The BS of Design

I just read a really interesting article by Michael Bieruit over on the design observer. He talks about something near and dear to my heart as a designer- bullshit. Bullshit is the fine art of justifying decisions where no really good justification exists. Most people who know me will tell you that I am exceedingly good at this. Why? I don't know. Maybe it is from writing essays in high school history about popes and kings and famines that, in my mind, had no real relevance. From wanting to do well, and have my work accepted. Maybe because often when a person asks, "Why?", they aren't really looking for a specific answer. The answer itself satisfies. As product designers, one of the main things that we do is shape products through our own very specific view on how things should look. How they should feel. How they should work. When you cut through all the design speak and look through the haze of theory and symbolism, what you find is a design that meets the project goals in the way the designer felt most appropriate. It is about the personal taste of the designer, his intuition, and his very specific view on how it should be.

This is why products designed under Jonathan Ive look drastically different than products designed under Hartmut Eslinger. Razors designed by Dieter Rams look totally different than razors designed by Karim Rashid. Is one right and the other wrong? It depends on who's BS you listen to.

One of my favorite quotes goes like this, "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit." If we're honest with ourselves, this is true every time we sell a design. Our job at that moment is to convince the client that the product we've designed is right for them, and they want some serious justification. For some clients, telling them that we chose a shape because it feels right might not be enough. The client might need a more solid reason to embrace the design. In that moment, we have to pull out the BS. We can't lay it on thick, though, or we'll be called out. The goal is to blur the line between brilliance and bullshit because, in the end, what's the difference?

Organic, erratic gears

Cory Doctorow over at boingboing posted this awesome howto video on making really funky gears. This could make a great art project! Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LdlSAN1yks

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/02/howto-organic-errati.html

Concrete furniture

A couple members of Swarm (Devin Howells and I) have a thing for concrete. There is something special about concrete as a material. In its normal context it is practically invisible- not because of physical properties, but because it is so common that it is ignored. Taken out of its context, though, concrete becomes surprising, and unexpected. It suddenly changes. What once was invisible, in a new context becomes a centerpiece.

That, and it is really fun to work with. It is messy, gritty, and raw. That is why we love to build furniture using concrete. There's something very satisfying about taking such a raw material and refining it. Combine that with plywood, and you're going to blow some minds. More renderings, and some build photos after the jump.

In addition to night stands, we're also building a coffee table. The renderings don't show it, but we've embeded a river of blue crushed glass into the concrete surface. We'll post more photos as the build progresses. Suffice it to say, this is one sweet coffee table!

Here are the build photos of the coffee tables. With a little finish work, they'll be ready for use. We'll update with more photos soon.

Admit it- these are beautiful. They are still rough, and were shot on an iPhone 3Gs in low light, so the quality isn't quite there. Studio shots to follow on completion.

Sidecountry skiing

At Swarm we spend a lot of time talking about sidecountry skiing. We've developed the perfect tool to facilitate it- The Goat. We all love to do it. In the mountains of Utah, where we're based, it seems to be exploding. Resorts are providing access to new terrain all the time to attract sidecountry skiers. But what is sidecountry skiing?Let me tell you. Sidecountry skiing is awesome. You know when you get off the lift at the very top of the resort? Usually you can look even higher and see big beautiful bowls with just a few tracks. You might wonder, "how did people get up there? Is that accessed from another lift? Another resort?" The answer is none of the above. Those tracks were made by sidecountry skiers. These are the people who value pristine terrain so much that they are willing to hike to get to it. They climb up ridges with their skis on their shoulders (or better, use The Goat) just to get a few turns in the untouched powder. They are willing to search the boundaries of the resort to find the perfect cliff drop, or hidden glade. Sidecountry skiing is all about getting off the beaten path. There are no groomers where we go.

I was doing a bit of searching around to check out this trend, when I came across a great blog post over on Wild Snow. Lou Dawson wrote an excellent post on the explosion of sidecountry skiing in North America. He talks about why he thinks that sidecountry skiing is taking off, and makes some very good points. Head over there, and check it out.

http://www.wildsnow.com/2166/sidecountry-skiing-influences/

Of course you're going to need The Goat to help you schlep your skis up the ridge...

