I am doing a project at the moment, designing lamps based on Anthropomorphism and the target consumer is the “creative professional”. I am looking all over the forums seeing what products are posted that you guys like or dislike and I want to just ask if there is a criteria that you set for something you buy?
So far I have got:
aesthetic reasoning i.e not pointlessly over designed
Environmentally conscious
enjoyable to interact with
something that is not the obvious (something you get but may want to explain to others)
functional
Basically it’d be great if i could hear what you want from a product that is going to go in your home.
Story is a huge one when it comes to branding. I’m happy and proud to be a Crumpler bag fanboy because the product has a story behind it. Then the personality of branding is another one… I love buying Crumpler bags because the buying experience is somehow funny (knowing the names of the bag is a joy), and rare because I only need to get it when I need another bag, not a replacement.
Now you can translate that to why people want to buy other branded goods… but you can always implement that type of mentality in the development of your product
I have so many ideas for you, but piggy backing on the last guys post I would pick one strong theme and create a great story around it. So instead of trying to give all the ‘criteria’ you mentioned equal billing I’d pick one and make it the primary focus.
With the leaps in technology lately, fun or unique to interact with might be an easy one. Maybe it needs a fingertip reader to turn on, or it has a motion sensor you need to run your hand over, or it has a touch interface to allow for dimming.
Along that line and into the functional, my task lamp has a cool florescent and a warm CFL in it that I can switch between to check color chips or paint samples in different light. Maybe your light has those color change led’s that will let creatives check their work in all different wavelengths.
Above all I’d use the awesomeness rule. I think Donald Norman uses the word whimsy. If you make something that’s just plain cool creatives will probably love it.
I’ll let you know where I’m at at the moment. Basically, the lamps are based on the concept of yin yang, one being masculine and one feminine, which kinda feeds in the anthropomorphism. I having them so separately they emit a coloured light (magenta for feminine, green for masculine) but they also fit together and the lights merge so in theory the combined light is white (harmony).
I do a art foundation course in the UK (pre-undergrad) so I have very limited technology and not much knowledge of wiring, but i can probably learn the basics to wire up a lamp or two.
What do you think of that as an idea? Or is there anything you would really like to see as part of it?
I like the artistic premise, but I would also really like to have a (practical) reasoning for why I would want the lights to be separate. I can’t really see myself ever wanting a magenta and green lighting system. Maybe if the lights were very dim when alone (mood lighting) and could be combined into a really bright (desk/work lighting) lamp if necessary. You could achieve this with a light sensor and arduino board to bump up the intensity of light when they sense the other light is near.
I’m designing an electronic device at the moment. A bit scary because my electronics knowledge was limited to rewiring a guitar and putting new tubes in my guitar amp before I started this.
Here’s an awesome free resource for any designer/builder thinking of tinkering in electronics.
I also should add that I have a crumpler bag too and I bought it because I like the story of a guy starting a bag company in his shed ad turning it into a really successful business. The bags also come with a lifetime repair warranty. This is the sort of thing I look for in products. Reduce, reuse, recycle, repair and rs feeds.
due to excellence