Never heard of the data-to-not-data ratio in figures? It’s a good thing to know and consider. This is one article in a series of techniques and practices for designing good figures and visualizations.
Learn to Create, Design to Learn
The ability to create, and to become better at creating, is implicit in the nature of the brain’s neural network. As one approaches the peak of efficient work and cerebral focus, creativity becomes a self-sustaining process: the flow of ideas morphs into a rapid current that carries the creator and maximizes both the pace of the work and the enjoyment that comes with it. We all seek to innovate in such a way, but how do we achieve this level of creation on a regular basis?
The Fifth Face of Innovation: The Collaborator
Everyone needs collaborators to be successful in design, engineering, and life! Even the lone artist, scientist, and author eventually need collaborators to critique, distribute, buy, or share their work, regardless of how many hours are spent in isolation. Find out what Tom Kelley shares about being a Collaborator - the fifth face of innovation.
Where have All the Nuclear Power Plants Gone?
Is nuclear power a dying option for our energy needs? Will this technology be completely abandoned in the near-term? Dr. Munro’s answer is exciting: The future is promising for nuclear power with new investments, new reactor designs, and new allies.
Computer-Aided Design
When I was an engineering student I took three CAD classes, mostly because they were fun. When I was the director of engineering at ATL, CAD was at the center of all our detailed design work. It was indispensable to our engineering. When I became a professor, however, my appreciation for CAD slowly and unconsciously faded. Luckily, a new university assignment has put CAD back on my radar and my appreciation for it is greater than ever.
Mechanical Design
As someone who loves design of all kinds, it can be easy to get carried away and lose track of where I, as a mechanical engineer, fit in the design world. For me it is important to understand what makes mechanical design different than any other kind of design. Understanding this puts me in a better position to know how my specific training and design decisions can affect the world.
Lenses to Interpret the Visual Form of Products and Why it Matters
Lenses are useful to focus and bend light. In design, metaphorical lenses can likewise focus our attention and bend our design towards various essential factors.
Designing a Flag
Mississippi is redesigning its flag. What do you think is important for this redesign effort? Read about five points or requirements that might be heavily weighted during the process.
“Caveat Emptor” – Let the Buyer Beware
Caveat Emptor… Who are you really designing for? Yourself? The Customer? The Customer’s Future?
Self-Made: A Conversation with Drew Henry
Many people have asked if it is possible to become an engineer without a degree. When we pose this question to Google, we get more than 30 million results in response to this question. Answers ranged from a solid no to multiple sites listing jobs in engineering that don’t require a degree. In reality, it depends on the field, the job, and often where you live. To learn more about this path to engineering, we decided to interview a successful business-owner and self-taught engineer to get his take on this topic.
8 Lessons Learned Designing a COVID-19 Response Ventilator
Designing during a pandemic with time pressures can be a little different than traditional design. Read 8 lessons Andrew Armstrong learned while designing a ventilator for COVID-19 patients.
The Fourth Face of Innovation: The Hurdler
Hurdlers are people who find a way around, under, and often over an obstacle directly in their path. Find out what Tom Kelley shares about being a Hurdler - the fourth face of innovation.
Racism in America, manifested in engineering design: A pledge to take responsibility and action
Changes in our systems must happen everywhere, across all industries, and I believe engineers and designers have an important role and responsibility in the U.S’ plight against injustices.
Getting the Most out of Digital Calipers
If your job involves product or part geometry, I believe you should own and use a pair of digital calipers. They are one of the most important measurement tools to access the details of the geometry you’re working with. Even if your job is purely theoretical, it can be helpful to simply use the calipers to visualize the size and scale of features you’re specifying or being asked to work with.
Design in Data Figures: Absolute Versus Relative Scales
The right scale can make all the difference in the world when it comes to appropriate data figures. This is one article in a series of techniques and practices for designing good figures and visualizations.
The Covid-19 Utah Mask: An interview with Michael Horito
As Co-Vid 19 evolved from an epidemic to a pandemic, there was a global shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Desperate to help, makers began printing reusable masks in the hope to aid those on the front-lines. Rocketship, a product design firm based in Provo, was one of the many that answered the call. They designed what has become to be known as the "Utah mask". Michael Horito, from Rocketship, talked to us about their efforts.
Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood, And I Took the One Designed Better
We spend a larger portion of our lives in a vehicle than we realize. That doesn’t mean we can forget about design while traveling by car. The lessons for good design can still be found all over our roadways and transportation system. Keeping your eyes on the road can let your eyes see some good design features too.
Dieter Rams: Less but Better
Although design is largely concerned with the future and what we’ll design it to be, it’s valuable to look to the past for inspiration and to quickly learn what might have taken decades for our predecessors to learn.
Design in Data Figures: Dealing with Occlusion
Communication with data figures can be a large part of design. This is the beginning of a series of techniques and practices for designing good figures and visualizations.
Human-Centered Engineering: A Conversation with Professor Nathan Johnson
Editors from the BYU Design Review recently sat down with Professor Nathan Johnson, an associate professor in The Polytechnic School of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, with research areas in global sustainability and systems engineering. Check out a few short passages taken from the interview.