Sunday 10 November 2013

Capstone Proposal: Collaboration | Office Furniture

 

Capstone Project: Introduction

The issue that I want to address is the effect of flexible and collaborative working in the workplace. Collaborative working should not just occur in meeting rooms, in a long massive table but also in each employee’s desk.

Offices were designed to support its occupants to be productive at its best. However, most work place provides desks that are not designed for collaboration instead for individual tasks. Workers are often assigned in each individual work desk or a work a cubicle to isolate them from everybody. This perspective displays an orthodox viewpoint which started from the Romans to Elizabethan era, era of Industrial revolution to 20th century. They thought that it would encourage productivity and creativity. Previous design of work desks displays formality, suggests work, evokes sense of isolation and also needed to fit in the traditional office interior.  

In the 21st century, people, place and technology plays great role in inevitability of change in workplace design. Flexible and collaborative working is significant issues that will affect the performance of a company. It is one of the present and future demands of a company from its workers and the workers from its workplace. In 2012 Microsoft did a survey about work place and came up with a result that: 70% of workers in Europe demands flexible working that will allow them to work from home, from outdoor places or being able to use their own digital devices like laptops, tablets, or mobile phones. Collaboration will allow better communication and come up with better of ideas from each other that if put together can have a great one. Current workplace are getting less formal and becoming more unorthodox. Technology expresses the idea of being able to work anywhere, anytime and anyplace. also challenges everything in the workplace. Employers believe that collaborative working is the answer for better work outcome.

My proposal is to make office furniture that will promote collaboration and flexible working in the workplace without compromising the company’s culture. It would benefit both the company and the workers. It would address the needs of different kind of personality whether individuals have introversion or extraversion traits. The need of privacy will not be compromise. Through my proposal, it would also touch human senses that would evoke sense of comfort. Furthermore, it will support the use of fast evolving technology of the 21st century.

 




Capstone Project: Approach 

This project suits my abilities in terms of skills and knowledge about furniture and lighting design and theory which I have studied at COFA for a year and integrating it towards all the things I learned from studying Industrial design which gave me deeper understanding about design process itself. The topic interests me because it is a challenge to put individuals together especially if they have different traits like introversion and extroversion. It is interesting how baby boomers and millennial would share each other’s perception and be productive.    

The topic that I want to do requires a lot of investigation and understanding in able to come up with a perfect design concept that will benefit everyone in the workplace. In able to do this I would need to do plenty of research from reliable sources, interviews from furniture industry or someone with experience, and follow the Australian standard requirements in designing the workplace and office furniture. Furthermore, concept development through sketching and model making would greatly explore the overall design.

Sunday 20 October 2013

SPSS Concepts

 
Concept One: A table with built in screen that encourage the workers to swap seats every week.
Tutor Tom: "The weakest concept"
 


Concept 2: Office Desk | Sustainable Lighting system
The concept is about energy saving in the office were lighting sensor automatically functions after working hours. The office desk has an integrated led lighting that flips out once the person is detected in the desk. The ceiling lights also turn on the path that the person is walking in.
 
Tutor Tom: “Likes this idea as it address energy saving and sustainability.”



Concept 3: Malleable Office Desk

This office desk promotes collaboration in the workplace. Evokes the feeling of comfort and allows the workers to work flexibly for greater productivity. It is embedded with booking system were you can book the desk for individual or can use it a as a meeting table. The divider is powered by hydraulics which can be adjusted.

 

Tutor Tom: “Likes this concept as it’s the strongest amongst the three”

Sunday 18 August 2013

6 Videos Reflection

Autodesk: Whole Systems & Lifecycle

Sustainable solution addressed the whole lifecycle of the product and beyond. It is crucial to have an understanding of the processes from material extraction, manufacturing, transport and distribution, consumption and its end life.     

Designers, through the years, have become aware of sustainable design and how it would impact the people and mother nature. Smart materials choice is essential in contributing a better sustainable design. The material choice can prolong the life cycle of the product as it age through time and some can be disposable but can be recycle and reuse afterwards. The innovation in materials and machinery in modern days affects the lifecycle of the product and its effect towards the world. This short video gave me a better understanding beyond the product itself.

Autodesk: Improving product lifetime

A design that age beautifully through time, design that allows to be repair or upgrade and design that can be recycled is a good design. The inevitability of material extraction is visible not just for designers but extends towards the company/business owners. However, through communication and participation of each of everyone sustainability can be achieved by smarter and more responsible choice of actions.

Designing a product that can recycled or reuse as a same or as another product would be great. Through this way we designer and as a consumer can help to preserve the world.

Autodesk: Green Materials Selection

Variety of materials are widely produced but there's only limited choice in terms of greener materials are limited in terms of choices. Hard wood like oak is widely used for furniture production. It might be a green material but we cannot avoid the fact that it consumes energy from extraction and production. It also affects the forestry all throughout the world for the need of harvesting wood.     

Autodesk: Light weighting

Light weighting is performed by many designers and manufacturers nowadays. In doing this, we conserve and sustain materials and our ecosystem.

In light weighting it involves the reduction of materials which is using what is needed and eliminating what is not. In saying that, this affects the overall design of the product. The form and aesthetics might look minimalistic in furniture design and might be beneficial for less abled people. In terms of manufacturing, this possibly favors designers and business owners financially.
Light weighting is not reducing or stripping materials but using the required without compromising the overall design and function of a product.

Autodesk: Energy Efficient Design

Sustainable design should require less energy in production. For example, S'ukin range products uses polyethylene as their main material in production of their shampoo/conditioner bottles. PET is 100% recyclable material, will be in demand in the next 7 years and uses 30% less energy in production. In that example, it shows considerations towards the design and the impact it make while and after the production.

In modern appliances, energy saving is put into consideration. Designers work with people with other disciplines like the engineers to achieve such energy saving design. Companies like dyson, LG, Samsung and reece bathroom are few of those companies that participate in this energy saving design. 

I think designing that involves energy saving production and coming up with an energy saving product is a great thing to do now and in the future. Of course, without compromising design ethics and the environment.   

Autodesk: Greenfly

The design manufacturing process consumes high amount of energy which depends on the overall specification of a product. Transporting it also consumes high amount of energy depending on the weight, quantity, palletizing of the product and the distance of destinations. Recyclable products is a way of saving energy that it will allow to reuse the old and avoid harvesting raw materials. Furthermore, it reduces the wastes that will be dump into landfills in other parts of the world. I think designing products involves not just the form, manufacturing and use but also the further effects on it in the environment and us.