NuVu Coach S. Adrian Massey III summarizes the final project for the Envisioning Now studio:

Envisioning Now is a design studio about lifestyle visionaries who manifest their comprehensive re-imagining of society through mass production. The work of these visionaries meet unmet needs and fulfill unseen styles. Envisioning Now is a two week approximation of the processes used by product designers. These processes include brainstorming, sketching, specification, manufacturing, and marketing.

The final project was to design a fantasy context and novel product for a researched occupation that is able to be manufactured now. The deliverables for the project were a questionnaire and answers, occupation research, a vision board, design iteration, design specs, a model, a storyboard, and an infomercial. The students were first directed to research their self-selected occupation. From this research, they constructed interview questions with an emphasis on being concise and investigative. The occupations that were selected were a symphony hall director, detective, cardiologist, architect/urban designer, and a rocket scientist. After they conducted their interviews they began their iterative product development processes. Please note that the students very roughly learned these processes the first three days of the course.

Here are the infomercials each of the teams produced from the Envisioning Now design studio.

The Music Note by Annie Kellogg & Nora Demick:

Here are the infomercials each of the teams produced from the Envisioning Now design studio.

SurgAssist by Carli Jaff & Olivia Dynan:

Here are the infomercials each of the teams produced from the Envisioning Now design studio.

Hestia by Abe Gobel & Grace Brescia:

Here are the infomercials each of the teams produced from the Envisioning Now design studio.

Oculusspy by Tiah Camillo & Joseph Randles:

Envisioning Now studio coach S. Adrian Massey III talks about the process of creating vision boards to represent a parallel or futuristic goal for the world surrounding that occupation.

Envisioning Now, Day 4
by S. Adrian Massey III
10/21/10

We started work on our final projects. The final projects used the same processes as the first few days except extended over a full week. The constraints of the final project were to interview a friend that has an interesting occupation to find moments of unmet needs. In researching the occupation of the interviewee the students created vision boards to represent a parallel or futuristic goal for the world surrounding that occupation. Read the rest of this entry »

Envisioning Now studio coach S. Adrian Massey III talks about the “post-it brainstorm” session and other activities that the studio participated in the second and third days to push forward initial design ideas for products imagined by each student.

Envisioning Now, Day 2
by S. Adrian Massey III
10/19/10

Tuesday we reviewed product design processes. We looked at iterative models for product development where many design iterations can be created and tested simultaneously. We reviewed participatory design methods like democratic brainstorming and usability methodologies. Lastly we reviewed integrative methods of design specifically focusing on the future of parametric collaborative workspaces like CATIA. These modern digital workspaces allow for dynamic interchangeability of design elements. With this understanding we engaged in a post-it brainstorm, where the students shared their ideas with the class and the class responded with more ideas to push each project further. Read the rest of this entry »

Envisioning Now studio coach S. Adrian Massey III shares the process he created for the first day of the studio for getting the students to envision new ways to reconfigure social and personal practices. The aim of the methodology is to be able to find unmet needs within the decision-making process of any activity.

Envisioning Now, Day 1
by S. Adrian Massey III
10/18/10

The course started by establishing a base of landmark architects and designers. These professionals were defined by their most recognizable creations. The procession of creatives started with Henry Ford, and ended with new media and biotech designers. The underlying message was reviewing the different visions for society through design and how they were disseminated by creating a consumable product. Read the rest of this entry »