brousseau-blog1

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 15 - Final Thoughts

I see the future of design becoming more and more interactive. For example, in architecture, they are moving toward a Building Information Modeling (BIM) system. BIM is a system that allows you to put in information as you are drawing. For example, if you were drawing a house you could design a wall that has 2x6 studs, with batt insulation in between, rigid insulation and siding on the exterior, and drywall on the interior. Also, you could associate prices with each of the materials. This way when you’re done with the drawings, you’re also done with the construction materials estimate. This saves time and money. Although this means that there is a high demand for those drafters to have knowledge in building construction and critical thinking.

As far as architecture in general, the programs we have available to us are now allowing more elaborate buildings to be built. For example, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain or the Sydney Opera house in Australia would have never been able to have been built if not for the technology we have today.  

Also artificial intelligence is becoming a huge thing, and in the future I think they will come up with something amazing to do with it, other than just asking Siri why firetrucks are red. Maybe we will be able to tell our car where we want to go and it will take us there. I think we are just hitting the tip of the iceberg with artificial intelligence.

A third example would be robots. We have vacuum cleaners that work on their own now, how crazy is that? We have robots that work in factories, and robots on other planets. Is there a limit to what we can do with these things? It will be interesting to look back in ten or even five years and see how far this technology has gone. Maybe our cars won’t drive themselves, but robots will drive them instead.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 14 - Your Choice

Since the first week of this class I have become more aware of chair design specifically. As an Architecture student, I spend a lot of time in my studio. In my studio, we have a small two foot by four foot desk, and the worlds crappiest metal stools to accompany it. No thought was put into what students would use these stools for. Architecture students spend a lot of time in the studio, so a chair with some cushion and a back would be nice to have. Because of the time I put into studio, I am more aware of every chair that I sit in, and after sitting on a metal stool all day I am way more appreciative of the thin mattress that I get in my dorm. Other chairs I sit in are the lecture hall chairs, which are meant to be sat in for an hour at a time. The lecture hall chairs have a back and are cushioned, but why? These chairs are only meant to be sat in for a short period of time. Why do these chairs have cushioning and backs, but the stools that we have to sit on for five plus hours at a time are just metal, and have no back support? It can’t be because of the number of chairs, because there is about 130 students in the studio, and there are more chairs than that in a lecture hall. These metal stools cost about $60.00 according to hertzfurniture.com, now a chair with some cushion and a back costs on the low end about $80.00 from the same website. Now $20.00 per stool for 130 stools is a $2,600 difference in all. This is a small price to pay for happier students. Happier students work better, I think that a chair with a back and cushion is a small thing to ask for when we pay so much for the class, an extra class fee, a $600.00 tool kit, and about $1,000.00 for supplies. Needless to say, I asked for a nice chair for Christmas, because I can’t handle the stool anymore, and I don’t see the school implementing change in chairs anytime soon.

Works Cited Hertz Furniture . Hertz Furniture. 2017. 9 December 2017.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 13 - New Media

Digital aesthetic is when the digital world begins to invade the real world. Designers would use references from video games, science fiction, and technology. This digital aesthetic was the new shiny toy for graphic designers in the 1990’s. One example is techno type, in 1999 Tim Marcus created the taser typeface. This type uses a series of dots in a “futuristic” manner. I would not want to read a book in this font. I feel that when I look at it I am too distracted by looking at how the letters are formed to actually understand what I am reading. A second example of this aesthetic is the Me Company’s posters for Nike. The poster has a man on it that is supposed to be a cyborg (which is half man and half machine), and this robot dude is shooting things at the viewer of the poster. But, I find that the most interesting part of this poster is the Nike logo. The logo is so small I didn’t know the poster was an ad for Nike until I read the text. Also, the poster contrasts the logo so much, as the logo is red on a big blue poster, and the font of the Nike logo is out of place. The logo is so simple, and the poster is so busy, what were they thinking in the 1990’s? I think that this digital aesthetic died out because of the advancing technology. With video games looking more and more realistic, televisions improving their picture, and computers and the constant upgrades, there is no digital aesthetic because with technology looking more and more realistic, there’s no room for the real world to become more digital because they are so similar. Don’t get me wrong I love Super Mario Bros. as much as the next person, but those realistic video games are amazing. The digital world keeps evolving so fast, its hard to predict what’s next, because its already coming out the next day.

