Just a quick post to let everyone know that the website shall be being updated in the coming weeks. I have just finished my degree, and I’m in the process of creating a showcase mini-site for my final year project. This shall be hosted on this site. I can’t say much about the project as I’m currently applying for a couple of patents. Until then you can see a teaser about my exhibition at http://www.pdeproduce.com.

I have a lot of posts that I would like to get on-line, I have a whole bunch of content to upload to the bog, but I’m currently trying to uphold a good level of quality. This has meant that I have had to go back though my website and copyright the whole site.

Its a very exciting time for me, I have been busy applying for jobs, and currently waiting to find out from a couple. But if you are looking for a product / interaction / UX designer. Please get in touch.

I want to thank all of the great people at <>TAG, I had a great time showing my new products in the exhibition. The opening night was on Saturday and we had a short opening cermoney in which I introduced the tree. I was unable to make the ceramic containers that I wanted to, but my hacked muji containers which seemed to work very well.

While there I got to meet some other great Artists, including Tiffany, (Exhibiting a environment promise, which in turn plants a virtual tree, and changes a dynamic image) Mike, (eco - firefox plug-in) and Beatriz da Costa (GPS pidgin CO2 detectors.) and a whole bunch of other creative from Den Haag. I was pertically intresstead in Patrick Kruithof. work who is undertaking work looking at sustainable design though product experience.

The trip to “den haage” was my first time in the Netherlands, I got to spend one night in Amsterdam and two nights at the haggue.. I was surprised by the amount of art in the city, and it was great to see such a juxtapose of architecture.

I would recommend the city, (apart from the weather) Jump to see my view of the haague in Photos. I have uploaded all my pics to Flickr, and you can view the exhibition for the next month. It will be great too see what sort of interest is created from this show.

Signing off – Ben Arent – International Designer.

After recently purchasing a Phidget 8/8/8 Interface kit I started to have some problem using these sensors to drive a flash as3 animation. The Phidget as3 examples are useful but don’t really give ‘real’ world examples for starting to use sensors to drive a flash animation.

The solution was to create my own event handerler, this event handler is called in the onSensorChangeFunction, which triggers when there is a onSensorChange Event.

You can download my a3 phidget slider example Phidget Magnet Example .

import com.phidgets.*;
import com.phidgets.events.*;
import caurina.transitions.*;

var phid:PhidgetInterfaceKit;

phid = new PhidgetInterfaceKit();

phid.addEventListener(PhidgetEvent.CONNECT,onConnect);
phid.addEventListener(PhidgetEvent.DISCONNECT, onDisconnect);
phid.addEventListener(PhidgetEvent.DETACH,onDetach);
phid.addEventListener(PhidgetEvent.ATTACH,onAttach);
phid.addEventListener(PhidgetErrorEvent.ERROR, onError);
phid.addEventListener(PhidgetDataEvent.INPUT_CHANGE, onInputChange);
phid.addEventListener(PhidgetDataEvent.OUTPUT_CHANGE, onOutputChange);
phid.addEventListener(PhidgetDataEvent.SENSOR_CHANGE, onSensorChange);

phid.open(”localhost”, 5001);

function onError(evt:PhidgetErrorEvent):void {
trace(evt);
}
function onAttach(evt:PhidgetEvent):void {
trace(evt);
}
function onDetach(evt:PhidgetEvent):void {
trace(evt);
}
function onConnect(evt:PhidgetEvent):void {
trace(evt);
}
function onDisconnect(evt:PhidgetEvent):void {
trace(evt);
}
function onInputChange(evt:PhidgetDataEvent):void {
trace(evt);
}
function onOutputChange(evt:PhidgetDataEvent):void {
trace(evt);
}
function onSensorChange(evt:PhidgetDataEvent):void {
benshanderler(evt);
}
function benshanderler(evt:PhidgetDataEvent):void {
//trace(evt);
if (evt.Index ==0 && evt.Data<400) {
trace(”Magnet 1 - ON”);
Tweener.addTween(slider1, {_frame:30, time:0.5, transition:”linear”});
} else if (evt.Index ==0 && evt.Data>400) {
trace(”Magnet 1 - OFF”);
Tweener.addTween(slider1, {_frame:0, time:0.5, transition:”linear”});
}
if (evt.Index ==1 && evt.Data<400) {
trace(”Magnet 2 - ON”);
Tweener.addTween(slider2, {_frame:30, time:0.5, transition:”linear”});
} else if (evt.Index ==1 && evt.Data>400) {
trace(”Magnet 2 - OFF”);
Tweener.addTween(slider2, {_frame:0, time:0.5, transition:”linear”});
}
if (evt.Index ==2 && evt.Data<400) {
trace(”Magnet 3 - ON”);
Tweener.addTween(slider3, {_frame:30, time:0.5, transition:”linear”});

} else if (evt.Index ==2 && evt.Data>400) {
trace(”Magnet 3 - OFF”);
Tweener.addTween(slider3, {_frame:0, time:0.5, transition:”linear”});
}
}

I shall be exhibiting the EnergyTree at an EcoAesthetics exhibition at a galley called <>TAG its based in the Neterlands and the exhibition will be running for 2 months.

I shall be going out on the 22nd for the opening ceremony. This shall be my first time exhibiting, and its great to start on an international stage.

Watch this space for lots of exciting updates.

