Friday, July 17, 2009

Making Audio Assistive Technology Sexy . . .

Hearing loss seems to strike the men in my family for one reason or another. My Grandpa worked in a metal stamping plant in the 50's-70's. My Dad lost hearing in one of his ears after a really bad car accident. I like to soup-up MINIs and that usually ends-up making them quite a bit louder than factory specification.

Since about 5 years ago, I now wear earplugs A LOT--concerts, banging a hammer when building things, grinding metal, taking my car to have dyno testing done-- whatever it takes to preserve the hearing that I have left. (I'm sure that some has been lost to the impatience of youth and/or non-consideration of loudness). When I have a son or a daughter, this child will have a pair of earplugs tucked in their jacket so that I can start them early on hearing protection.

OK, the stage for my personal interest in audio assistive technology is now set. The image above shows a product from a company called Widex called the mind440. This device blew my mind this week, but not for its physical design (which I believe is much more good than bad BTW). Instead, they did a fairly sexy online campaign for the mind440 that you can check out here:

http://campaign.widex.com/flashcampaign/mind440/Site/uk/Platform.html?gclid=CPCWn8D_3ZsCFRlcagodnjQsAQ


So this site has some vignettes that are like a Chanel commercial at times. However, it mixes some enticing imagery with key pieces of consumer info that really hit the target areas of "Why do I need this?". The Flash animations, video, site styling, & layout give an aura of high-design to the mind440. It's a very de-stigmatizing approach to advertising this type of assistive technology. Widex chose to deal more with using their product as lifestyle maintenance rather than dwelling on hearing loss. Bravo to Widex!

-Clint

P.S. (I'm going to do a little research to see what ad agency/firm they used to pull this production together. I'll report back once I know more.)

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

So I Changed Our Contact Info with IDSA . . .

So I changed DO|CO's contact info with IDSA (the Industrial Designers Society of America) earlier this year.

Since IDSA is a great way to stay current in the design field, network, & get discounts on a host of events. products, & educational programs for designers, I bite the bullet and pay my membership fees every year.

So, I sent a (very necessary) administrative email to IDSA and I was happy to see that we're in mentioned in Design Perspectives, IDSA's newsletter, this month. It's a strange self-promotional feeling, but nonetheless a good one.

Thanks to Jill Richardson, IDSA membership coordinator for getting our info onto the printed page. (Jill, my 2009 dues check is in the mail, I promise!)


-Clint


Saturday, July 11, 2009

Ponoko Meetup @ Because We Can in Oakland 07/09/2009

Aaron and I are currently in the midst of creating some sweet new stuff that we're going to have made at the new, US branch of Ponoko.com. However, we were curious as to what Ponoko actually is. Who runs this Ponoko deal anyway? What is their setup actually like?

Fortunately, my wife, Yelena, and I attended the Ponoko Meetup in Oakland last Thursday night to get these questions answered. As it turns out, Ponoko is actually operating out of a really cool sustainable design/interior design company called Because We Can. Although we showed-up late (thus missing Dave and Derek of Ponoko fame), we did get to see Ponoko's laser-cutter, materials, materials samples, and other sundries. Yes people, Ponoko is a real, enabling design company run by real people. If you want to make cool stuff for yourself and/or to sell your stuff to the masses, go their site and check 'em out. www.ponoko.com.

OK, so I had my proof that Ponoko is the real deal. However, once you step into Because We Can
, you are quickly reminded that there is SO much more out there in the CNC world than just laser cutting. Because We Can is a full service interior design, furniture, and CNC woodwork shop. They produce amazing design & interiors work. One of the owners, Jeffrey McGrew, was explaining all the wonderful things that their Shopbot CNC Router can do to for creative-types to a hoarde of fellow design geeks. (His love of this robot is evident. Aaron and I will be contacting him for quotes on some of our furniture designs in the future.)

There were lots of people doing neato stuff. Here are my favorites:

1) Our friend Kate Compton was showing off her stereoscopic viewer for the iPod. After several iterations of her device, she has a very sweet & complete version of her idea. (Kudos, Kate!!)

2) We met two guys named Henry and Adam who electrified a Mazda Miata. Henry owns this beast and was working on this car in his parent's garage for about 2 years. He just finished it and drove it over to the Ponoko Meetup for the first time. Henry has done his homework and created a VERY nicely designed home-built EV. (We heard that he did a MASSIVE burnout when he was leaving the Meetup. It's a shame that we missed it.)

Yelena and I had a fun time. Thanks to Because We Can and Ponoko for a great evening.


Friday, July 10, 2009

DO|CO's Blog is Up!

Hi All,

It's Clint & Aaron from DO|CO Design. We run a user centric product and experience design firm with offices in San Francisco and Boston.

We'll be posting our thoughts about design, our projects, and other things that interest us in this great big world of ours right here. Check back often to see what we're up to.

-Clint & Aaron