References: Eskilson, Stephen J. Graphic design: a new history. 2nd ed., Yale University Press, 2012.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 12 - New Media

Interactive design is the collaboration between people and technology, as Dan Saffer states in Designing for Interaction: Creating Innovative Applications and Devices. Interaction design used to be a very specialized area of design, but now it has grown so much, and many people practice this design. You can find interaction designers at software design firms, banks, hospitals, and appliance manufacturers. The major goal of interaction design is to create products for the user to accomplish the objective in the easiest way possible.

I looked at a lot of websites for examples on interactive design. All of them gave examples of industrial design. Industrial design is highly impacted by interactive design in several ways. I think a good way to think about interactive design is through human interaction. One good example of this is beer taps. Beer taps allow the bartender to pour a drink, but at the same time be pouring a second drink, taking another order, and clearing the bar. Another thing I learned when looking up interactive design is Alan Cooper’s 5 Tenets of Goal Driven Design. The first goal is to put the design first and the program second, this means that when designing the item you look at the user interaction first rather than designing around the technical specifications. I think that a good example of this is the Apple iPhone, the iPhone keeps getting skinner and this way it fits into your pocket better and it isn’t so heavy to carry around. It couldn’t have been easy to make all of the insides of the iPhone skinnier to fit within the new design. Number 2 of Alan Coopers goals is to separate responsibility for design from responsibility for programming. This means that the designer shouldn’t worry about technical constraints, that job is for a developer. A bad example of this is those mechanical pencils with the segments in them, if you lose one of those segments the pencil is useless. It was a good idea with the freshly sharp segments loaded and ready to go, but technically it didn’t work. The other rules of Alan Coopers Goal Driven Design are to hold designers responsible for product quality and user satisfaction, define one specific user for your product, and work in teams of two.

Works Cited Kicker studio Authors. Industrial Design is Interaction Design. 27 May 2011. 25 November 2017. Saffer, Dan. Designing for Interaction: Creating Innovative Applications and Devices. Berkeley: New Riders, 2010. Siang, Teo. What is Interaction Design. 11 November 2017. 25 November 2017. UX Booth Editorial Team. Complete Beginners Guide to Interaction Design. 27 October 2015. 25 November 2017.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 11 - Graphic Design

According to Graphic Design: A New History, a citizen designer is, “a professional who attempts to address societal issues either through or in addition to his or her commercial work” (Eskilson, 425). In laymen’s terms this is looking at the big picture. This idea started with William Morris during the Arts and Crafts Movement. In reaction to the mass production of the Industrial Revolution, Morris believed that the high quality man made items, “could serve as a beneficent social force to reform the ills of the industrial age” (Eskilson, 425). More of these reforming forces came about in the 20th century. Today, sustainability is on citizen designer’s minds. Sustainability can mean that designers are using sustainable materials. The textbook, Graphic Design: A New History, uses graphic designer Noah Scalin as an example. He suggests a sustainable printing process and materials to his clients. Technology hugely helps with sustainability. For example, the Kindle and the iBooks and newsstand apps allow people to read material without having to cut down trees to make paper. Also, there are now systems for schools, so a lot of classes don’t have to print every paper for every student. In my high school we had Moodle, at my technical college we had Blackboard, and here at UWM we have D2L. Also using recyclable and biodegradable materials is a factor of sustainability. For my studio class, we try to use materials that recycle or biodegrade rather than those that don’t. for example, we use a lot of chipboard, cardboard and MDF (medium density fiberboard). We try not to use foam core, polystyrene, and plastics that don’t recycle. In the architecture and construction industry architects and contractors use certain methods and materials to make buildings more sustainable. For example, an architect could design a wood framed house with two-foot on center stud spacing instead of 16 or 19.2 inches on center. Also, when doing a renovation some of the materials can be reused, so it’s less expensive to buy material, and the environment is being saved.  

