Sketching Chess - Traditions

Chess is an age old traditional game but children today can benefit from the strategic thinking necessary to play. Industrial design sketching skills are also traditional but I believe are as important as ever.

In the communications course at RMIT Industrial Design the fundamentals of sketching and visualisation are encouraged and developed responding to industry feedback that these skills remain vital. Students continue to build capacity with digital tools but figure drawing and rapid visualisation of concepts are key course components. The work shown is from first year Semester 1 student Glen Tay.

Sketching existing common chess pieces develops perspective, scale, proportion and line quality.

Figure and context are vital in presentations of original concepts.

Wacom and sketchbook pro hand visuals build form, surface, tone, light, and color skills and appreciation.

CAD modelling of final design of chess set.

Shepherd Castor - Patented innovation

George Shepherd was a wealthy Melbourne oil company executive who regularly played bridge with his society chums, sitting around in big, comfy, club sofa chairs. He found that the tiny castor wheels fitted to the chairs made them very hard to move.  So from 1934 until 1939 Shepherd researched the physics of existing castors and proposed a new type of wheel that swivelled on an angled axle. Shepherd castors were patented and made under licence in 17 countries and an estimated 300 million have been sold.

A recent cleanup at the family shed in Shepparton produced these die cast original Shepherd castors for my collection. The patent numbers for Great Britain, United Stated of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were cast into the parts.

The Shepherd Castor featured in the exhibition 175 Years of Design in Victoria curated by Ian Wong.

Australian inventions. Patented Shepherd caster designed by George Shepherd.

Australian innovation - the patented Shepherd caster designed in Victoria by George Shepherd.

Patent drawing for the Australian innovation the Shepherd Castor.

Car sketching masterclass - Bernie Walsh

Bernie Walsh  - Masterclasses in car sketching will be held during February. Contact details below.

Bernie Walsh Masterclasses - February 2012.

http://berniewalsh.blogspot.com

Tim Peacocke - Wilco Industrial Switchgear

The Wilco "A Series' of industrial switchgear was a significant example of the value of industrial design at the time and more importantly the product range has proven to be a major success over the past thirty years. Designed by RMIT industrial design alumnus Tim Peacocke in the early 1980s it is a classic industrial design project success story.

Wilco's technical manager Michael Lumley was responsible for the project and briefed the young and talented Peacocke on the project that would result in a system of 34 castings.

The project was featured in issue 3 of 'Design World" November 1983 and the concept sketches, simple geometric design and bold graphic blue and yellow color scheme inspired us all as students.

This year marks thirty years of production for the 'A Series' range. The Wilco 'A Series' industrial switchgear were featured in the exhibition STILL09 celebrating industrial design that has endured curated by Ian Wong.

Wilco 'A Series' industrial switchgear designed by RMIT industrial design alumnus Tim Peacocke.

Current Wilco Industrial Switchgear brochure featuring the 'A Series' designed by industrial designer Tim Peacocke 1982.

Design World magazine Issue 3 November 1983 featuring Wilco 'A Series' industrial switchgear.

AWA P4 Television - Archive Video

The AWA P4 17inch television design by William Moody featured in the recent ORANGE- Living in the 70s exhibition at the Design Gallery of the Design Institute of Australia. A rare insight is provided into the history of Australian industrial design and in particular the AWA P4 television project in the film produced by the Industrial Design Council of Australia in the early 1970s.

AWA P4 17 inch black & white television featured in the ORANGE - Living in the 70s exhibition at the Design Institute of Australia Design Gallery curated by Ian Wong.

Concept sketch for AWA P4 television set designed by industrial designer William Moody.

The film shows a briefing meeting, preliminary layout sketches, technical layouts, model making, detailing, and production specification overseen by industrial designer William Moody.

The garden sprinkler by Rosenfeld and Geradin is featured as well as the Bill Iggulden Studio K task lamp for Planet, Regis glasses by Edward Kayser, and the Caroma bath stool.

Archive film from the 1960s produced by the Industrial Design Council of Australia.

AWA 17" television designed by industrial designer William moody was awarded the 1968 Sebel Design Merit Award.

William Moody first worked as an industrial designer at GMH commencing in 1954 and later was given the opportunity to establish a styling department at British Motor Corporation in Sydney. In 1960 he accepted a position as industrial design manager for Amalgamated Wireless Australasia.

Studio K task lamp designed by industrial designer Bill Iggulden.

Waterbird sprinkler designed by pioneering Australian industrial design consultancy Rosenfeld and Gherardin for Ogden Industries. 1964.

Australian iconic industrial design the Regis glassware range by RMIT alumnus Edward Kayer.

Australia Day - World class innovation

The cochlear "bionic ear" was developed in Melbourne by Professor Graeme Clark in 1978. Founded in 1981 Cochlear Limited is Australian based and was featured in an article in The Age this week profiling our most successful companies in the lead up to Australia Day January 26th. More than 200,000 individuals worldwide have received a cochlear implant to restore hearing. Reading the Age article prompted this post but is was the coincidence of standing in a train alongside a man with two Nucleus 5 implants yesterday that sealed it.

I recall whilst a student at RMIT industrial design back in 1982 the involvement of my lecturer Graham Reade in early development work of the bionic ear. Thirty years on Mark Johnson who was also at RMIT industrial design in 1982 is working with Cochlear Limited on R&D. Mark is a director of Outerspace Design in Richmond and the recipient link device is a recent product designed by this award winning studio. The recipent link is an in house research tool that measures hearing aid implant and patient skin characteristics to improve future implant performance.

