ID [PNW]

Adobe Illustrator is now the most requested software for industrial design positions, dethroning Photoshop. Solidworks is third on the list and clearly the most requested 3D application in ID job postings in IDSA's Design Perspectives monthly newsletter. Nine issues of the newsletter were studied from March 2007 to October 2008 and the number of specific mentions of software were counted. Only industrial design postings were counted, not graphic design, engineering, or educational positions. (See graph at left.) Adobe Illustrator has proved to be a very versatile rendering tool for design and has especially improved in usefulness since version CS2. Color shape areas remain as editable vectors and filters and effects such as blur, feather, drop shadow, bevel, emboss and others can be used to great effect. (the snowboard boot shown here was done with Illustrator by Western sophomore ID student James Lin) Adobe Photoshop is still holding a strong second place, since it gives incre

ReMade is an annual project conducted by the Junior Industrial Design class of Western Washington University . The challenge was to study and address some of the issues associated with sustainable design and entrepreneurship. All the products presented were created by utilizing one or multiple materials of consumer or manufacturing waste. Life cycle analysis and recyclability were also considered and incorporated into the designs. It is a material driven design project encouraging sustainable thinking and design for production. 13 students found materials, designed, and manufactured products. Many students set up their own Etsy stores . All 13 products are also available for sale at the Western Washington Bookstore and we are all excited to have our official opening at IDEAL tonight, Friday November 6th from 6-10 as part of Bellingham's Downtown Art Walk .

Color as form emphasis Color can be used to emphasize the physical form, and to enhance the surface variation or three-dimensionality. This application is not dependent upon culture, but rather is based on how our minds process visual information. Our eyes equate value variation with surface variation. When this variation is pronounced through color its three-dimensional form is enhanced. comparing similar forms with high and low value colors. Photo by Jason Morris Considering the range of value possible on a form’s surface, more contrast can occur with light (high value) colors, especially white. However, a dark color such as an 80% gray has only a small range of value to exhibit until it’s fully black. So the perceived value change is small. The example below shows how the value change in the white bumper exhibits its curvature. However the dark blue bumpers curvature is hard to see, since its value remains mostly constant and is confused by reflections.