Works Cited Eskilson, Stephen J. Graphic design: a new history. 2nd ed., Yale University Press, 2012.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 10 - Graphic Design

Claude Garamond was born in Paris, France in the late 15th century. In addition to creating the first type foundry, he created many typefaces throughout his life. In fact, according to adobe.com, “His roman types are arguably the best conceived typefaces ever designed, displaying a superb balance of elegance and practicality” (Adobe Sytems Incorporated). King Francis I commissioned Garamond to produce a Greek type to be used in the printing of Greek books.

The Garamond type is a roman type serif font group based on De Aetna type by Aldus Manutius. Adobe Garamond was designed in 1989 by Robert Slimbach. For this type there are 6 different font styles, and since 1989 has been extended and now includes small caps, titling caps, expert fonts, and swash caps. Adobe Garamond is now one of the most popular types used in books. In fact, the Harry Potter books are set in Adobe Garamond font. All of the books were size 12pt, except for Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix which was printed in 11.5pt because of the length of the book. Brad Walrod type set the series and told Fran Smith about his process,

“I get the job as word processor files, convert them to XPress Tags, translate them, and pour them into XPress templates. There I add the chapter opening art, finesse any special type treatments, check the line breaks, balance the spreads, and add the running heads. After each read, I make the changes, rebreaking lines and rebalancing spreads as needed” (Smith).

I never really thought about how much work a typesetter does. In fact, I never really thought about type at all before this Design Survey class. Doing the readings and writing about type really opened me up to learning about typography. It’s interesting to think about a story I love so much in a new way.

Works Cited Adobe Sytems Incorporated. Adobe Garamond Pro. 2000. 11 November 2017. Monotype GmbH. Font Designer - Claude Garamond. 2017. 11 November 2017. Smith, Fran. Adobe Garamond in the Harry Potter books -- not a character but a font. 7 August 2007. 11 November 2017.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 9 - Industrial Design

Brooks Stevens decided to stay in Milwaukee because, “(that) was where the business was” (Milwaukee Art Museum). He opened his own design office in Milwaukee in 1935, and it grew to have 50 employees by 1940. Evidently, Stevens was right about the business here in Milwaukee. I think he made a good decision, why go to New York where there is so much competition already and where people like Raymond Loewy and Walter Dorwin Teague have established a good reputation for themselves, when you can start up your own business in an up and coming area like Milwaukee? Brooks Stevens trusted his gut by staying in Milwaukee rather than moving to New York, but it turned out to be a great decision. I have lived here in Milwaukee for two whole months now, and I think I understand why Stevens didn’t want to leave. There’s so much going on here in the city as far as design goes.

Milwaukee fits into the history of industrial design in the forming of many different companies. One example is Harley Davidson, which was established in 1903. The company grew exponentially during World War I, when motorcycles were being used in the war. By the 1930’s They were so successful that their only competition left was Indian. They even survived the great depression with producing bikes for World War II. Harley-Davidson still plays a major part in the motorcycle industry today (Motorcycle USA). A second example is the miller brewing company. During the industrial revolution Miller had mechanical filling, labeling and capping for their bottles. They survived prohibition by brewing soda, near-beer (malt based drink that contains a very low amount of alcohol), and malt syrups. Over half of all the breweries in the U.S. did not reopen their doors after prohibition ended. They had a tough spot during World War II though. There was a shortage of “beer making materials” during the war, so Miller cut down on production and only made Miller High Life. After the war the Miller company was booming, they produce one million barrels of beer annually. Miller is thriving throughout the world today (Molson Coors).