Cochlear recipient link device designed by award winning industrial design consultancy Outerspace Design.

RMIT alumnus industrial designer Mark Armstrong and his studio Blue Sky Design have been awarded both the Australian Design Award and the Red Dot award for the Nucleus 5 implant designed for Cochlear.

Award winning Nucleus 5 implant designed by Blue Sky Design.

www.outerspacedesign.com

www.blueskydesigngroup.com.au

Max Wolff - Lincoln

Max Wolff grew up in Melbourne. He now lives the dream of many as Design Director for the iconic US automotive brand Lincoln. Brett Saraghi and his design consultancy IDEA in Nicholson Street Carlton offered a young Max the opportunity to live his dream. His studies in industrial design at Monash University and his success with the team at Holden Design provided the grounding for his new position at Lincoln. Lincoln have recently featured Max in a series of YouTube videos. Enjoy!

 Australian industrial designer Max Wolff - Lincoln Design Director.

Monash University Industrial Design Alumnus Max Wolf - Lincoln Design Director

Monash University Industrial Design Alumnus Max Wolf - Lincoln Design Director

I studied with Brett Saraghi at RMIT Industrial Design and it was only recently that I watched the following video that profiles his role is fostering Max's career.

Designer People - Max Wolff from Ovation TV

Sydney Trip - RMIT Industrial Design Archives

RMIT Industrial Design alumni from the early 1990's will remember this excursion to Sydney to visit the recently opened Powerhouse Museum. Staff on the trip included course coordinator Harold Medd, Ian Wong, David Woodgrove, and Paul Pyle. Memory has faded for some of the faces. Those I see more regularly are easier to spot. Peter Wilson - Melbourne Museum, Justin McCarthy, Luke Martin - Design + Industry, Peter Kneebone, Mark Sehler, Ben Hunt and Nick O'Loughlan - Sunbeam.

 RMIT Industrial Design 1991-92 era. Group photo in Canberra on Sydney trip.

RMIT Design Hub - Update

The RMIT Design Hub has taken shape at the top of Swanston Street. Exciting times for design in Victoria in 2012.

RMIT Design Hub - RMIT University

RMIT Design Hub detail of external facia.

I spy ID

Encouraged by the positive reaction to my last post about products spied on my New Zealand trip I have created a Facebook page to offer all who might be interested to play I Spy ID as you travel the world. I am not certain which tool is best suited to curating this idea but I have begun with a facebook page which I invite you to like and join in.

Where are all the products we design? Who is using them? Post images from your travels of products designed by designers you know.

I spy ID Facebook page here.

https://www.instagram.com/ispyid/

Across the Tasman - I spy.

Victoria has proudly exported products for more than 175 years. Industrial designers from Victoria have designed products manufactured for export from all over Australia.

These are a few products I spied by local designers on just a short visit to New Zealand recently.

Keep Cups designed by Cobalt Niche at Auckland Museum Shop.

Willow Little Bitty bin designed by David Flynn at Bayly Design used for clothes pegs at Lake Taupo bach.

Holden VE Commodore hire car at Lake Taupo

PED traffic button design by Neilsen Design outside Auckland University.

Sebel Intregra chair by Victorian born industrial design pioneer Charles Furey.

Tamaki Maori Village, Roturua.

 Charles Furey's iconic Integra chair for Harry Sebel inside the Wharenui - The Sacred Meeting House, Tamaki Maori Village, Roturua.

Trusty Ron Rosenfeld designed Vulcan Conray heater at Lake Taupo bach.

Visitor Centre at Waitomo Glow Worm Caves.

Visitor Centre at Waitomo Glow Worm Caves.

Caroma product at the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves.

Interior Auckland Museum foyer.

Caroma product at Auckland Museum.

Classic Wiltshire Bar B Mate - Lake Taupo breakfast.

Silvan New Zealand - PasturePak

New Zealand has a lot of sheep and a lot of cows that eat a huge amount of pasture. The Silvan 600L and 800L PasturePak linkage sprayers are ideal for New Zealand farming applications and in particular for the maintenance of quality pasture.

The current PasturePak was designed whilst I was design manager at Outerspace Design with the team including Simon Kooymans.

Silvan PasturePak linkage sprayer.

RMIT alumnus industrial designer Ian Wong pictured at Silvan dealer in Taumarunui, New Zealand with the PasturePak linkage sprayer. Silvan Australia exports a comprehensive range of products designed in Victoria by Mr Wong.

Australian designed Silvan PasturePak linkage sprayer.

Designed by ejo design in 2007 the website for Silvan New Zealand featured the 50 litre SpotPak, the 400 litre DieselPak, and the 600 litre PasturePak designed by industrial designer Ian Wong.

Segway - Single Person Transport

Research can be a lot of fun!

The Segway single person transport vehicles are finding many applications including during the drinks breaks in our cricket. I could not pass the opportunity to test drive one whilst in New Zealand recently.

Technology like this is the platform for concept vehicles like Ryan Fonceca's RMIT industrial design project in my studio in 2011 and the Holden designed EN-V.

RMIT industrial design student Ryan Fonceca's single person concept vehicle.

GM Holden designed EN-V concept car.

http://www.segway.com