Designing is my love, but there is one part that i love the most… That is sketching… To commence a good ideation session i look to my favorite brands and their existing products to take forms from them. I love it, i will pull up an image of an alienware computer and use the slick ass venting on my new briefcase im designing. You get it right?
Well, sometimes I have trouble thinking of cool companies and brands so i always end up lookin at bout the same 4. I am now making a list of all the brands i can use, So come on guys i want to hear what ones you use, or just cool brands u know of. bring it on
Here are a few of my favorites:
Alienware
Apple
DeWalt
Rubbermaid
I think this list will be benificial to everyone so what are you waiting for…commence!
hmmm- I would try not to have it as obvious as you describe, maybe a little more subtly influenced. Just look at the reddot.de website for inspirations when creating mood boards. I find that I am dry for a while when when looking but hit a good vein of inspiration after a while- whether a good music site or an artist or a set of related Japanese, Swedish etc products. Part of it is also you as a designer trying to figure out where the
culture will head.
I try and stay as far away as I can from a specific set of form languages to draw from. Go back further to the culture your user soaks in and then figure where you can go from there. Eminem and 50cent to…where?? Geometric pill shape Dewalt to locomotive Dewalt to…where? Figure out the user. Why do they like some things and not others?(very hard- no answers for that. It is a combination of innovations and aesthetics) Even then you have to massage away for days till something finally clicks and you go…“sweet!”
That is definitely a very good point. That is definitely another key thing i should have mentioned but keeping the users environment in mind while sketching. I like to look at the products that a user will interact and typically use in a similar environment to the product i am designing.
Also listening to music is a must for me. Sketching without music is possible but my ideas always seem to be much better and fluid with music. Plus i keep my guitar next to my desk at home so I can take a break and clear my mind with some tunes.
Being a designer these days is so amazing to me because of google. What an amazing research tool that is literally perfect for us. Of course nothing is better then actually speaking to users face to face and getting real feedback.