Tools and confidence

Sometimes we build up wonderful ideas in our head, but get so afraid of ruining them by trying to realise them. It is then skills in using ideation tools, be it hand sketching or physical 3D sketch modelling, give us the confidence to start making the idea happen.

Terence Conran on ideas and making ....

'I think it is vital for any designer to roll their sleeves up and get heavily involved in the making process because it helps you get a deeper level of understanding about design and how it relates to the consumer ... To me design has, and always will be, about problem solving and making people’s lives easier and more comfortable ... While we must embrace computers, we must not become slaves to them—the best ideas always start with an HB pencil and a sheet of plain paper'. Terence Conran (Interview http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2011/12/qa-terence-conran)

Small is beautiful

'There are so many more tools for the small designer, nowadays. CAD and 3D modelling is scaling down, so that a single person can produce sophisticated prototypes at home. This means that there are opportunities for designers working on their own and in small teams to use affordable technology - and more opportunity for crossing creative disciplines'. Moritz Waldemeyer, Designer.

Tailor-made with Android

London tailor Spencer Hart is using Note, an Android-based smartphone to annotate drawings for bespoke suits marking down exact measurements during the fitting process. In addition, the tailor can mark on a visual representation of the suit or jacket whether there should be any extra details around the cuffs, or other alterations. The end result will be sent immediately to the Savile Row base where the item will be made, eliminating any mistakes that could happen previously.

Boring words

'Most [graphic] designers are not very good copywriters. So, if you find yourself having to design something with boring words, don't try to make them interesting. Let the images do the heavy lifting.' Bob Gill, Pentagram

Innovative people with great ideas

"We [Brits] rally against the status quo. Look at our creative industries like advertising that win loads of awards, our TV too, and our comedians. That's down to an anarchic point of view that's always measured with a degree of pragmatism. We're not playing fairies with felt-tip pens; we're an innovative people with great ideas." Dick Powell

iLagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld, a "paper freak" who does not use email, and has a personal library of some 300,000 books, owns four iPhones and several iPads which he uses as diaries and sketchbooks.

"I use it [iPad] mostly for sketching. I'm very good at it. I discovered a technique. It's like engraving. Really not bad. There is no Photoshop. You have to know how to sketch. It's not something done with the help of computers. I hate computer sketches because they're all the same. They have no personality. If you want to see how it works... Voila! [Click.] This is the brush. [Click.] This is how thick you want the line. [Click.] And then here are the colours. [Click.] You want red, maybe? [Click.] He sketches a line with his fingernail ... Unbelievable, no? It's better with the special pen and I'm not going to keep it because it's nothing. And so then you do this. [Click.] And this. [Click.] And it disappears. I have iPads in every room ..." (Karl Lagerfeld talks to Susannah Frankel; Article published in the Independent, November 5, 2011)