Works Cited

Milwaukee Art Museum. Brooks Stevens Biography. 2017. 2 November 2017. <Http://mam.org/collection/archives/brooks/bio.php>.

Molson Coors. History of Miller Brewing Company. 2017. 2 November 2017. <Https://www.millercoors.com/breweries/miller-brewing-company/history>.

Motorcycle USA. Harley-Davidson Motorcycle History . 24 February 2008. 2 November 2017. <http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/2008/02/article/harley-davidson-motorcycle-history/>.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 8 - Industrial Design

I like the newer keyboards for the desktop computers. The keys are shorter like they are on a laptop computer. It seems easier to type on it, especially with the tabs on the back that allow you to angle it up. The best part of these keyboards is that the keys are separated, so they don’t collect dust as much, and you can’t drop crumbs in between the keys.

Secondly, I have a Griffin Survivor case for my iPad. I like the design of this case because it has the rubber bumpers for the corners and rubber cover for the camera. Additionally, It comes with a kickstand which doesn’t interfere with any of the buttons (volume and silence), and can be folded and stored on the side easily. My favorite part is that it has a screen protector on it. This way my three-year-old cousin can play on it with spit covered fingers and I don’t have to worry about it getting wrecked.

  Third is a drawing of my grandmas Kitchen Aid mixer and some of the attachments. I always loved making cookies with her as a child because I got to use the mixer.

Fourth is some notes on a Kimber Gun that my boyfriend has.

Next is a photo of my front quarter window in my car. Its great because it gives you a line of sight that some vehicles don’t have.

My sixth observation is a photo of a laser cutter cutting a project for my architecture 282 class. Without the laser, it would have taken me a week to cut out my pattern.

 My next observation is a drawing of my dad’s shift knob in his Dodge. This is great that it takes up less space, but what if the electronics fail? How are you going to put the truck into drive?

Eighth is a photo of my Fitbit. How would I know how many steps I have taken without it? Also, it displays the time like a normal watch.

Observation number nine is some notes on how awful the old-style hand dryers are and why the new air blade ones are better.

My last observation is on my Apple products. I love having all Apple products because they all interact so well. It’s so easy to just air drop from my phone to my computer, and iPad too.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 7 - Architecture

One key principle of universal design is low physical effort. This is something that allows use easily with a minimum amount of exhaustion. One example of low physical effort in design is the ice and water dispenser on a fridge. This provides a way to easily get ice water without filling the ice tray and spilling water all over the floor in addition to the ice dispenser the water spout is conveniently located right next to it. Another example is the button locks on our cars. Today we don’t have to dig the keys out of our pockets and insert them into the keyhole then pull they key back out and open the door, instead we just have to have the keys in our pocket and conveniently press the button with our thumb and can open the door with that same hand. A third example would be an elevator. In an elevator, you don’t use nearly as much effort as one does when taking the stairs. All you have to do in an elevator is push a button and wait.

A second principle of universal design is equitable use. This means that it is useful to people of diverse capabilities, and it has the same means of use for everyone. For example, those sliding doors that are in every Walmart and supermarket have the same use for everyone. They open the same way whether your blind, deaf, or in a wheelchair. A second example is having only a ramp to enter the building. If there is a stair and ramp it is not universal because a person in a wheelchair would not be able to use the stair. A third example for equitable use is an elevator. An elevator uses a few different principles for universal design as well as equitable use.

  Works Cited

Woodward, J. Principles of Universal Design. September 2006. 20 October 2017. <https://projects.ncsu.edu/ncsu/design/cud/pubs_p/docs/poster.pdf>.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 6 – Architecture

 The first photo is of the Northwestern Mutual Building tower in Milwaukee. This building is located near the art museum and was designed by Jon Pickard. This building is actually 50 feet shorter than the US Bank building, but because it sits uphill from it, it appears taller. This building was just completed this year (Jannene, 2017). The northwestern Mutual Building is a modern example of the international style.

