Discarded to Precious – Floppy-disk/Jeans Bag

Challenge:

- Design a product that is only constructed out of discarded materials.

Creative Solution:  Floppy-disk/Jeans bag

How it was made:

I have a tendency to not throw away anything because I always think that “Oh I may need it for a future project or craft.” In this case my mild hoarding came in handy. I looked through a lot of the random materials that I had at hand to see if I could create something new out of any of it. I stuck with using theses three items: floppy disks, an old pair of jeans, and some suspenders.

I first drilled holes into the floppy disks and then looped them together with jump rings until I had a sheet of 1×3 and two sheets of 2×3.

I then cut the jeans right above where it splits into two legs. Then turned them inside out so that the pockets will be on the inside of the bag.

I then sewed a bottom to the jeans.

Then sides and a second bottom layer.

Then sewed on the floppy disk sheets to the front and back. I also added a flap on the top where the 1×3 sheet is sown to. The suspenders are then just attached to both sides of the bag to be the straps.

And there you have it a recycled bag made from old floppy-disks, an old pair of jeans and old suspenders.

- K

3 Favorite Apps to Help You be More Productive

With all of the papers, exams, and projects bearing down on me I have come down with a bug. Yes I have come down with the academic disease most like to call, procrastination. Similar to a cold it shows up seasonally, normally around midterms or finals week. It bogs you down preventing you from working, with symptoms that range from zoning out to Internet distractions. To help make sure you don’t get the procrastination bug, I have here a list of free preventative medicine to keep academically healthy:

3. Tackle those emails with Mozilla Thunderbird

            If you are anything like me, you are probably drowning in quite the sea of emails and having multiple email accounts is not helping this issue. For a very long time I checked every account individually for new emails. But then I discovered Mozilla Thunderbird! It is a handy dandy piece of software that collects all of your emails from all accounts so you can read them in one place, and you don’t even have to open a browser to do so.


Download Thunderbird here in any language for Mac, Windows or Linux

2. Organize Your Tasks with iProcrastinate

            Although the name would suggest otherwise this application is actually a really helpful task manager. It’s very easy to use and has a very attractive interface. You can organize your tasks in categories/subjects and priority. You can also view your tasks in groups such as “upcoming” or “due tomorrow”. This app also allows you to break up tasks into smaller steps and star important ones. Have an event that happens every week? This app can do that too! It can even sync from your Mac to your Iphone or though the Internet through Dropbox. You can also view your tasks in a calendar form if you are more of a visual thinker like me. Overall, great app with a great look and makes organizing tasks not get in the way of actually doing my tasks.

Download Iprocrastinate here from the Apple App Store for free for the Mac and $0.99 for Iphone

1. Remember Everything with Evernote

            This is by far my favorite application of the three. This is a very versatile program that lets you practically capture everything. It is basically a note-taking app, but you can do so much with it. It documents and saves all of your ‘notes’ into ‘notebooks’ and allows you to search them later. It can be used to save recipes, make lists, save ideas; the possibilities are endless. You can also import Word files, Power Point documents, PDFs, images and audio recordings. You create a free account with the website and you can access your notes from anywhere including your phone, tablet, or Ipad. I personally use it to type up notes, record lectures and pretty much save all of the digital documents that I receive. It is a real lifesaver at times and keeps all of my information very organized. Truly you have to check out Evernote for yourself and see how it can really improve how you organize your digital information.


Download Evernote here for Mac or Windows


- K

Good Design Is...

We designers, we don’t work in a vacuum. We need business people. We are not the fine artists we are often confused with. Today you find few companies that take design seriously, as I see it.”

— Dieter Rams

- K

Doodling for Dollars

An interesting article that discusses how "employees at a range of businesses are being encouraged by their companies to doodle their ideas and draw diagrams to explain complicated concepts to colleagues."

   

Read the full article here.