I have just found out that I’m a finalist for the Next Gen PC design competition.  This year I created a laptop type device that can use TV’s as a ambient monitor, and use the cuppa as a more focused monitor.

 I don’t know if I’m the a ‘winner’ yet, but if you like it, please send me public v

ote! Hit up the Microsoft site to Vote for me! 

In this quick how-to, I will go over how I turn hand drawn product design sketches into high quality line drawings. Below isn’t the best of my drawing skills, (its a range of thumbnail concepts, but we are focusing on the scan.)

Jump in to find out !

Step 1. Get the Right Pencil!

Getting the right pencil is vital. My number one tip is use a COLOUR pencil, not a graphite pencil! The reason for this is because graphite easy smudges. Plus color pencils give a much better range of color, (from light to dark). At the moment I’m using the excellent Prismacolor pencil, that just feels right to me. To be exact I’m using Prismacolor Col-Erase 20045 Carmine Red.

The plus is that you can also erase as well!

Step 2. Draw!

Try to use different line weights, and explore lots of shapes. Use the arc of your arm to get a clean line, and rotate the paper to help your drawings.

Step 3. Scan, and Then set your Levels!

I use a Canon Lide 25 Colour Flatbed Scanner to do my scanning, its only £33 and doesn’t take up much room. The default setting it to Auto-Mask and Auto-Colour, turn all of this stuff off as we are going to be sorting this all out in Adobe Photoshop CS3 (PC).

Set the levels to the below, all you are trying to do is make your darkest point the darkest point, which pulling in the really bright bits of your brightest bits.

Step 4. (not always needed ) Remove that ‘blue’ paper like tinge!

I always find that I have a paper colour come though on my scans, this always effects my levels, So I often just select my background with the replace color tool and make this selections lightness 100. As we sketched in a colour pen, (not blue) the lines that we drew won’t be affected.

Step 5. Turn it B&W.

In this example I used a Green Pencil, so all you need to do is slide the Green slider to -200 to -170. As we used a green or red pencil, it won’t make any of the blue - black (that is picked up from the scan). If you had quite a ‘blue hue’ to your scan, make the Blues and Cyans up to 40- 20 %.

Step 6. Clean Line.

You should now have some nice clean lines, I normally erase any unwanted lines just to clean it up but it depends on what you are using the sketches for.

I also recommend drawing sketches 2 times as large as needed, then make them smaller in Photoshop, this will give you sketches a load more detial.

Bonus Step! Create a Action, and Batch Process your sketches.

Lastly, I when doing this I would recored a Action (for each color) and use this with photoshops batch processing tool.

I received a copy of the first MADE magazine today, Its a great magazine from the guys at London Materials and Design Exchange. Its around 60 pages and has some really great graphic design. It has a range of short articles all about how companys are using materials to create better products, architecture and everything in between. The magazine is free to all members of the Material and Design Exchange network and is being published 3 times a year. I guess that means if you want one you need to join,

I have had this book over two years now, and would highly recommend it. Design Sketching is a extensive selection of inspiring sketches by 24 students at the Umea Institue of Design. The book has been compiled by Erik Olofsson and Klara Sjolen. Although you can only buy this book from the www.designsketching.com .

On a side note, Erik Olofsson one of the editors has also released a new book. Called Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers. I havn’t got my hands on it yet but it look like these are the sort of books product designers need.

After finding out that a potential student wanted to come to Middlesex University as a result of my website. I thought that I had better update some things.

I have now finished my product design dissertation, and am now just focusing on my final design project. My brief is looking to address the needs of older adults though social communication. I have been creating a lot of Bill Buxton style experience prototypes, and using my dissertation as a guideline to turn my late majority into early adopters.

I plan to be updating my ‘about my uni : Middlesex’ as this is just a little out of date, and it getting just a little too much attention! Middlesex are trying to create a better online presence, and I’m working with lectures to create a better ‘online’ brand. But working with large academic institutions is a little slow… (especially with SEO).  If you want to see some of the new facility’s check out the my Flickr Middlesex University Feed.

I’m also part of the crack marketing team for the graduating students. Everything is still being filled out, but keep an eye on www.pdeproduce.com, and the PDEMarket at the Trueman brewery on the 5 - 9 th of June.

I have now submitted my dissertation. Its been a long but fun journey. I would like to thank my six participants and Andy Bardill for help focusing down the topic. You can Dowload it here (1.9MB PDF)

The dissertation starts with a broad overview of emotional and experience design, this leads into my research area of Social communication. To test the academic theories of design in design. The end result is this practical design process which can be used during product design brief creation in an increasing complex world.

ABSTRACT-

In the last seven years, the understanding of product pleasure has greatly increased in academia. Currently the discussion has extended beyond just pleasure and has included the complete experience. While these frameworks exist there is little empirical research that this is what the consumers want, especially within an increasing complex world.

Current technologies have created a plethora of new social methods of interaction that have been activity adopted by the late majority. This fundamental shift in product adoption means traditional late adapters have embraced new products and services faster than traditional early adopters. This paradox of adoption is still under designed for, as current manufactures still don’t completely understand their users.

This dissertation will use a triangulation of user centered design methods focusing on the late majority. Comparing the results against a range of hypothesizes focusing on overall experiences and product adoption. The resulting research combines experience topologies with practical process, to create an iterative design framework that could be used to create better framed briefs.