 The second picture is of one of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design buildings. This is the Jane Bradley Pettit building. It was built in the 20’s and designed by architect Albert Hecht. It was called the Milwaukee Terminal Building before MIAD purchased it and renovated it in 1992. Over 15 different businesses have owned and operated out of this building over the years (Urban Milwaukee, 2014).

(https://www.google.com/search?q=pabst+mansion&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjg_vaJu_DWAhWH34MKHWwXBRwQ_AUICygC&biw=1239&bih=674#imgrc=SySv77IsYqU1QM:)

 The Pabst Mansion is the next photo. It was built in the 1890’s and designed by George Bowman Ferry and Alfred Charles Clas. In the 1980’s it was renovated and restored. The building is made of limestone, brick, and terracotta (Eastburg, 2017). The main part of the building is symmetrical, has a tall height, arches, and some ornamentation. On the right of the building you see a smaller structure with a dome roof. The Pabst Mansion has a mixture of styles to it. It displays a renaissance architectural style with the symmetry and arches, and a rococo style on the inside with lavish detail.

 Lastly, this is a picture of Chapman Hall here at UW Milwaukee. Originally, it was a library for the historic downer college, but now it is the chancellor’s office (University Visitors Netowork, 2017). Chapman hall is my favorite building on campus. I love the gothic features of the building including the pointed arch windows, and the strong vertical lines of the tower portion. Sad that there isn’t any flying buttresses though.  

   Works Cited

Eastburg, J. (2017, August 09). Restoration. Retrieved from Pabst Mansion Milwaukee: https://www.pabstmansion.com/history/restoration

Jannene, J. (2017, August 21). Eyes on Milwaukee Inside Northwestern Mutual Tower. Retrieved from Urban Milwaukee : http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2017/08/21/eyes-on-milwaukee-inside-northwestern-mutual-tower/

University Visitors Netowork. (2017). UWM Campus. Retrieved from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee: https://universityofwisconsin-milwaukee.myuvn.com/uwm-campus/

Urban Milwaukee. (2014, December 12). Jane Bradley Pettit Building. Retrieved from Urban Milwaukee: http://urbanmilwaukee.com/building/jane-bradley-pettit-building/

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 5 – History of Design

The new Bauhaus was constructed with concrete, steel, and glass. This was typical practice for buildings before this time as well, but previously everything was covered with upholstery. The Bauhaus was built with all of these materials left exposed to mimic a “machine aesthetic”. The glass for the Bauhaus was used in a curtain wall, meaning this wall wasn’t a crucial part of the buildings structure, but it does allow for the wall to be made of glass. The new Dessau Bauhaus reminds me of the architecture building here at UW-Milwaukee. This building is made of concrete, steel, and glass as well. In the studio, the wall is a glass curtain wall, and the structure of the building is not hidden. The architecture building even resembles the Bauhaus, it would be interesting to know if it was designed this way on purpose.

The recruitment posters from World War I and World War II use women’s sexuality to try to get men to enlist in the armed forces. Specifically, the “I wish I was a man!” poster suggests that if a lady wants to join the Navy, surely a man should want to as well. Also, this was emasculating men if they didn’t sign up. Today, posters and commercial use women’s sexuality to persuade men to buy things. For example, Axe products claim to “get (you) the girls”. This ad shows women hanging on a man simply because he smells good. Monster Energy has young and pretty girls at sporting events promoting their brand to men. These girls are dressed in small and tight clothing with big Monster Energy logos to let you know what they’re promoting.

In the second World War, posters changed to include Rosie the Riveter. This was to encourage women to work in the factories while the men were away at war. Today, women are encouraged to pursue jobs in the technology and trades areas. Also, women are able to join the armed forces now. We really have come far in our society as far as gender equality goes.

