Upload
design-degree
View
230
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Emily Carr Design Futures Interview
Citation preview
PROJECT OBJECTIVE:
The following interviews are part of a larger project for a third-
year Directed Studies in Design Futures. We have conducted
these interviews with Emily Carr alumni to gather knowledge
about design practices, methodologies, experiences and
advocay, while simultaneously taking the opportunity to
showcase former students of Emily Carr University. The
interviews were prepared with two specific audiences in mind;
Current, the Design Research Journal, and the Design°, which
both are web based publishing mediums for design research
and degree content respectively.
We are excited to share with you the outcomes of our project,
and to create a legacy for Emily Carr, sharing the experiences
and insights of alumni.
INTERVIEW
Bree + Solveig
The following is
an interview with
2011 Industrial
Design Graduate,
Ben McLaughlin.
The interview was
transcribed from a
video of our meeting
in November, 2011.
SJ: Could you start with introducing yourself and tell
us a bit about your work?
BM: I graduated from Emily Carr in May 2011,
though I actually had my grad show in May 2010.
Since completing school I have been doing a
couple of privately commissioned furniture pieces
along the same lines as my grad project. More
recently I have tried to further my network and
marketing connections to get my designs into
more retail outlets and more avenues, galleries and
such.
Diverging a bit, I am originally from Omaha
Nebraska. My first two years of University were in
Milwaukee Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Institute
of Art and Design, studying industrial design. I
noticed they had an exchange program and one
of the schools was Emily Carr. So I came here in
the second semester of my third year and was only
supposed to be here for three months. Now three
years later, I am still here. I just love Vancouver. I
also love Emily Carr, so it kept me around
SJ: What are recent projects you are working on?
BM: Actually, tomorrow I am going to meet the
owner and director of a series of galleries called
the Mountain Galleries. They are within the
Fairmont Chateau Hotels. There is one in Whistler,
one in Jasper and one in Banff. I actually met
a representative at a recent design expo, the
IDSA West Show at the Vancouver Trade and
Convention Centre. She said she “loved my work
and needed it in all of her galleries”. She said
she’d never wanted a furniture piece before in her
galleries, but that she needed mine! So for the last
month and a half we’ve been sorting out details,
trying to figure out exactly what works she would
have as well as all of the logistical and business
aspects of things.
SJ: In what way are you most satisfied with this
piece?
BM: It seemed like a lot ideas and a lot of aspects
from design and my life were coming together in
one piece, which is kind of rare in the world of
For this interview, we sat down with Ben
McLaughlin, a 2010 Industrial Design Graduate, to
talk to him about his grad project, Ubuntu, and his
success in the industry after graduation.
Ben’s essay on Ubuntu can be found on the
Current blog, and it was also chosen for the 2011
Current eBook, downloadable off of the iBooks
store in 2012. We encourage you to watch the
video @ current.ecuad.ca, for a sample of Ben
playing the drum he created.
design, to have something that you are satisfied
with. I find that you are always your own biggest
critic. Even with this piece there are very minor
things that probably 95 % of people wouldn’t
notice, outside the design realm and of course I
am going to pick those out first. Just to be very
close to something that you have pictured in your
mind, to be able to produce it as a 3D object, that
is fascinating to me.
SJ: You mentioned the business and logistics side of
things. How were you prepared for that after Emily
Carr?
BM: You know I would say a lot of it has been
learning by doing. I’m not criticizing the Emily Carr
Curriculum, because I think it is a great school.
However, there could be a design entrepreneurship
class. There is Professional Practices, but that
was more centered around my own professional
practice. I have been figuring out all the logistical
sides of things like “where do I find studio space
to use and how do I pay those bills?” and “how
do I buy materials, because I am working with a
lot with exotic hardwoods” , just a lot of shipping
considerations, packaging, pretty much “how do I
get my work to a client at a reasonable price and
still maintain really high quality?”. With each project
I am learning more and more.
SJ: Where do you draw your inspiration from for your
projects?
BM: I am kind of all over the board on that one.
I look at a lot of design websites. I try to visit the
design events in Vancouver, like the IDS West
show that was just here. I like to draw from the
architectural realm. When it comes to actually
creating my work, I find that the biggest motivation
is in seeing other people take enjoyment in what
I am doing. I have done glass blowing for a few
years and as with the drum work, both of these
mediums facilitate an interaction. People almost
seem enthralled by the mediums and gravitate
towards them. That is a really strong creative
energy for me and helps me to pursue the greater
quality in my work I desire.
