So if you have been living on this earth, you know all about the iPhone. I was watching TV last night for a little bit and saw a commercial for the new HP TouchSmart IQ500 Series. What triggered my interest is because it has come to my attention that we are taking the baby steps to getting accustomed to the world of “touch.” Some of you may not know about the product I am about to talk about, but to brief you, it just came out this Spring and says it will “revolutionize” the way users go about interacting. The product I am referring to is the ever-so-cool Microsoft Surface.

This baby is so friggin’ cool, but it kiiiiind of scares me. Why? Here is a product that has just come out and states very boldly that it will change the way people interact. In my department at school, we have discussed the surface, and I have previously done some research about it. Will this become the next need? Remember the times when there was no internet and cell phone? Hmm….will this really be as huge as Microsoft says?

The surface will be first presented in leisure, entertainment and retail spaces in the U.S. However, Microsoft is committed to international market expansion and as the Microsoft Surface business grows, the company looks forward to a promising global opportunity with this exciting product.

Being in industrial design, it’s products like this that make me do that Daffy Duck thing where when Daffy sees treasure and his eyes get glossed over and big and he runs his tongue round his beak real quick…it’s hypnotizing! But here is the thing. The reason I bring up the iPhone and HP is because I feel we are taking the steps to getting our society used to this technology. Why not just come out with the Surface and see how it does? Well you could, but people might not react the way you think. Microsoft kept the Surface under wraps for 6 years! They were very smart about this.

This is a new way of using, and if you put out a product that’s so new and innovative, surprisingly people may not know what to think. Imagine giving an iPhone to someone 10 years ago, those products don’t fit in for what was going on then, plus people might be able to understand or adapt as quickly. We’ve taken the steps to get there. You have to be just right when coming out with something, because timing is a key issue. Props to Microsoft I hope you guys do well with the product, I hope I get to play with one soon, but I also hope it’s a product for the good. Here is some awesome info on the surface.

Here is what the Surface is in a brief description that you can find the website:

Microsoft Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, interactive surface. It’s the first commercially-available surface computing platform from Microsoft. The product provides effortless access to digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. Today, it’s a 30-inch diagonal display in a table-like form factor that’s easy for individuals or multiple people to interact with in a way that feels familiar, just like in the real world. In essence, it’s a surface come to life for exploring, learning, sharing, creating, buying and much more. Today, consumers can interact with Surface at select AT&T retail locations. Surface deployments will continue in restaurant, retail, leisure and public entertainment venues in the coming weeks and months.

Awesome right!? Heck yes it is! Not only is the Surface going to be presented at the certain locations, but this technology is being used for our military operations…ahh yess, some top secret coolness….hah not really top secret, but cool nonetheless.

Okay, so back to the new HP. I’m interested to see the technology of “touch” or “surface computing” being used in computer form…yes I know the Surface is kind of like a computer, but the new HP is the first of its kind for the general public buying computer world. Since the Surface is not for individual consumer sale, this HP is a good start! Oh HP, way to use the Tim Burton Nightmare Before Christmas font style haha. Once I get my hands on one of these puppies and get the chance to play around with it (the HP), we’ll see if it makes it to my list of awesome products or will it end up on my worst product of the week list… We’ll see how the world takes to it.

By Kaley Hymiller
www.orange-element.com

Yea, okay, I saw this yesterday and it’s still bugging me. The BBC will be putting out a new reality show on who will be the best product designer, a.k.a the best industrial designer. As you may or may not know, my degree is in industrial design, so needless to say this irked me juuuuust a wee bit. The only reason it irks me is because the show will be called “Philippe Stark’s School of Design.”

There will be 10 UK designers from all walks of life that will join Stark and work with him for several months all in hopes to win the spot to work with him in his studio for six months. As Anthony James from www.yankodesigns.com puts it, “I will be watching with morbid curiosity as we are compelled to sit through over acted “real” moments where Philippe berates young designers to the point of suicide, all to make the perfect fly swatter.” This is the man (Stark) that quoted “Design is dead.” WHAT!? Ok dude, what are you thinking, really? Please please explain to me your point because I would love to argue with you. It’s like the quote “Rock and Roll is dead,” but worse! And by the way rock and roll is not dead…

I couldn’t agree with you more Anthony…although sadly enough I too will be watching.

