Hasta La Ideas

Non pensavo si arrivasse a tanto…
{Via}

Following last year’s remarkably successful inaugural exhibition at the Terminal Building, WantedDesign is back and bigger than ever as a major satellite event to the 24th International Contemporary Furniture Fair. Core77 is pleased to partner with the event in support of their first Student Design Challenge, which, along with the Live/Work design contest and the iGet.it pop-up shop, are new for 2012.

For the student Design Challenge, WantedDesign has invited students from six schools—three stateside and three French—to participate in a three-day digital fabrication workshop:

The “Design Students Challenge” will be an engaging live workshop that allows design students, ambassadors of their schools, to express their creativity and technical ability. Over the course of three days, design students from the U.S. and France will use one material, one conceptual tool (e.g. computer software), and one fabrication tool (a laser cutting machine) to design and construct a lighting design of their own invention. At the end of three days, the designs will be presented and be judged by the public and a jury of design professionals…

Participating schools are Art Center College of Design, Parsons The New School for Design, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), ENSCI les ateliers, Ecole Boulle and Ecole supérieure d’art et design Saint-Etienne.

We had the chance to chat with the creator of the design challenge, François Brument.

Core77: Can you introduce us to your personal work and your interest in exploring digital manufacturing?

A hundred years ago, the industrial revolution had totally changed the way we conceived of and fabricated objects. A century later, how should we approach the digital paradigm? My aim is to investigate how thinking, conceiving, fabricating, distributing digitally can profoundly change the design practice.

Where did the idea for the Student Design Challenge come from? Why did you choose this particular format?

The idea came to me when I was a jury during students design diplomas. A lot of them were using laser-cutting techniques, but they were using it as a way to escape from manual modelmaking—not exploring its untapped potential as a new technology. The idea, then, is to create a very short format to explore a fast and expressive use of laser-cutting and digital conception techniques.

You’ve run this project before in France—how do you anticipate this transatlantic iteration to be different or similar to the previous challenges?

I’ve always thought the digital battles as fun moments to compete and share skills and visions… but I’ve been really surprised how quickly design and aesthetic approaches of each school were appearing. I’m very eager to see how students will express themselves and enjoy this moment together.

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To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Boston’s Fenway Park, Objet used one of their Connex 3D printers to crank out a replica of the stadium, created from blueprints and photographs:

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I’m always on the lookout for smart phone and iPad applications that can improve my productivity. It’s probably not a good idea to keep app switching all the time (it certainly makes more sense to stick with what works), but if I did that I wouldn’t have discovered Unstuck, a free iPad app.

Basically, if you’re stuck in a rut, Unstuck can help. It helps you to get rid of said rut, take action, and “live better every day.” I’ve decided to use it for a project that’s been hanging over my head for a bit, and it’s time to get it moving.

But, first, a test run. Here’s the process:

Step One

After downloading and registering, the app asks you to select three emotions in response to “How are you feeling in this stuck moment?” Some of your choices include hazy, high and dry, tired, unprepared, uninformed, indecisive, to name a few. Then, you get to rate how strongly you feel each emotion. I chose conflicted, uninformed, and up in the air, all with medium strength.

Step Two

In this step, you drill down the type of stuck you’re in (personal, professional, or both) and who’s stuck with you (alone, you + another person, or you + other people). For my test, I chose professional and to go it alone, but if you select that you’re working with others, you’ll be asked to name the people in the rut with you.

Step Three

You get to answer why you’re stuck and see examples of what others have written. I entered: “I’m stuck because there’s so much I want to do.” Even though this is a test, that statement is 100 percent true.

Step Four

Now for the fun part. You get to sort your thoughts using these cool thought cards (they look like playing cards except they have words on them) that you drag and drop into two categories: So Me and Not Me.

Here are some of the cards:

• I thought I knew what to do but now I’m not sure
• I don’t know why this is not working
• It doesn’t seem real yet
• Remind me why this is important to me
• Maybe I need to ask somebody else what to do
• I NEED HELP
• Why is it so hard to decide?
• Doing a lot but getting nowhere

Can you see how these might be helpful? I really think this app forces you to think about the nuances of why things are not going the way you want them to.

Step Five

Here, you’re asked to pick three (out of twelve) things you’re doing. I randomly chose:

• Letting yourself get distracted
• Doing busywork that gets nowhere
• Debating an issue over and over again

Step Six

You wait a second or two until Unstuck diagnoses your problem. The app decided that based on my entries, I’m a Waffler. I may not like being called wishy-washy, but I like knowing that I’m not the only one in this spot. And, I know this because the app tells me that three other people, like Amy Tan, Ellen Degeneres, and Wallace Stevens, are just like me. Well, if they can get past that … you know the rest. I also learn that 9 percent of the Unstuck community is also having a “waffler” moment.

There’s an explanation of what it means to be a waffler, and I’m asked to confirm if this really sounds like me. I clicked yes, but when you click “no,” you get to start over, save and start a new stuck moment, or keep going. You also get a few tips.

Step Seven

This is where the work really begins as I’m asked to select a tool to help fix my flip-floppy self. But, first, I’m greeted by a lovely note that tells me not to give up and that change is a process. I’m also encouraged to be creative. I’m so in love with this app!

And, it loves me back by telling me to Take a stand, a.k.a., make a decision.

The next three steps really help you to do just that. It’s a very simple process, but that’s the beauty of it. It makes you think things through and gives you several tools (e.g., Map it out, Get your game on, Shake up your routine) so that you’re not just muddling through. If you don’t think that you’re quite through the woods, you can try out other tools.

So far, Unstuck seems different from all other project motivation apps I’ve seen. It seems to ask the right questions and help you to really think through your next steps. It’s similar to having a mentor or coach.

Could this app help you make life-altering decisions? Maybe. Could you get a few steps closer to a project’s goals? Definitely.

And, just to be clear, Unstuck didn’t pay me or reward me in any way for writing this post. I’m just really fond of it and think it can help anyone who is stuck on a project or problem.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.

In Finland you can build a house without a permit as long as it’s no larger than 128-square-feet. Needless to say, most people just get a permit. But in 2010 Robin Falck actually designed and built an itsy-bitsy Finnish dream house in the woods, a project he fantasized about and finally pursued because, according to Falck, “my military service was approaching and after sketching and calculating it seemed so possible.”

After consulting a few architects, Falck began construction in early June, and after just two weeks “the only thing missing was a window and door, which arrived a couple of weeks later.” The house, which Falck calls Nido (Italian for ‘birds nest’) is a mere 96-square-feet with a 50-square-foot loft bedroom. A large window spans the two stories, letting in tons of natural light and affording a full view of the sky at night. And since Nido sits on a lakeshore there are spectacular day time views as well.

Unfortunately, tight after Falck built Nido his military duties kicked in, and it was a full year before he was back and able to finally enjoy all his hard work. If you’re wondering how much it all cost, the answer is: very. “I was surprised how affordable the whole project was,” Falck said. “Most of the materials are recycled and I haven’t really calculated how much it finally cost, but the ballpark figure is something like $10,500 plus the man hours.”

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