- K

The 5Rs of Great Design

You’ve heard of Reduce-Reuse-Recycle, But that’s only part of the story. Shifting from a world where we try to just do “less bad” to one where we are actually creating MORE GOOD — is the thought process behind a Restorative Economy.

To that end, designers in the o2-Global Sustainable Design Network tossed around ideas to see how we can use the old 3Rs we all know and love, and add just a few bits to it, to create an impact ranked list that will help bring us not only back from the brink of self-destruction, but put us on to the path that will take us to the next level.

To be sure there are WAY more Rs than 5, but the idea was to keep things simple but inclusive, and still be really useful.

Innovation Action-list: The 5Rs of great design

RESTORE
Use materials (and support firms) that help reverse damage or — add — to natural capital. Restorative Economics, the next step in sustainability evolution.

RESPECT
Examine impacts the item will have on stakeholders, as well as eco-systems — social plus environmental justice, look for the win-win-win scenario (triple bottom line). Fair trade, cultural respect, noise/light/visual pollution (the physical stuff of an industrialized society), clear property rights, accessibility issues, universal design issues.

REDUCE
Reduce the materials needed to do function, including: less materials used (includes product life issues [1 LED bulb = MANY incandescent]), less weight to transport (reduce fuel demands), less energy to manufacture, less energy to store (aseptic pack vs. refrigerated milk), less energy to use (LED bulbs vs. incandescent, coldwater wash vs. hot), reduced toxicity (reduce to ZERO).

REUSE
Reuse something already manufactured, and make item easy to BE reused with minimal or NO remanufacturing (packaging AS product).

RECOVER
Create item to be fed BACK into the resource loop (includes Cradle to Cradle), have a robust and easy to use system to RECOVER materials, and USE RECYCLED substrates to make the item (100% PCW paperboard) wherever possible. Under this R we would naturally tuck the old favorite — RECYCLE the things you recovered.

Looking at things in a Cradle to Cradle light for RECOVER and RECYCLE you can’t have one without the other. Recyclable has no meaning unless it’s been Recovered.

It must be noted in the cycles of a Cradle to Cradle model, RECOVER/RECYCLE is the most energy intensive of the Rs. Manufactured items should not be created with a one way trip, or even a virgin renewable resource manufactured good that goes straight to compost, as a first choice. This option should be the — last stop — as part of a well managed system that incorporates the other 4Rs as well.

Paper, paperboard, and pulp (wood, kenaf, bamboo, agripulp, etc.) are great examples of a renewable, biodegradable resource that makes many many useful reuse and/or remanufacture trips (Technical Nutrient) before it’s time to retire them as compost fodder for the next growing cycle (Biological Nutrient).

Sustainability means:
Never having to say you’re sorry.


- K

Source

Paper Shoe Pt 2 – Initial Constructing

We experimented with a lot of different paper shapes and focused on how to make the paper strong enough to hold up a person.

We tried tubes:

Then honeycomb sheets:

Then folded paper springs:

We tried to combine some of these forms to make a sort of mock up sole to test out:

These forms seemed pretty strong themselves but then it was time to test our sole:

Hurrr…even though the structures seemed strong they were no match put up against the full weight of a person. The areas most effected were under the balls of the foot and the heel. The paper spring, although seemed strong, under lots of pressure, flattened and spiraled in on itself. Honeycombs didn’t stand a chance.

Welp, back to the drawing board it is…

- K

Paper Shoe Pt 1 - Objective and Original Concepts

Challenge:

- Design a shoe constructed only of paper and white Elmer's glue that has a 5/8" sole and a 1" heel.

- Attempt to walk in the shoe 25 feet.

Creative Solution: My group decided to design a running shoe which means we had to take into account the flexibility of the sole as well as how to make sure that the sole had the strength to hold up a person. we wanted more of a fitted shoe that would also have the durability to live up to the wear and tear of running.

User Profile:

- Age: 18-45

- Height: 5'8"-6'8"

- Weight: 160-190lbs

Original Concept Sketches:

- K