Final sketches

On June 25th, we had another video conference with Richard and Dave to present eight concepts. Four detailed sketches from each of us were presented, with the goal of picking the three best ideas at the end to keep working on. The first design we chose was the design labeled “1.”



This first design is two planar parts that twist and wrap around each other to form one identity. The smaller strip consists of user group names and sponsors. This design was simple and elegant and also providing space for graphics.


The second was a curved plane created out of panels that had the names of sponsors and user groups on the back. These would be able to disassemble and be offered to the visitors after the end of the convention. This allows the object to have a purpose after the conference.


Lastly was the reappearance of the wire and ball idea. This would allow people to see user group and sponsor names on individual balls suspended by a grid of wires. The curved plane would also allow ample amount of graphic space.



These were some of the other drawing presented:

IBM Innovation Center Visit

Last week on Monday, June 8, Brian and I went to the IBM Center in Chicago where the conference will be held. Soon after we arrived, Dave Charney gave a talk about UI design that was very interesting and inspirational. We then talked to the Granite user group members about the Green Project and presented our goals and processes of designing the fixture. We also looked around the center taking note of the architecture, interior design, and existing fixtures. This illustration shows what we saw and where we will be placing the fixture.


Understanding the environment of our fixture will help us make decisions about our designs as well. Our goal is to not only create a beautiful and memorable fixture, but to make sure it fits well with the feel of the conference.


Since the last talk with Dave and Richard and seeing the IBM center, we have also made new sketch ideas and expanded on our existing ideas. We liked number 6 on the first page and number 1 and 6 on the second, and will start to focus on specific designs as we narrow down our design process. We liked 6. on the first page because it takes the element of connected wires that represent a community and combines it with the form of a sphere, which emulates the globe, and the conference logo. Number 1 on the second page has two spiraling pieces that support each other.


Our next step will be to continue developing about 3 ideas through sketching, and then start to make simple 3D mock-up models.

-Angela and Brian

Material Matrix and Thumbnail sketches

Our next step was to identify possible sustainable materials, other than ones that first come to mind like wood from a hardware store. The website http://www.ecolect.net has a nice library of materials that range from paints to wood alternatives. Brian created a matrix of the materials found, providing the descriptions, uses, and where the company headquarters is located.

Link to full matrix: http://www.sendspace.com/file/bjm7gp

We then started to create thumbnail sketches, quickly sketching some ideas of what the fixture may look like and encompass. After showing and explaining the sketches to Richard and Dave, we started identifying ideas that could be explored further. This is only a first round of more sketches to come.

A couple of the ideas that showed some promise were numbers five and eleven on the first page, and some of the forms that were curvy.

The idea would be to have a hand crank powered light that would be wound by people attending the conference. This light would represent the group effort and the community.

For this sketch, the concept is to have each user group and sponsor to be labeled on each ball, that is connected to one another through a matrix of strings. This would help sponsors and user groups have their own place on the fixture while allowing us to have graphic space on the curved surface.

On Monday we will be taking a look inside the Innovation Center and get a feel for what the interior looks like. We will also be continuing to further push present ideas and provide more.

-Angela and Brian