Category Archives: Product Design

Ducha Halo Up for Award: Vote Today!

The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA)’s Open Minds video competition is now underway—and Art Center students Narbeh Dereghishian and Jessica Yeh need your vote!

The annual Open Minds contest features cutting-edge innovation by students from around the country.

This year, 15 teams have been selected to participate in the high-profile event, which involves an exhibition and video competition held in partnership with Inventors Digest.

Product Design student Dereghishian and Environmental Design student Yeh have been nominated for their Ducha Halo, a low-cost, portable shower designed in 2009’s Designmatters Safe Agua studio.

Check out their video, and vote for it, at the Inventors Digest site. Voting lasts through March 14. Winners will be announced March 26 at the Open Minds event, held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Good luck, Narbeh and Jessica!

Colleagues, Designers, Partners in Life: Brian Boyl and Krystina Castella

Photo by Alan Kupchick

Art Center faculty members Brian Boyl and Krystina Castella have both taken somewhat non-traditional routes in their careers. Boyl, director of interactive design in the Graphic Design Department, has a degree in physics, studied film and animation, has created computer software and produced video games. Castella created her own product development, manufacturing and licensing company; helps people start businesses and license products; and has written five popular cookbooks; the most recent, A World of Cake, named by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the best cookbooks of 2010. And this are just a few of the many noteworthy things these two have accomplished.

Also interesting—Boyl and Castella are spouses, meeting 20 years ago this month. Intrigued and curious about what motivates them to teach, how students have changed over the past two decades, and what it’s like to work with one’s significant other, we sat down with the couple for a chat.

Dotted Line: How did you two meet?
Brian Boyl: We met in 1991 at a Valentine’s Day party that a mutual friend of ours held for people who didn’t have dates. I was in film school then…

Krystina Castella: …and I was working a corporate job at Disney. We met at the party and got along really well. He called me the next day to ask me out, and I was eating a popsicle while we talked. I wrote about this in the introduction to my popsicle book, because I actually ended up saving the popsicle and freezing it.

Boyl: Yes, that popsicle went with us, every time we moved. It lasted for years. But sadly, it didn’t survive our last move.

Watch video

Dotted Line: Does it take a while for students to realize you’re married?
Castella: Yes, it’s funny—it’s the same thing every term. Many people at Art Center don’t realize we’re married. People that we’ve known for a long time do, but students are always new and don’t know at first; it’s always a shock. They seem to figure it out around Weeks 5 and 6. A student will come in and say to me, “I saw you with my other teacher,” or, “You were in the parking lot with Brian…”

Boyl: Or, “How do you know each other?” and, “I saw you two leaving campus in the same car….”

Castella: We teach in different departments, but we do have students that cross over. It’s great, we really get to know the student when that happens. We ask each other, “So how are they doing in your class?”

Dotted Line: Why do you teach?
Boyl: I love giving back to the younger generation. I also find teaching personally inspiring, because it’s always about the next thing. It’s always different, and always new—especially in the area where I teach, which is on the cutting edge of everything. And I find students tend to push me in my own creativity. And, you’re dealing with people, so it’s a lot of fun. I think I have the best job in the world.

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Running to Celebrate Life

We checked in with Product Design alumna and faculty member Wendee Lee to see how the Rose Bowl 5K went earlier this month.

Lee ran the race to celebrate and honor the memory of fellow alumnus and faculty member Norm Schureman.

“The race was fantastic,” Lee says. “It was sunny and warm—perfect running weather. I had planned out my race tempo and while it was my slowest 5K, it was definitely the strongest and most enjoyable one I’ve run. I finished right at my target finish time, feeling no pain.”

Lee asked supporters to donate to Schureman’s Memorial Scholarship fund as a way to both celebrate his life, and help ensure that his legacy continues. It’s not too late to donate to the scholarship.

“The Norm Schureman Memorial scholarship is particularly important to me as a Product Design alum and faculty member,” Lee explains. “I had Norm as an instructor, and was lucky enough to have him as a colleague as well. It means so much to know this scholarship will help future Product Design students.”

Donate to the Norm Schureman Memorial Scholarship online today.

Or, mail your donation.

Wendee Lee: Celebrating Life Through Sunday’s 5K

When Product Design alumna and faculty member Wendee Lee decided to get back into running last fall, and began training for the Rose Bowl 5K, she found that it wasn’t as easy as it used to be.

Lee

“It’s not like I’ve been a jock or very athletic for all my life,” Lee explains, “and it’s been hard this time around. Training has been a test not only of my legs and lungs, but of my will as well.”

Yet she found a deep and unwavering inspiration from an unexpected source: Lee is running to celebrate and honor the memory of fellow alumnus and faculty member Norm Schureman.

