designapalooza’s posterous

When I have to take out my contacts I put them into a little plastic container
filled with a saline solution which cleans them and keeps them moist (I think
it's saline solution, it could be anything really but I know it works).
Unfortunately sometimes the contacts become a little too soft and stick to the
edge of the container, making them hard to find. This Is probably due to the
container I use being slightly too big as I haven't heard of other people with
a similar problem but it would be good if the container had a blue backlight
which would highlight the contact and reduce the chance of me ripping it while
searching for it.
 
Ruaridh Macdonald

Whilst I am all for road safety and ensuring that pedestrians are kept safe
while crossing the roads, especially around this time of year when it is icy
and dangerous I don't think the lights need to be equipped with an annoying
bleating sound when they're green. Admittedly it could be useful for visually
impaired pedestrians who need to know when the it is safe to walk but I'm not
sure how safe this would be for them given the fact that cars can turn on a red
anyway and some, as I found yesterday, will completely ignore the fact that you
are halfway across the road.
The noise these walk-signs produce is very annoying during the evening and night
as it can be heard in nearby residential buildings and either distracts people
from their work or even keeps them awake at night. A pedestrian who means to
cross a road will notice when the light changes colour, they do all over the
rest of the world.

Ruaridh Macdonald

When the weather gets really hot during the summer, working at a desk
with a leather chair can be quite a uncomfortable experience. During a
time when we sweat and perspire even more, it often becomes a common
phenomenon for our thighs and rear end to get a little moist in these
leather seats which aren't exactly breathable.
 
In addition, if the leather seat has been exposed to direct sunlight,
we all know the experience of sitting down on a burning hot seat. It
was then that I decided that I would invest in a little "taxi" style
beaded pad over the cushion and backing to provide an "air gap" for
breathability, and rapid cooling. Although it's a tacky thing to bring
to the office place, it certainly gets the job done in keeping things
cool. Concerns include possible indentation and stretching of the
leather underneath, patterned rather than smooth sitting surface,
difficulty in cleaning the pad, and beads getting loose over time.
 
-Rich

The hammer is a useful multi tool that fits in a compact space but
also accommodates multiple needs. I like how easy it is to assemble the
parts quickly. I also like that even though it's a multi tool and has a
small head, the hammer has enough weight to handle most house hold needs. I
like the variety of screwdriver sizes and heads but the smaller screwdrivers
do not have a handle which sometimes makes them harder to use. Also the
exterior hammer handle is very small and the padding is almost as hard as
the metal. Also having many small pieces makes it easy to miss place part of
the tool. I would improve the tool by making a slightly bigger version that
had more options but I would try to have less separate parts by putting a
tool at the end of each piece. Sarah Southerland

   

Click here to download:

multi-tool_screwdriver-hammer.zip (5194 KB)

Most eye glass cases open via a spring hinge on the long side of the
case in clamshell fashion. Silhouette takes an entirely different and
sleek approach because it is known for manufacturing thin titanium
flexible frames. It's a very non traditional and creative approach to
holding these flexible frames, and requiring customers to have to use
ONLY Silhouette cases to store their Silhouette glasses.
 
One of my biggest bugs about using a design such as this is the
accessibility to objects inside the case. For example, oftentimes, I
like to store a cleaning cloth along with the glasses in an eye glass
case. In the traditional clamshell design, i usually put the cloth at
the bottom inside the case and the eye glasses on top of it. However,
in the Silhouette eye glass case design, I have to jam the cloth deep
inside the case and then squeeze my glasses sideways inside. Sometimes
this doesn't work very effectively when the cloth ends up taking up
too much space and prevents the glasses from sliding in all the way.
 
SIhouettes can definitely improve upon this design, and include a
piece such as a velcro strip on the inside of the flap for the sole
purpose of holding onto the cleaning cloth. This will eliminate the
annoying task of having to fish for the cloth inside the case with two
fingers.
 
-Rich

Felt pens, sharpies in particular, are very good for sketching and clarifying
ideas by going over previous lines or filling in large spaces. They produce a
consistent colour and as long as you are fairly regular with the direction of
your lines you get a pretty flat tone with no darker splotches or lines.
One thing that is tricky with a sharpie is doing fine detail or filling in and
acute angle or some other small space. It would great if there was a twist
design which would narrow the tip. The tip could be made or several rings of
felt which retract as you twist or a mechanism within the tip could
expand/narrow the end much like an umbrella as you twist. I don't think this
would cause the pen to draw fragmented lines as any gaps between the felt would
be very small and surface tension in the ink would probably ensure a solid line.
 
Ruaridh Macdonald

Desk lamps are a great way to ensure your work is well illuminated and you're
not straining your eyes. One of the big drawbacks is that a lot of the light
also bleeds out into the room, potentially waking any roommates who aren't
burning the midnight oil quite as fiercely.
I'd like to design a sleeve to put around the lamp which would try and keep the
light focused solely on the desk. It could be secured with velcro which would
also allow it to be reversible. One side could be mirrored for when you have a
relatively weak light and a matt side for use with a brighter light. This would
keep the light focused where it is specifically needed meaning I can get some
sleep while my roommate works late at night and vice versa.....though I suppose
we could just work in the library.
 
Ruaridh Macdonald

   

Click here to download:

Desk_Lamps.zip (48 KB)

Bike racks are very useful when it comes to looking for somewhere to quickly
stash your bike away without having to roam the streets looking for a suitable
fence or post. From the pedestrians point of view, they also keep the streets
tidy, packing a lot of bikes into a relatively small space. Finally they reduce
possibly reduce theft as it would be far harder for a thief to use a wire cutter
when surrounded by other people picking up their bikes.
The main disadvantage I have with the bike racks is that they're not fitted to
the bike. The bike can wobble a lot, potentially letting it fall over or get
knocked, scratching the paint, which may lead to rust, or the brakes can become
misaligned and screech when they're used. I'd try and put rubber panels on the
interior side of the rack which could then close down either side of the bike.
This would reduce the problems mentioned above and if secured around the front
wheel without bending the spokes, could stop people stealing the front wheel. A
thief would have to cut away the entire stand.
 
Ruaridh Macdonald

It's called "Uncle Oinker's Bacon Scented Bacon Print Tuxedo!"

Each Tuxedo is tailored from chemically treated latex print fabric in one of four different sizes. Best of all, it smells just like bacon sizzling in the pan. Dry clean only.

'The Scan Toaster connects to a PC over USB and downloads everything from local weather conditions and the current time to the morning's news headlines.

Inside the toaster is a network of toasting "modules", each heated by a hot wire. Each module can move by 30° and, once the user selects what they want on their toast, the modules align themselves and burn the appropriate content onto the bread.

The appliance is a finalist in design competition run by manufacturer Electrolux and designer Sung Bae Chang.' (engadget)

Amazing!  This product reminds me of the "infinite range" concept from 2.009 this year.  Who needs clocks and the weather channel when they can have it all on toast?

-Ben