tait sends in this accompanying link, along with Tasos Calantzis' words on his meeting with Sinclair at Design Indaba in Cape Town last month.

'The objective is to arm communities to leapfrog current Developed World technology with integrated, appropriate, localized responses. The key is to blur the line between the clients (the victims) and designers.

You do this by immersion, for example in India AfH does the design reviews and creative sessions with the entire community in a big hall. Recognize that locals are very savvy, especially about their own problems. Sustainability may be a new thing for the West but 90% of the world lives sustainably because they have no other option.

Always make sure you achieve an immediate, visible impact when you start your work with a community. There’s a long history of broken promises in the NGO field that you need to overcome fast.'

South African expertise in newly emerging markets

From The Washington Post's recent article on South African investments - to the tune of over USD 2 Billion last year, far greater than China's in ZA - in China and their success in building market share and brands,

The company learned from operating in less-developed African markets how to use radio, billboards and corporate sponsorships to promote its products. That gave it an edge against European brewers that came to China with expansion plans based on building new breweries and advertising mainly on television.

"We were better at that stuff," Parker said.

What I find fascinating, since I'd never given it a thought before, is that its the exact same situation that I had experienced in India, when the market first opened up to multinationals in 1994 -1996. I worked for McCann Erickson Worldwide at the time, with the integrated marketing services division. While I had some minor print advertising clients before, they were usually because advertising was just a very small part of their bigger promotions strategies or if they clashed with an existing McCann client.

And I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't the same situation today in India, exacerbated by the surge in urban households now connected to the internet. Fragmentation across hundreds of cable channels, usually run as small as a couple of apartment complexes or a particular neighbourhood. How on earth do you advertise?

And so in China.

Other things that South African companies have learnt that make them particularly good in developing markets, in snippets,

Antonie Roux, a top Naspers executive based in Bangkok, said experience in the less-developed parts of Africa taught company executives a brand of patience and deference to local expertise that eased the transition to China.
[...]
"For us as a South African-based company, we've always worked in a developing environment," Roux said from Bangkok. "It's not easy for Westerners. But we're not Westerners. We're Africans."

Having recently met the personification of what I'd thought was but only the title of a book, I can see the difference that having respect for those different from yourself makes. It can be difficult to imagine living without -much less design products or create strategies for those who live in the uncertain, chaotic conditions of emerging market, rapidly evolving economies and the third world - if you've never known the difference between "want" and "need". Especially those at the bottom of the pyramid.