New Goat dealer in Park City, Ut

This just in: Silver Star Ski & Sport is the latest local outfitter to pick up The Goat. You should go check them out. They are in Park City, Ut right at the base of PCMR. They can hook you up with whatever you need- ski and bike rentals? Check. Tune-ups? Check.  Gear for all your outdoor adventures? Check. The Goat? Oh yeah!

Go check them out, and tell them that Swarm sent you to get your Goat.

Design at a John Mayer concert?

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a John Mayer concert. That man sure knows how to work a guitar! But during the concert, something kept distracting me. As a design geek, my eye is always drawn to the unique elements of a production, and last night was no exception. One of John's guitarists, Robbie McIntosh, kept pulling out a strange looking guitar. It took some searching, but here it is:

The Duesenberg Double Cat 6/12 is a hollow body electric, and has a wonderful sound. It was such a unique design that I had to spend some time searching for it. You want to know the sad part? The real reason that I was searching so much is that I thought this guitar was super ugly. I still think so. Something about the way the curves all come together at the neck just isn't clean. Let's hope that it is shaped that way for some very esoteric acoustic reasons!

Anyway, ugly though it is, it is unique, memorable, and it is really good at its primary job- this guitar sounds beautiful. So this brings up the question, "is it OK for a product to be ugly if it works really well?" I answer this with a big NO! You can have the best product in the world, but if it is not shaped properly to entice people, you will vastly limit your market penetration.

The success of a product is based on many factors- form, function, marketing, distribution, cost, etc, etc, etc...  For a product to succeed, it must work better, look better, be accessible, be visible, and be desirable. Missing out on any one of these points puts a roadblock between the product and the consumer. It is important to consider the big picture view of a product as it is developed. If you don't, you're dooming your product from the start.

Always remember, people buy things because the product speaks to them in some way. It is up to you to make sure that the product says the right things!

Why you need The Goat

Swarm had the distinct pleasure of developing a product for a sport near and dear to our hearts- sidecountry skiing. What? You haven't heard of sidecountry skiing? Click through to learn more about the sport, and the equipment you will need.

Sidecountry skiing is all about accessing terrain at the resort when the lift doesn't get you there. Pristine glades, untouched bowls, powder 3 days after a storm, and giant cliff drops all open up when you do a little hiking. Check out the Facebook group to learn more.

But what do you do with your skis when you hike? Do you wear a backcountry pack all day? Do you shoulder them? Neither of these is the answer. That is where The Goat comes in. www.goat-ski.com

Swarm developed The Goat to be the tool you need to schlep your skis up the ridge effortlessly. You strap your skis in, and sling it over your shoulder just like a messenger bag. It holds your skis in place and out of the way so you can focus on climbing to the perfect spot.

When you get there, all you have to do is take The Goat off, and roll it up. It is small enough to fit in the goggle pocket in your ski jacket. Launch!

So why do you need The Goat? Well, what if you want to launch a huge cliff like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXqK7-UaEoo

Go get The Goat, and ski!

Wes and Chris’ powder day at Deer Valley

wes and chris at DVhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ7ZuJr8R7Y

Devon rides Bobsled

See? I told you that we're all about youtube. First up- Devon riding SLC's best trail, Bobsled. Man, he is good. httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn7mEXeCQmc&hd=1

Swarm blog is live

We all owe Devin and Wes a big "thank you" for taking the time out of their busy schedules to get the Swarm blog up and running. Starting a business takes a lot of work. It is super easy to focus on the parts of the business that actually make money- talking to clients, drumming up new business, developing old business. But that is very short sighted. To properly develop a brand, a company needs to look at the big picture.  It must continue to focus on developing business, but it must also market. It must tell the world what it does, and get people excited about that. This is why we owe Devin and Wes our thanks. It is because of them that Swarm can now reach out to the world and show people what we are working on. We can now show the cool products that we've developed for our clients. We can share our insights into the world of product development. We can share cool links we come across. Perhaps most important, we can now share the amazing YouTube videos we spend all our time watching.

Welcome to Swarm. We hope you enjoy your stay.