Category: Design Process

News and THE LAW OF EXTRAPOLATION

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How often do we see articles about waste, pollution and contamination; here’s a good (bad) one:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-43630798/russians-protest-over-toxic-landfill-near-moscow

We need to consider all the possible ways that we can reduce waste – and that process starts with design. Whether process design, product design, building design… the amount of waste generated is embedded in those first elements of the design and, more importantly the design brief.

One of my favourite examples is the Christmas Cracker. The brief for Christmas Crackers must have gone something like this:

“A product wrapped in non-recyclable packaging that comprises a number of smaller elements that will go into landfill within 10 days of opening”.

Here’s a challenge: for goodness sake – rethink the Christmas cracker. Make a cracker that you can re-use and fill with a hand-made or upcycled gift. Put it in a brown paper bag.

 

This is a slightly silly example but, just checking the stats and it appears that in 2014 about 300 million crackers were pulled over Christmas, so maybe not so silly after all…

What I’d like to propose today is new law (!) that should be part of every design brief:

THE LAW OF EXTRAPOLATION

Now extrapolation is defined as:

“the action of estimating or concluding something by assuming that existing trends will continue or a current method will remain applicable”.

I would like to take the “continuation of trends” part of that for the new LAW, which is this:

The product or process should be capable of manufacture, use or operation indefinitely with no negative impacts.

Of course the big question is – how do you define “negative impacts”. I deliberately haven’t tried to do that as leaving it open encompasses everything, from environmental impacts to health impacts, economic impacts to quality of life impacts.

Just food for thought…

Podcasts Have Arrived!!!

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What better way to explain what we do than to talk about it!

We recently recorded a series of Podcasts with Great Yorkshire Radio talking about design, about what we do and who we are; we’ll publish them over the next few weeks in parallel with the radio broadcasts, so here’s the first about our clients and how we save them stress and hassle!

 

The Complete Beginners Guide to Squiggles

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SquiggleWe have recently recorded a series of podcasts about Makersmith, our clients and our design and manufacturing processes. During one interview the interviewer said “So actually, you start with a squiggle and turn it into a real product?” – and of course the answer is “Yes, that’s exactly what we do…” but, like most things it isn’t quite as straightforward as that.  First you have to have to ask what is a squiggle?, where does a squiggle come from? and lots more besides:

What is a squiggle?

The Oxford Dictionary definition is “A short line that curls and loops in an irregular way.” That’s sort of it, but not quite, our squiggle is much more than this…

Our squiggle can be:

  • A very rough sketch of an idea on paper – or a paper napkin – or the back of your hand
  • A thought that you can just about describe – in your mind – or in the mind of your client
  • A shape that you have seen and that you can describe in space with your hands
  • Something drawn in the sand on a beach
  • A pattern that you have seen – the pine needles lying on a path, the waves on a beach, the texture of a fabric
  • A set of words that describe what you want

And once seen, squigglers can say “I want it like this”; it’s a starting point on a path of design…

Where does a squiggle come from?   

Yoga shapesIn your dreams… . Ideas do come from dreams, perhaps one of the most fundamental was Niels Bohr when he was inspired to describe the structure of the atom by a dream. You may dream of products, structures, shapes, landscapes, machines…

The world around us: the natural world contains so many complex shapes, so many simple shapes and they can all inspire new products, new forms for products, new structures and inspiring buildings.

Our man-made world: often one idea, one shape or form or function will inspire others as contrast or reaction.

Necessity: sometimes only one shape will work or will fit in a space – only one squiggle will do…

leaf pattern2Competition: “I want one like that” or “ I don’t want one like that” are both powerful drivers for creators of things

Clients: your clients have their own squiggles that they pass on to you. You end up with a whole pile of the things – it would be great if someone could take those from you and resolve the squiggles into something concrete…

Where does a squiggle go?

For us, squiggles always go somewhere; we are presented with a squiggle of thought, words or drawing and take it through a sometimes huge process to come out at the other end with a product – a thing – that the was the intention of the original squiggler.   And the say “ah yes, that is just what my squiggle meant…”

Sometimes along the way one squiggle gives rise to others as we generate and select ideas, but always the squiggles become more fully formed as tangible shapes, components and processes develop.

That’s where our expertise lies – in taking the squiggle and delivering the living product.

Do you have a squiggle?

There’s always something that you can put into a squiggle. Our clients rely on us to take their ideas forward from that squiggle to the end product, we also generate squiggles, idea, concepts of our own for clients.

If you have a squiggle or your business has a squiggle, get in touch -we can make your squiggle live!lightbulb water

https://www.makersmith.works/

The Unconventional Guide to Client Projects

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The types of projects that we undertake at Makersmith are so varied that each one brings it’s own unique challenges; no routine work for us!  As a result we have to make sure that we learn as much as possible from each project and embed whatever we have learnt into the next.

An important part of this is time recording; it’s really easy to significantly underestimate the time taken to carry out a design or manufacturing task as we naturally tend to be optimistic when we envision a process.  If, having carried out the task, we know exactly how long it took, then we are in a much better position to not only plan the next project timescale more accurately but to give our clients the most effective quotations for work.