“I found a great deal of strength from the idea of running to honor Norm’s legacy and to help spread word about his memorial scholarship,” she said. Because of this, she wanted to run a race specifically in Pasadena, and the Rose Bowl 5K fit the bill and time frame.

Lee’s asking supporters to donate to Schureman’s Memorial Scholarship fund as a way to both celebrate his life, and help ensure that his legacy continues.

She’s seen first-hand the power of scholarships to change lives. As a faculty member, she’s seen students struggle to find the financial means to continue their education, and when Lee was a student herself at Art Center she had to take a leave for a year for financial reasons.

“The Norm Schureman Memorial scholarship is particularly important to me as a Product Design alum and faculty member,” Lee explains. “I had Norm as an instructor, and was lucky enough to have him as a colleague as well. It means so much to know this scholarship will help future Product Design students.”

Lee supported by many across the College. “The Product Design Department is extremely proud of Wendee, and grateful for her commitment to raising scholarship for the Norm Schureman Memorial Scholarship,” says Karen Hofmann.  “We wish her the very best on her run this weekend, and ask that our Art Center community helps support Wendee through contributing to the scholarship fund.”

The Rose Bowl 5K is this Sunday, Feb. 6. Here’s how you can support Lee: Visit Art Center’s donation page, scroll to “Area of Support / Degree Program Scholarships,” and select the Norman Schureman Memorial Scholarship. All donations will help. At the very bottom, under “Confirmation,” add words of encouragement in the “Additional Comments’” section for Lee (such as, “In support of runner Wendee Lee!”), so that she can acknowledge your support of both her run and of the scholarship.

Besides raising money for the scholarship, what are Lee’s personal goals for Saturday’s race?

“I just want to finish strong and enjoy the race and being at and in the Rose Bowl,” she says. “I’ve already regained my joy of running—so really, the rest is all gravy.”

Donate to the Norm Schureman Memorial Scholarship online today.

Or, mail your donation.

West Coast Bright Design Challenge Brings Scholarships to Art Center

In December, five Art Center students were awarded generous scholarships through the inaugural West Coast Bright Design Challenge.

Sponsored by the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF), the West Coast competition was co-sponsored by the Metal Finishing Association of Southern California (MFASC).

The West Coast Bright Design Challenge was incorporated into last term’s Material Explorations class, led by Art Center instructors Catherine McLean and Krystina Castella. A transdisciplinary team made up of Product Design, Environmental Design, Fine Art and Graduate Industrial Design students spent the term learning about surface finishing technologies and applications, and worked with local electroplating companies to enhance their understanding of the process. Students were challenged to create innovative works utilizing these technologies.

At the end of the class, students presented finished 3-D prototypes and presentations to a panel of faculty and MFASC judges. The students with the top three concepts as judged by the panel were each awarded $5,000 scholarships, and two additional students received honorable mentions and $2,500 scholarships.

Scholarship Winners:

  • Viirj Kan, Environmental Design: $5,000 Prize
  • Carlos Vides, Environmental Design: $5,000 Prize
  • Ed Schofield, Graphic Design: $5,000 Prize
  • Byron Wilson, Product Design: $2,500 Prize
  • Ji Hyun Lee, Product Design: $2,500 Prize

Art Center and the MFASC were thrilled with the collaboration and plan to continue the West Coast Bright Design Challenge in 2011. Congratulations to the student winners!

(Pictured, from left to right: Edward Schofield, $5,000 scholarship award recipient; Virginia Kan, $5,000 scholarship award recipient; Bryan Leiker, K&L Anodizing; Carlos Vides, $5,000 scholarship award recipient; Dan Cunningham, MFASC executive director; Alan Olick, MFASC president and president, General Plating Co.; Byron Wilson, $2,500 scholarship award recipient; Ji Hyun Lee, $2,500 scholarship award recipient; Gregg Halligan, former MFASC president.)

Next Big Thing: The Lumi Process

Brand X wrote a great cover story this week on Art Center Product Design students Jesse Genet and Stéphan Angoulvant and their studio Lumi Co. The pair created a new form of printing onto materials, which they call the Lumi Process.

The cutting-edge technology allows the printing of vivid, photo-like images onto natural materials such as denim, wood and leather without the use of chemicals—something never before done in the world of design.

From the article: “Lumi Co.’s first products — a supple leather wallet printed with an image of the Brewery’s neighboring warehouses and a laptop bag featuring a 1960s Richard Avedon print — might not appear to be anything innovative. After all, photography and design have a history of playing off each other. But what makes their technique unique is that the image is ingrained in the fiber, meaning materials like pleather do not have to be used to display a print.”

