ID [PNW]

Shift Divider Screen by Kelsey Leppek and Norman Rockwell 2020 Nobody expected a global virus quarantine, but here we are, trying to adapt our living spaces for homeschooling, class sessions, office meetings, and focused work in addition to everything else that we do at home. We quickly realized that our home spaces and furniture were not designed for these new functions. This spring, the industrial design students of Western Washington University worked on designing new furniture solutions for working at home. And they did it while working from home themselves. The Problems They first investigated the problems that we are experiencing during lock-down: Sharing small spaces. Multiple people sharing the kitchen table to do work. Lack of privacy. Lack of square footage. Bad acoustics for video calls and meetings. Echos, noise, distractions. Online video conferences are notorious for poor audio. Bad lighting for video calls and meetings. Most people look hor...

With the recent introduction of effective and accessible virtual reality systems this new tool can be used in the context of industrial design and augment the design process. Virtual reality (VR) can be a useful tool and has the potential to radically improve the work flow for designers. The thesis of this research is that VR can improve the efficiency of the industrial design process through early visualization and evaluation of design concepts. In the early stages of a design project, many CAD sketch models can be created more quickly than physical models. These CAD sketch models can then be viewed and evaluated using VR very effectively. A one on one critique and discussion between a manager or professor and the designer can happen while viewing the designs in VR and on a screen. This allows for a convergence onto a design direction, which can then be further refined as a physical model. At the end of the design process, VR is also more effective at communicating design ...

by Prof. Jason A. Morris  May 11, 2018 Did you know that some of the latest and greatest product designs were designed by Western Washington University's elite industrial design program alumni? Here are just a few examples: Oculus Go Virtual Reality device: designed by Peter Bristol, creative director and Head of Industrial Design at Oculus, (class of 2004), Joe Sullivan (class of 2005) and Mauricio Romano (class of 2015) and the rest of the design team at Oculus. https://www.oculus.com/go/ Microsoft Surface Pro Designed by Carl Ledbetter, Principal Director of Design at Microsoft, (class of 1987), Benjamin Peterson, Industrial Designer at Microsoft Surface (class of 2011) and the rest of the design team at Microsoft. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-pro/overview Xbox One X The world’s most powerful gaming console. Designed by Carl Ledbetter, Principal Director of Design at Microsoft, (class of 1987) an...

Western Washington University Industrial Design Program News Update December 2016 Jolee Nebert – Outstanding graduate of 2016 Jolee Nebert is the outstanding graduate from the WWU industrial design program. She has grown from being an excellent student to becoming an amazing professional. She was selected for an internship at GE Appliances, where she worked full-time as a part of the design team. Then she designed a beautiful microkitchen for a competition. Among 80 international entries, she won Grand Prize and $2500. Then, her design was given the grand prize for innovation in small space living in the New York City Big Apps competition. Where she was awarded round trip expenses to NYC to present her work and was featured in the Seattle and New York Times. After her time at GE, she went to Austin, Texas and worked on the creative team at Argo to explore the role of future technologies in the office environment. That led to being approached by a French start-up company, ...

Detail of the vanity stool by Mauricio Romano Vanity stool design by Mauricio Romano The senior industrial design students of Western Washington University presented their new designs in the exhibition "Vanity." They each designed a series of products around the experience of preparing to go out on the town.  Stools, make-up containers, combs, perfume bottles and cases. Make-up accessories designed by Mauricio Romano The Vanity design exhibition was held at the TEAGUE design studio in downtown Seattle. Accessories designed by Aiden Borer Stool design by Aiden Borer Product ensemble designed by Katie Utgaard Detail of stool seat design by Katie Utgaard Stool design by Sarah O'Sell Adriel Rollins discussing design details with Sarah O'Sell Vanity stool design by Bailey Jones. Accessory designs by Bailey Jones  See more of Bailey's work here. Hair tools designed by Colton Sanford See more of Colton...