Why just UK designers? Show me designers from all over!

“Rockstar” designers like Stark, Graves, and Rashid are appreciated in my world, nonetheless, but at the same time we laugh at them. Jealous are we? Mmmm, maybe in some aspects, but I want to know how much those “rockstars” actually design within their company, or do they just yay or nay stuff. Hmmm…

Still, don’t we have enough reality shows. You KNOW it’s gone too far when you make a show about a career that most people go “Oh, so that’s like architecture” or the ever famous “What is that?”

I rest my case

Kaley Hymiller
www.orange-element.com

I’m going to try and put up what I believe, in my opinion, is a bad product every week. So here we go..

WHAT IS THIS!?!? Come on….really? Okay so at first you might think “oh this is cool.” Come on, you knooow that toasting part is not going to burn that message on clearly. And also, how are you supposed to remember something on toast…don’t most of us use butter, or jam or what-have-you on your toast? Plus look how you pull it out! That’s metal people, I’m sure that’s going to be hot. Also, that message totally looks Photoshopped.

Sorry Mr. Toaster Message Designer, but I’m calling you out

Greetings!

So Garret, as you may well know, usually writes on here, but NOW muahahah, I have access! I am the one they call Kaley Hymiller, I am the new intern for Orange-Element. I about to start my 4th year at The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in the Fall and will GRADUATE this Fall as well, yay! I am the product guru for this company this summer, so we’ll see as I go along what magic I can create. So, enough about me and my introduction, because you’ll get to know me a little more through my posts….let’s get to the stuff!

Okay, so yesterday while eating lunch, I was browsing Gizmodo and Yanko (sites i always love looking at!) and came across a parking garage that caught my eye.

Ummm, you can see why it caught my eye! Reading about it, THIS GARAGE IS GREEN!! Designers Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners, constructed the garage, which is on its way to being the first LEED Certified parking structure in the USA. The structure provides 900 parking spaces (14 of which are devoted to electric vehicles) throughout six levels of above ground parking and one and a half levels of below ground parking. AND there is free bike storage! The parking garage, which is the Santa Monica Civic Center parking structure, has a solar panel arrangement that provides all of the building’s energy needs. Not only is the building energy efficient, it also contains many sustainable features such as a storm drain water treatment system, recycled construction materials, low-VOC paints and coatings, low-e glazing for heating and cooling efficiency, and energy efficient mechanical systems.

Not to mention, it is oh so pretttttyy!

This Friday is The AST Dew Tour here in Camden Yards. Whoever is not working needs to go! Good Charlotte will be this year’s headlining act. The show starts at 9 and runs til 11 but the festivities of the competition start 4:30pm (gates open at 2). CONGRATS to my personal friends AFREUDIANSLIP (AFS) to winning this year’s competition for the opening slot of this year’s Dew Tour. AFS will be opening up for Good Charlotte, so come see the show because it’s going to be AWESOME!

Also, who also HATES those letter/number code things you have to type in when you buy something or leave a comment for someone…ummm…I’m sorry, but CAN YOU MAKE THEM MORE CLEAR TO READ!

So there’s some food for thought.

Kaley Hymiller
http://www.orange-element.com

Our new intern, Kaley Hymiller started at Orange Element today. She is tops in my book already because she sent me a sweet link to blog about. As you know from reading my earlier post about Kaley, she’s way into industrial design. That’s why she loved this Gizmodo story about RFID-driven library chairs.

It doesn’t look real, but it is. You simply swipe your library card in front of the chairs and like a little puppy they follow you around, waiting for you to want to sit. They do this using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, but it can best be explained by checking out the video:

Now THAT would be a fun product to brand and market.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

Check out this new concept from BMW. It was truly an exercise in thinking outside the box and using design to solve a problem. I’m not sure if it will ever make sense to produce, but it is pretty stunning and innovative.

Read more here at Wired: http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/bmw-builds-a-ca.html

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com