Also interesting: Lumi Co got its start last year with funds raised on Kickstarter. Genet explains the process in the video below.

Read more: Lumi Co.’s photographic furniture design

Schureman Book Profiled

As you know, Product Design alum and faculty member Frido Beisert has created a beautiful book, To Draw Is to See, of the work of the late Norm Schureman. It’s currently available for purchase online at Blurb, and it’s beautifully done. Beisert has explained that by using the online publisher Blurb (rather than involving a printing company), all proceeds go to Schureman’s two sons.

And even better—Blurb named To Draw Is to See book of the week last week!

From the Blurb blog: “Every once in a while, a book comes along that reminds us how very powerful the act of honoring one’s story by making a book can be. To Draw Is to See is such a book.”

They interview Beisert on Schureman, creativity and how to tell your own story.

Beisert on Norm: “Norm was all about being creative and helping others, and we very much hope that this book will help inspire the artists and designers of the future to start creating. I often tell my students that the difference between a creative and a non-creative person is that the creative one creates. It is that simple. By doing we expose ourselves to learning and by learning we improve automatically.”

It’s a great interview—take a look. Read more: Book of the Week: To Draw Is to See

To Draw Is to See: Norm Schureman’s Sketches

To Draw is to See: The Sketchbook of Norman J. Schureman is now available for purchase at blurb.com. Edited by faculty member and alumnus Fridolin Beisert, the sketchbook features more than 100 of Schureman’s master drawings.

This stunning collection showcases his talents as a designer and teacher. From birds to dinosaurs and from tanks to insects, every page is an inspiring example of his legacy.

All proceeds of this book go to his two sons, Milo and Kian. Preview the book online.

Your BlackBerry Can Do What?!

The BlackBerry Empathy concept phone has received a great deal of online buzz this week. Not only is the design striking, but the idea behind the device is quite interesting—it’s designed with an interface that can interpret and respond to the user’s emotions.

The concept was created by two Art Center Product Design students, Kiki Tang and Daniel Yoon (they’ve since graduated), for a RIM BlackBerry sponsored project at the College.

The user wears a ring that collects emotional data and graphically displays the user’s emotional state to their personal connections.

According to Yoon: “Each contact has an avatar that is encompassed by two colored rings.

The inner colored ring shows the contact’s previous emotional state, and the outer ring represents the contact’s current emotional state. It is important to show the shift in emotions in order to see how an event has affected that contact.”

The phone also features an “Emotional Health Chart,” monitoring the user’s emotions over time, and finds patterns in behavior and emotions (for instance, a person’s mood may repeatedly plummet after phone calls from a certain individual).

So what do you think? Revolutionary … or just plain creepy?

(Thanks to Yanko Design for breaking the story. More images on their site.)

Design Activists: Narbeh Dereghishian and Jessica Yeh

The following is a posting from Daily BR!NK. Interview by Lauren Rigney, photographs courtesy of Narbeh and Jessica

Narbeh Dereghishian and Jessica Yeh: Design Activists

There are two things in this world that Art Center Product Design student Narbeh Dereghishian and Environmental Design student Jessica Yeh believe everyone should have access to: A warm shower and wonderful design

By Lauren Rigney for Daily BR!NK

The next time you pick up a product and admire it for its sheer beauty, simplicity or functionality, you can thank people like Jessica Yeh and Narbeh Dereghishian. Students at the Art Center College of Design in California, Jessica and Narbeh love nothing more than improving life through innovation and design.

When they were both offered the opportunity last fall to spend two weeks at a campamento (or slum) in Chile, researching how to design basic tools that would improve the Chileans’ lives, neither realized at that point just how big of a difference they were about to make.

The result of their research and efforts is the Ducha Halo, Spanish for “Halo Shower”: a low-cost, portable tool that makes taking a warm shower as easy as 1, 2, 3 – you heat the container on a grill, pump the handle to pressurize the water, and step on pedal to let the comfort of a nice, warm shower wash over you.

What made you want to go to school for design?
Jessica Yeh: I think it was just something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I made up my mind in middle school that I just had to be a designer (laughs).
Narbeh Dereghishian: I knew I wanted to solve problems.

Why did you want to be part of the class that undertook the assignment of visiting, and designing for, a Chilean slum? That’s not typical homework…
JY: Design is wonderful, and it can be really innovative and have the potential to help people who need simple things. Just to help make their lives a little bit easier, a little bit better and more enjoyable.
ND: Exactly. As for me, I’ve done other projects related to social design, and the one prior to this one was one in Guatemala where I did water filtration for a rural community there. This was right up that alley.

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