  Works Cited:

Eskilson, Stephen J. Graphic design: a new history. New Haven, Conn, Yale University Press, 2012.

https://genderstereotypesff.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/axe/

http://www.animemaru.com/everyday-life-with-monster-girls-much-more-complicated-than-expected/

https://techandtrades.org/category/women-and-technology-and-trades/

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 4 - Found Object

On my walk, I discovered a three story apartment building. It reminded me of a quote by Frank Lloyd Wright, he states, “The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines”. The front of the apartment building is covered in a vine, hence the quote. Maybe the architect who designed this was ashamed, or maybe the person who owns the property didn’t like how symmetrically balanced the building is, so in turn it has been covered up. There is also a large tree in front of the building on the right side that could have been used to conceal the front. Another possibility is that the vine started growing on its own, and no one wanted to take the time to take it down. There is also parking underneath the apartment building. Parking underneath the structure seems to be a must have here in the city, where I come from you don’t see that happening in design. Here at UW-Milwaukee there is a parking garage underneath the Sandburg dormitory and there is also one under the Union. The one under the union is hidden so well I didn’t even know it was there until someone told me about it. Another reason I was intrigued by this building is because it is only three stories tall. Here in Milwaukee it seems that buildings are three stories tall at minimum (unless it’s a house). To save space in the city architects design up instead of out. This building was pleasing to me because the vine on the front really made it stand out to me. It looks different than the rest of the two story houses around it that are most likely rented out to college students, due to their poor state of up-keep and lawn chairs on the front porch.

[brousseau-blog1]

Journal Week 3 – History of Design

The first 2 pictures I have posted are of my studio space here at UW Milwaukee. The second is a drawing of the space I have at my desk and my window space. For my studio class, we make a lot of models, so I am in the process of designing a shelf for my window to store all of my models. So far I have cut two strips of cardboard and glued them together. Also, I have designed a leg for the shelf to sit on. It is still a work in progress. My design is simple much like how the Art Nouveau era was much more simplified than the Victorian era (Eskilson, 65).

 The next photo is of the vacuum cleaner I bought for my dorm. It is a Bissel and you can use it like a regular vacuum or as a hand-held vacuum. I have used it once so far, and it seems to work pretty well for my dorm. It’s nice and small so that it can be put in the little spot behind the door, which is where it is in the picture. This is a simplified design instead of having 2 different vacuums, much like Koenig and Bauer simplified the printing process by selling their power press to The Times magazine (Eskilson, 29)

 The 4th picture is my dorm room, and the 5th is the notes that show why I put certain items where. Its organized, like the Avenue Theater poster was (Eskilson, 79) The poster showed 2 plays, kind of like how my dorm has multiple purposes at once.

 The 6th picture is my desktop on my computer. I have designed it so that I remember what is due for each of my classes and my class folders are right above. This is a bulletin board that I can bring with me everywhere. It keeps things organized, but simple. Like the Beggarstaff brothers’ posters were (Eskilson, 80).

 Next is a picture of my new Minnetonka moccasins. I had a pair of plain grey ones before the plaid, but I decided to go with patterned ones this time. I can’t wait for real fall weather so I can wear them. What women wear is still analyzed today. In the reading on page 72-73, there’s 2 bicycle advertisements, one woman is a “consumer” and the other ad has a “provocative” woman as a spokesmodel for the bicycle (Eskilson, 72-73). It would be interesting to know which ad sold more bicycles.

 Next is some notes on what I like more about my 2016 Chevy Cruze that is better than the 2014 Chevy Cruze that I had. This shows how companies improve their designs each year to try to get people to buy the new upgraded model. This is similar to the Industrial revolution and how the new printing presses kept coming out that printed copies faster, which got more print into people’s hands faster. (Eskilson,38).

 Next is a sketch of what I would like my house to look like some day. I really like the modern prairie style design. And the last picture is of notes of what I would include into my design to make it both a modern style and a prairie style. Architects share designs with each other and “copy” each other much like the Americans used both Japanese and European influences for their posters (Eskilson, 70-71).

