some thoughts for the next one

1, mixed media, mockups, protos, or renderings
2, if a idea is shown to fail a challange from a engineering assessment it will be elimated
3, allow voting for yourself

2, if a idea is shown to fail a challange from a engineering assessment it will be elimated

i think this contradicts the whole idea of designing something in one hour.
given the time constraint, it’s optimal to think freely, without barriers or asking questions like “how will this gizmo actually work on the inside”. i don’t mean to say that we shouldn’t think about presenting how the product might work, however giving constraints like this for such a challenge seems a little rediculous… kind of sucks the fun right out…

No i totaly disagree because thinking of “how will this gizmo work” is a core component of any design. If your even considering a design where you have no concept of its constrution then your just drawing pretty pictures and the contest should be framed in that manner “pretty pictures of stuff” and leave it at that.

There should be no limiting the project by means of ‘whether it can be engineered or not’.

Anything can be done.

The designer/thinker who came up with “The World” islands just outside of Dubai was laughed at. With a lot of money and a lot of engineering, it’s a reality.

For example; a proposal to build a man-made Moon, really isn’t that far out of bounds. A huge project, but it can be done with lots of work, and a lot of money.

What I’m saying is, it’s much easier to say ‘that can’t be done’ - and who is to judge who can realistically say that?

Bluesky design is absolutely allowed in the 1HDC. The first hour of any design process should not be shackled by “No-Men”. Whether you liked the idea or not, the solar street lamp sparked discussion which is far more valuable output of this kind of exercise than a “doable product”.


Here’s a bit more insight into what I am thinking for v1.0 of the 1HDC:

  1. 1HDC is about figuring out a way to communicate your idea as quickly as possible as clearly as possible. Flexing your concept presentation skills, so to speak. I believe the heirarchy of importance (aka judging criterium) is: A. Clarity of Presentation
    B. Quality of product concept
    C. Quality of Form Development
    D. Within Time limit

  2. From here on out the 1HDC will be themed. As in, a topic will be defined. Depending on how much life this gets, I will be keeping the themes broad (i.e. Children’s products).

  3. I am considering eliminating voting and trying to establish a committee of 5 or so judges. Likely Core77 moderators (if they’re up for it). Also thinking that the winner from the previous. I would also like suggestions how we could get more critique. Possibly a hybrid user vote combined with a jury. Not sure yet.

  4. I want to put out an open invitation to anyone that is willing to record their hour of design. Junglebrodda did it for some sketching he did a while back. I posted it on my blog and it is by far the most requested information. People are hungry to view design process. I have often thought a library of 1HDC sessions on YouTube, etc. would be very, very cool.

  5. Also an open invitation for any design firms that are interested in putting up a hat or shirt for a prize. Maybe some products you’ve worked on that are laying around the office collecting dust?

  6. The things I didn’t like about 1HDC beta:
    -Voting turnout was weak.
    -Allowing people to vote for themself (with low voter turnout) was a gong show
    -Many Core77 “regulars” were missing

No i totaly disagree because thinking of “how will this gizmo work” is a core component of any design. If your even considering a design where you have no concept of its constrution then your just drawing pretty pictures and the contest should be framed in that manner “pretty pictures of stuff” and leave it at that

yes, thinking about the workings is a core component but it’s not the only starting point. and i dont beleive it’s necessaary for this excersise. this is ideation and presentation with the only restraint being time and theme correct? this is not assembly drawings this is not a technical package…

presentation drawings are (hopefully) pretty (persuasive) pictures…

i like the panel idea… and allowing the winner to join in on the panel discussions is a great idea too.

i think this will grow nicely if nurtured… themes are going to help.

too many rules takes the fun out of it.

this should be an exercise to have fun with on a lunch hour or break away from real work. that said, the more open, free and loose the design concepts are makes for a more creative, stimulating experience.

…we all have enough real-world problems to solve. if this turns into work, its likely you wont get too many resonses. it also limits the participation to those knowledgeable of the workings of a product. i’d like to see more participation from students, and the chance for designers to work on something they dont normally work on. putting qualifications on “how it works” limits that.

im not suggesting that magic-levitating-nano-particles-anti-gravity solutions should be called for, but i see the 1HDC as a forum for presentation, concepts, sketching and “what-ifs”.

for topics, i agree that keeping things broad yet defined would be good. along the lines of lighting, furniture, things with wheels, carrying devices, communication (broadly defined- could be cell phones or smoke signals), etc.

as for judging, im not sure a panel helps. voting increases participation and also gives an interesting X factor of unpredictability.

im all for criteria on presentation. if anything, this contest is all about presentation. how can you get across an idea in 1 image in 1 hour. presentation and concept trump formal development and engineering in my book.

mixed media, protos, renderings- not required. i’d rather see a good idea with a decent explanatory sketch than a crap concept with fancy 3d modelling. this is more about the “aha!” than CAD. not to mention that not everyone has rendering apps.

just my 0.02$ worth.

R

The islands outside of dubi were well within accepted engineering (dredging) a new “moon” can also be accepted in that we have thousands of new moons (telcom, nav, spy, iss, satlites) however a multi billion ton moon is somewhat stretching it. If your product requires “unobtainium, fairy dust, or magic” then its pretty pictures not a product.

it appears the master has spoken, lets fire up the fairy dust !!!

Ya, I am struggling with this one a bit. The voter turn out was bad. Voting for one’s self made it silly. Something needs to change. If this was simply for bragging rights I would have no trouble leaving as is. But as soon as there is a prize whether its a tee-shirt or a BMW it changes the playing field.

I will consider this.

FYI, I am aiming for August 1 for the next 1HDC.

a few questions-

was there a theme for the first one, or is the theme talk for future 1HDC’s? when would the theme be introduced for the 2nd contest- right at the start of it?

did the design have to be posted up within the one hour timeframe?

what time did the first 1HDC take place?

I dunno why, but i thought these were to be weekly? i think to keep the interest, it really would help if it was was quick, fun and often… maybe even more than once a week.

keep in mind this should be fun! no rules, no schedules, no complicated panels…

one idea for voting- if everyone voted in the comments of the thread, it would be easy to tally votes, you couldn’t vote for yourself, and some sort of explaination “why” for the vote could be included to keep the votes honest. simple, transparent, and also encourages participation and discussion.

R



R

They will be weekly or bi-weekly.

Its summer vacation time and I am swamped. So hold tight. I will be able to put more time to this in the next couple of weeks.

I agree with your fun comment. I simply found that boundaries were needed to keep some focus. Nothing is final right now. I am just thinking out loud in order to get the second one off the ground.

weekly would be so sweet… could really start gaining momoentum that way.

rK - im thinking you’re right about the panel - voting brings people in
so when would voting close?

these 2 forums carry similar activities to the 1HDC, hopefully they can be of some help for ideas. they actually have a weekly industrial design theme as well, but participation is quite lacking.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=39
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=87

it’s voter based and voters are encouraged to explain why they voted for what.
no self-voting allowed.
depending on the judge/rules, judgement can be based on either presentation (pretty pictures) or concept.
go for the moon. (afterall, it is concept art)


i thought the beta was rather successful, i’m not going to count, but i remember quite a few participants were newly registered/lurkers.

Does having a prize influence your participation?

not me. although i could use a new car :wink:

R

I think having a prize would be a good way to entice others to enter the contest…

Although I am waiting for the next one to start to get in on some action regardless…

Also I think the more often the competitions are held, it would seem more open to participation.

It doesn’t hurt but i would still participate if prizes weren’t a part of it.