I am surfing on the net stopping by my regular design sites (furniture, product, auto,etc.) and am noticing that nothing is striking my interest. It is not just today, nothing has really excited me in awhile. So, what’s going on? Has the design surge slowed to mediocrity? Or are we just expecting way too much? I found this article on Core77 just as I was thinking about this. What are the odds. Read through it and feel free to post some comments on your thoughts.

“Most of the new designs flooding onto the market are failures,” writes Alice Rawsthorn in today’s International Herald Tribune.

“They’re not especially efficient or environmentally responsible. Nor are they lovely to look at, to touch and to use, or any of the other things we expect from “good design.” The grim truth is that most new designs are much more likely to be derivative, pretentious, ugly, cumbersome or wasteful. That’s why buying some new products - cars and cellphones are regular offenders - is a dispiriting process of choosing the one you dislike least, rather than one you really love.

The odd thing is that no one sets out to design something that’s mediocre. So why does design go wrong so often? Let’s set aside the rational reasons why projects can fail - like budgetary constraints, deadline pressure and lack of talent - to concentrate on the scenarios that should be easily avoidable, but crop up again and again, with predictably dire results.”

Here are some examples she makes….notice the first one on the list.

1. Designing for other designers.

Car designers are among the chief culprits by appearing hellbent on designing principally to impress their peers. That’s why automotive design seems immune to the design trends that influence every other sector; why all of the emphasis is on the exterior of the car, not the interior; and why the industry has been guilty of ignoring entire consumer categories - like the 51 percent of the population that’s female, unlike car designers, who are mostly male.
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After reviewing the work of several students and designers over the past few weeks (which we’ll have a special, snazzy announcement for later on this month) it dawned on me that it can be ever-so important to do some “helpful how-to” work for those aspiring to get in on the annual Design Hiring Blitz.

With that said, I’ll be starting up a weekly series detailing how to interview for a job or internship, and the special preparation that designers need to go along with it, from the assembly of portfolio work to the actual interview and post-interview.

Part 1 of our mind-bending design series:
Selecting What to Show in a Portfolio

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We have been spending way too much time tricking out CarDesignFetish 4 wheeler and not enough time finishing our site overhaul.

So in the next week, we are going to finish and finally launch CDF2.0, like web 2.0 only more betterest…..

Peace

Scott Digital

2/3s of the CDF crew were down at the ol’ College for Creative Studies last week for their annual “hire me I am good day”. We saw some great work and some not so great work. We talked with a few “me speak a no Engrish” students as well as some well versed “I speak 11 language students.”

The work was better then it has been in the past few years, and the event went well this year. When our staff was not fetishing over clay models, or licking exploded view drawings, we were taking pictures. We have over 100 pics of work, but only the best of what we saw will be posted. CDF staff saw big wigs from DCX, Ford, GM, the Suppliers, and I am sure a few product firms. In attempts to keep who we are a secrete, we used for the 1st time our extra discrete button on shirt camera.

My biggest concern is the lack of thought the students gave to presentation. Many of the students just put their best sketches on the wall without thought of how to go through a cohesive presentation. Starting with the project brief, going through initial development, then refinement, and onto final build and renderings, it is not that hard, but many students seemed confused how to arrange a cohesive story. Designers are story tellers, both through sketches and presentations; get it right guys and gals.

The next concern was the lack of purpose. A pretty sketch is just that, nothing more and nothing less. Design is about so much more then creating a pretty piece of art. I was hoping to see user scenarios, some innovative features, possibly a reinterpretation of the automobile, but none of this was presented.

CCS did deliver what they are best at (beautiful, fresh automotive art) There were plenty of beautiful sketches to drool over, and we will post some of them here.

Here is the teaser; we will be posting more as we sort them.

Enjoy.

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Civil Infraction
257.612B Disobey Traffic Control Signal
“AKA going through a yellow light”

I guess in small town America they will do anything for a buck. As I pulled through a yellow light, the Copper lit up the Christmas tree and chased me………
I was saying to myself WTF?

In nothing happens here Ville Barney Fife told me he was giving me a ticket for not stopping on a yellow light. Now I was driving my “doesn’t like to stop in a hurry” 1997 Ford F150 pickup, of course I did not lock up the binders.

Strike 1 for Scott Digital, now pitching a ball of shit The Man…

Here is the evidence, and yet again another reason I hate most cops, that is until I really need them, like to change a tire, or fish keys out of my car, or to catch a bank robber, or to watch through the window of a Doughnut shop… (I kid I kid)

The evidence…..

Read under Remarks.. “Yellow Signal” I am still pissed………… End rant.

Scott Digital

So we have got a few emails about it being hard to log onto the message boards. Well, we are working on that. We have our whole team of 5000 Engineers over at TATA in India working on the bugs as I write this.

If you are saying what message boards to yourself…….. Well CDF has a message board to talk with fellow fetishers, so no worries it will be much better in the future.

In the meantime check out the hot new Subi WRX Hatch. I will reserve me comments until I see the STI…….

Scott Digital

Don’t know what the public wants? Let them decide. Does this show a lack of confidence or what. I guess GM layed off all of the directors and managers that make the design decisions. Lets leave it to Sanjaya to direct the future.

Here is the release of the three minicars Chevrolet will debut at the New York Auto Show. I must say I was speechless when I saw them. Thanks to carbodydesign for a quick posting of the press release. These cars are hot. I would take any one of them.

-The Beat is definitely my favorite, closely resembling the WTCC concept. Exciting energetic forms and great details.
Press: A technology-loaded, three-door hatchback designed to be personalized.

-The Trax is also interesting as a cutesy, Element fighter.
Press: An urban crossover equally at home on the trails or in traffic. …..not too sure about the trails

-The Groove still needs some re-proportioning but I like what they did with it. A little more grown up looking of the three. It also has a cousin-like resemblance to the old Pirana Concept.
Press: Retro-inspired with fender flares and an upright windshield.

If these come in at a cheap price, I wouldn’t mind picking one up for the daily driver. This may finally be a car that the youth market would buy. I can see the Beat being littered all over school parking lots. But as we know from previous experience (Element, Scions) our 40 and 50 year old parents will be snatching these vehicles up for their practicality and “hip” look.

Kudos to GM for putting out three unique new segment vehicles. I bet all three will make the cut…..Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Saturn versions. Like the previuos blog said-you the public will vote for the winner. You can do that here.

We are giving the Fetish a new look. Let us know if you like what we are doing, and feel free to offer up any suggestions. If something doesn’t work……we don’t want to hear about it, just come back tomorrow.