 Works Cited:

Eskilson, Stephen J. Graphic design: a new history. New Haven, Conn, Yale University Press, 2012.

[brousseau-blog1]

Extra Journal 1

           I am left handed, and on this campus, all the tiny desks we get are for right handed people. I feel this is a design flaw. According to Huffington Post, 10 percent of the world is left handed (Kens, 2015). This means 10 percent of the world’s population is having a harder time taking notes in class, just because the little desk is on the other side. How do we solve this issue for left handers like me?

           One solution is to make the tiny desks a little bigger so that they come over to the left side a little further. Sounds easy, right? This way you could keep most of the design and maybe work the new desk into the old design so that the buyer doesn’t have to get a whole new set of seats.

           A second solution would be to start teaching all kids to be right handed. In the old days parents made their kids be right handed because left handedness used to be seen as a sign of a mental deficiency. This helps generations down the road, unfortunately all the left handers until then are un-accommodated.  

  Works Cited

Kens, K. (2015, August 13). 11 Little-Known Facts About Left-Handers. Retrieved from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/left-handed-facts-lefties_n_2005864.html

[brousseau-blog1]

Journal Week 2 – Design Thinking

           After reading “Design Thinking” in the Harvard Business Review, I define design as a process of inspiration, ideation, and implementation to solve a problem. This can be done individually or as a group, like IDEO does. The most significant concept from this week’s reading is designing as a group. I think this is greatly beneficial. In my two years at Northcentral Technical College I did a lot of projects in groups, and independently. Even with my independent projects, when designing I bounced a lot of ideas off of my peers, and together we came up with even more awesome ideas. I think this point is really well illustrated in The Deep Dive video on D2L. I believe that the way IDEO designs is awesome. The way that everyone is different in the group by having different professions, this way everyone has their own thought process to bring to the table. Plus, they get some really cool offices.

I have a Roku in my dorm. This device allows me to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and play games on my tv. One awesome design thinking feature is the headphone port in the remote. It allows me to watch tv while my roommate is sleeping, so I don’t disturb her. Another product I have is a 2016 Chevy Cruze. All the new Chevys have a program called Chevrolet MyLink. It allows you to connect your smartphone either directly, or via Bluetooth. Once your connected you can press a button on your steering wheel to call or text someone, then you can talk through your car speakers. You can ask it to play a certain artist or song from your music library. Or you can even project your navigation onto the screen. It’s a very smart tool in my opinion. This way people aren’t trying to look at their phone and the road at the same time.

[brousseau-blog1]

Week 1 – About Me

Hi, my name is Brittany (or Britt, as my family calls me), I am going to be 21 on the 17th of this month. I am an only child, and my family and friends mean the world to me. I am here at UWM to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies. I transferred here from Northcentral Technical College in Wausau Wisconsin, where I already have obtained an Associate’s degree in Architectural Design and Technology. I decided to take this class not only because it satisfies the general education requirements, but because it applies to my major.

 I do have some experience with design. While at NTC I designed 3 different homes and one 30,000 square foot commercial building. My favorite design was a split-level house, it is a modern prairie style design. I got my inspiration for this design from the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright who made the prairie style popular. I also love how stone looks on homes, and how steel roofing increases the energy efficiency of the home and reduces the amount of waste in the landfill.

 In other areas of design, I recently purchased the iPhone 7 because the camera is supposed to be better than the iPhone 6. I go to a lot of concerts, so the better camera has been a benefit to me. Though, I’m not sure it was worth the $700. After having Apple products for so long it would be silly to try an Android product because of all the music, books, and apps that I have bought over the years. Additionally, I have a 2016 Chevy Cruze. I absolutely love my car its comfortable, fuel efficient, has a large screen for GPS and radio, and it’s small and easy to park. Design is a huge part of life for everyone, there are designers out there every day trying to make people’s lives easier by solving problems. It’s amazing to think about how many things are designed for us.