Our Unconventional Guide is based on one day’s time logging for a project for one of our design team:

7:45am Arrive at work, coffee, review schedule for the day. Update project planner to record completed work.  Check emails, check client emails into CRM system.  Fire up SolidWorks ready to review project CAD model

8:22am Take call from client with detail query as they are on the way to work. Reassure them that we have resolved the query and will confirm with them by email before the end of the day. Log the call in the CRM system

8:27am First task this morning: resolve the design of connections between steelwork and timber components, build detail in to the outline concept model until it is completely resolved.  Compare the solution with the the requirements of the detailed Project Specification –it’s in line with that.  Review the detail to make sure there are no untested assumptions.  Double check the availability of special fixings – they are normally a stock item.  Record this and the full specification in the project Bill of Materials.

Designer's Coffee10:35am Really stop for coffee…

10:46am Prepare for client meeting at 1pm for new project. It’s great to have such an amazing meeting venue – the Old Kitchen at the Abbey – enough to excite any prospective client; make sure the room booking is confirmed…

Set up paperwork, initial documents and detailed specification questionnaire to run through with client.  Make sure the computer Works!

11:33am Review key issues for new project and carry out research into alternative materials and suppliers.

12:07pm Lunch – a short walk in the woods and back for…

12:48pm To the Old Kitchen to check the setup.

1:15pm SolidWorks modelMeet clients with colleagues. Chair meeting and lead through client requirements, detail specification issues, identify areas where we need more client information and where more research is needed. Conclude with summary of our respective actions and timescales to complete.  All done.

14:30pm Return to office and complete meeting notes for project file/audit trail and summarise on CRM system.

15:07pm Check in the workshop to see progress of another project and evaluate stiffness of the structure – having done the design originally it’s good to see it in the flesh and to feel that it is just as designed.

15:22pm Back to detail project work.  This time taking detail computer data out from SolidWorks for use in manufacturing systems to create laser cut steel profiles.  Also take timberwork profile data for production.

16:02pm Use CNC tooling program to check the correct machining sequence for the timber.  Revise the design slightly in SolidWorks to optimise machining time and re-check the CNC programme. All fine.

17:16pm Review emails that have arrived during the day and allocate responses to future time slots.  Reply as necessary.

17:46pm Shut down the computer to go home. Leave through the workshop where the CNC machines are still running. Out into the evening air with the hazy view across to the hills and stumble over a flock of Quail that seem to be wandering around the car park and perching on the cars…

Another day at Makersmith…

Why Design Processes are the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread…

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In life there is always a tension between rules and freedom; how much do you restrict freedom in order to preserve it?

The same tension exists in the product design and manufacturing process. If you don’t have some ground rules then there’s a probability, actually a really high probability, that you won’t get anywhere meaningful with the design, let alone get something made at the end the process.

The trick is that the rules have to facilitate the freedom – and no more. You could say that so as long as whatever rules or systems you have don’t get in the way of your end objective then that’s OK.  But that’s not good enough, your rules and systems have to have a really positive benefit and not merely not be neutral.

Here at Makersmith one of our main services is to design and make special products and projects for Built Environment specialists – that’s architects, builders, interior and landscape designers. To do that really effectively we have a process, a framework, that we go through in order to ensure that we get the design- and the end product – right first time.

mark-duffel-422279-unsplashWorking within a defined framework means that designers have more freedom to focus on being creative without having to think too much about the overall process and whether they are on the right track. It’s a bit like going out for a walk and going from waymarker to waymarker.  You can explore and admire the view but when you get to the next signpost you know you are on the right route to reach the end.

What we do isn’t radically new but, because we do it every time, it works. So if you are our client our waymarked process goes like this:

  1. We listen to you and find out what you really want to achieve with the design – or project. Sometimes we realise that what you really need isn’t what you are asking for – in which case we’ll tell you!
  2. Your objectives are embedded in a complete specification that will roll all the way through the project and includes every factor and influence.
  3. You get to sign that off.
  4. We then indulge in our freedom to design – within the rules of the specification – and come up with viable design concepts. These are always 3 dimension computer models so that you can really see what the design looks like.
  5. In a meeting with you we agree the best option and you sign it off.
  6. The detail design is then worked out to give a really efficient and cost effective end product.
  7. Just to make sure we sit down with you to make sure that you are entirely happy and then you get out your pen again and sign the design off to production.
  8. There’s not so much freedom now but instead we focus on cost effective manufacturing processes; we make the project.
  9. Finally of course, we ship, or deliver and install the project. Unsurprisingly it looks just like the computer model and matches the specification.
  10. You are very happy.

That’s it in a nutshell, it works, and better still, it means that you know throughout the process how things are going and what your project is looking like. We don’t go off into a corner and suddenly produce a finished product that isn’t quite what you wanted.

So – that’s why design processes are better than sliced bread…

Toast anyone?