Hywel Rh. Vaughan

Oh how wonderful, another year has flown past and now I must cope with the fact that The Matrix, a film I remember coming out in the cinema, is now over a decade old.  It is such a shame that they didn’t make any sequels to those films…

Now that I think about it though, this has been one of the longest years I can remember.  Of course it isn’t any longer than any other year, but in terms of how much has changed, how much has been achieved and what has actually happened this year, it is hard to get a grasp of it all.  Things that happened only a few months ago now seem engrained into the past.

Luckily though, with the amazing technology of the camera and the blog, I have been able to keep track of some of it.  Let us first then cast our minds back to when we counted down the seconds to midnight on the 31st December 2008 with shot glasses, and subsequently forgot the first few days of January.

> January

Greener Gadget Competition 2009

This project with the exception of the Bristol Design Festival was my first attempt at doing a self started project.  Yes there was a deadline and a rough criteria, but the ideas were mine to bring to the table.  It was an amazing challenge, to come from doing design at University to working for yourself with no-one to guide your design process.  This wasn’t a lesson so much in design, but a lesson about myself.
What I learned >

• Throwing your ideas at potential users really helps the creative process.
• You don’t have to have a strict guideline to have fun with design.
• Someone else will have the same idea as you.  The trick is to present it better.

> February

Bloodhound Test Rig

Another first – this time my first live project.  The first one for a client, the first project that got us really hands on with prototyping, and the first project with major media coverage.  We spent a long time discussing possibilities and designs rather than trying them out, which led us to a rush finish, but the result was well worth it.  An exceptionally complicated rig, yet remarkably straight forward in operation, it did what it needed to do without having to be pretty.  It was a lesson in practicality, and a massive learning curve in team work.
What I learned >

• Anything can be achieved by a late night in the workshops.
• Build mock-ups and test pieces first.  It will actually speed up the process.
• Bloodhound SSC is awesome.

> March

Natural Form Inspired Speakers

This project was a massive release and an even bigger challenge for me.  I have always been very detailed with my sketch work, finding it hard to really do flowing concepts.  This project didn’t give me a choice.  Hours later though with a sketch pad and a red pencil helped to ease that.  The best part though was trying to take an idea and make it work, then making it work for manufacture with real components.  What I ended up with was something I am really proud of.  The full finished product shall be posted soon…
What I learned >

• CAD can be beautiful.
• Flowing sketches are not as easy as they look.
• Just because a set of speakers is cheap, doesn’t mean they are easy to disassemble.  Even with a hammer.

> April

Milan – Zona Tortona

This exhibition really opened my eyes and challenged my understanding of the design world.  It both inspired and terrified me simultaneously.  There was so much niche design and such a wide variety of work that there would surely be somewhere that my work would fit in, but at the same time there was so much work that how could any one thing get noticed?  The work there was exceptional, the atmosphere was brilliant and the whole experience completely changed my view on industrial design.  It won’t quickly be forgotten.
What I learned >

• I am going to Milan again.
• There is space in the world for every designer, you just need to make sure people find your space.
• During the Design Festival, the leaflets that are handed out are better than your CV.

So those are the first four months.  I learnt a lot from them, and am still learning from them.  Stay tuned for some snippets from the rest of my year.  Were there any projects that really stood out for you this year?