Engineers, scientists, and designers all gather data and then try to make sense of it later. We have equations and models to help us simulate this data. But we also have a problem – these tools were designed for numerical data, and not all data is solely quantitative. Affinity mapping is an abductive reasoning process that enables people to make sense of large amounts of subjective, qualitative, or observational data.
The advent of the automobile presented an interesting design problem for Glacier National Park: how could visitors travel easily to and from each attraction in the park? This road would need to cut through these sharp, rocky mountains through an easy route made for the everyday automobile.
We’re celebrating the BDR’s third birthday this month! We want to introduce this year’s BDR team, and we’ve asked everyone to share some thoughts or advice for this upcoming school year. Best of luck with your studies, projects, and everything in between!
Attending conferences can be nerve racking and exhausting, but they are also exciting and inspiring. When I started my PhD, I thought I would be able to go to many conferences, but a pandemic had other plans. I found myself only attending one in-person conference during my program. With only one chance at an in person conference, I knew I needed to make the most of it.
Water is a force of life and a force of change that every civilization in the history of the world has had to deal with. My work as a licensed professional water engineer includes predicting and controlling flooding. Erosion control is an important part of my work and the basis of why many ancient sites still survive today. Ancient engineers understood the world they lived in and innovated in powerful ways to survive in harmony with the elements.
Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo… this is the NATO phonetic alphabet. What made this design so enduring that it survived the analog age, and the onset and proliferation of the digital age? Why was this design so universal that it is used throughout the world with only minor regional adaptations?
Objective brainstorming feedback is hard to find. Most people will accept whatever ideas get thrown up and move on. But not us! We are intelligent citizens of the design community who want to get better at brainstorming! What resources are out there to help us improve our ideation practice?
Origami is an ancient Japanese art form which had its roots over a thousand years ago in ancient Japan. Only in the last century’s intellectual revolution has it transformed into a more scientific and fully developed art form. We can see origami under scrutiny as an art form, and as a scientific and mathematical method of design. In any design, it is important to see from both angles.
Customer feedback at the time would have dictated that Henry Ford should just breed stronger and faster horses since no one had even thought of the automobile and the motor engine. However, we now know what is used in regard to travel and farm work nowadays, and it does not like carrots as a snack.
Often, fashion fails to address the need for functionality, particularly women’s fashion. Our pants don’t have pockets. Most of our purses are big and unwieldy. The smaller ones simply don’t have enough room. Handbags are a horrible idea altogether because the entire premise is that they require the constant use of your hand. Cue the fanny pack.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, or simply the Tower of Pisa, attracts 5 million visitors every year. It certainly is a strange sight to behold as you walk through the city walls. Why does it lean?
A lot of energy is needed to power the HVAC systems that keep people comfortable. Although not every building is actively cooled, buildings are responsible for 40% of all U.S. energy consumption and emissions, and space heating and cooling accounts for 53.1% of building energy usage. What can we do to make HVAC design more sustainable, and how can we be more sustainability conscious in our own design work?
Why was it so hard to find water bottle stickers in Peru? Why aren’t reusable water bottles popular in Peru, and why are they so popular in the United States? Read on to find answers to these pressing questions and change the way you think about drinking water.
Two more countries and many more garbage cans - which are indeed an interesting product. Every culture, every era, and every person has some interaction with garbage. How we dispose of our own trash in public spaces can teach us a thing or two about design.
Professionals use abbreviations and acronyms all the time in their communication. Come up to speed on over 60 Product Development abbreviations defined in this article.
Starting a graduate program in mechanical engineering is very different from your undergraduate program. You will take fewer classes, but you will also now have a large part of your time devoted to independent research as you work to complete a thesis or dissertation. This article is meant to help you find successful strategies sooner in graduate school, so hopefully, you can get through your program more efficiently and enjoy it more.
Actuarial risks can be quantified or measured. Perceived risks are felt when the outcome of a risk is negative, catastrophic, or involuntary. Learn how this applies to public opinion of nuclear power and think about how this could apply to your design work.
I’m not usually fascinated with garbage cans… in fact, I’ve never been fascinated with garbage cans before. But the variety and diversity of garbage cans throughout the small city of Itacoatiara, on the banks of the Amazon river, was too great to ignore.
It's the nature of design to be messy and complicated. Eventually what felt chaotic in design becomes clear. Making that transition from chaos to clarity is greatly facilitated by checking four things about your process. This article discusses those four things.
How is a triangular piece of fabric keeping rock climbers safe at the gym? Read about what makes the Trublue Belay Gate a good design.