SJ: How did you get into drums?
BM: It would have been around four years ago.
I was travelling with some friends seeing some
music and stopped in at a friends house. He
pulled out this box and asked if we’d ever seen
one of these before and he started playing it. I
was wowed and had a closer look at it. It was
essentially a wooden box made of a couple of
exotic hardwoods. I was looking for an amplifier
in it because the sound resonance from it was so
incredible. My friend told me there was no amplifier
and I thought: “I can make that.” So basically I just
heard the drum and saw a lot of possibilities there.
I actually came to Emily Carr right after this
happened and I was coming up on my fourth
year and starting to think about a grad project,
something that would keep me entertained. I think
I found it.
SJ: Are the drums originally from Africa?Is that where
the name Ubuntu comes from?
BM: Ubuntu is essentially an African philosophy
that means the essence of being human and
interconnected. The concept was based on the
idea of cultures and people coming together and
being one in some respects. The African tongue
drum itself is based on a log drum, which is the
original version of it. It is essentially a hollowed out
redwood log that indigenous people in Western
Africa would cut slits horizontally on the log and
then beat it with a stick. It would resonate these
very deep tribal tones across long distances
so that villages could communicate. They were
also used in ceremonies to communicate to the
listeners what dance to perform. These tongue
drums were thought of as the first telephone as
they were used to communicate messages.
SJ: So you’ve continued to make drums after
you made your grad piece Ubuntu. What kind or
responses do you get to your drums? What fascinates
people?
BM: The responses have been pretty
overwhelmingly positive actually. I surround myself
with designers and creative types so I always have
people critiquing and saying “what If?”. It’s good
because I get a lot of good inspiration from that.
It allows me to have a kind of futurist mentality. I
keep asking myself what it could be before even
making it. Every time I’ve had my drums out
in public it’s been a good excuse for people to
come up and talk to me and for me to meet a lot
of people that I otherwise wouldn’t have. At the
IDSWest show it was great. It seemed like every
time there was a large gathering of people coming
together and my piece was there, it was like an
ego boost because people come by who were
so into it. At the IDSWest show I was surrounded
by designers and professionals that have been
doing this for years and years. So to go there and
have my piece on display and have people come
up and tell me that they think it is one of the best
pieces of the show, is a positive encouragement
to push on and continue pursuing doing what I
am doing. And children just seem to love it. At the
show, children, even thirty/forty yards away would
hear the piece and see someone interact with
the piece. You could just see it in their eyes, their
eyes would get wide and they would zombie-walk
towards the piece.
SJ: One of the goals you set with the drum project
was to entice a multicultural interaction in a
communal setting. Do you feel that you’ve been able
to achieve that?
BM: I think so. You know, when I first started
the piece I had almost an idealistic vision of it,
of two people coming together from potentially
opposite ends of the planet, having never met or
been able to speak the same language and who
are able to communicate and create via this very
natural medium. I honestly do think that has been
achieved. Vancouver is quite a multicultural city
and any time I’ve had the piece out in public, there
are multiple cultures playing it at one time.
SJ: When in the process did you decide to combine
instrument and furniture?
BM: It was quite early on. I think actually the
phrase sound resonating furniture was really what
kicked it off. I had not really ever seen it before so
it was a new avenue of exploration that people had
not done before. Like I said the tongue drum is an
instrument that has been around for thousands
of years, I saw the possibility to re-contextualize
it in a modern day context, using the same
means as it was originally created, as a means of
communication and creativity. Which I think is, via
a natural medium, which is hard to come by these
days.
SJ: How would you say your work has evolved from
when you graduated?
BMcL It has become much more precise. I’ve
found that I make far fewer mistakes and I am
better at documenting every stage of the process
that I do now. Especially with my more recent
pieces that I do now. I’ve documented every bit,
every tolerance, every piece of material that I
used, every amount of time that it has taken me
to do every stage. I can really start to evaluate
my efficiency. I think in the end efficiency is where
you are going to make or lose money. If you
know every stage of the process, then you know
which stage of the process you can do yourself
and which parts could potentially be done more
efficiently by a machine. The whole sustainability
aspect of my piece has always been looming in
my mind. I find myself very inspired by nature
and being in the outdoors, so I definitely have a
concern for deforestation. I am using all wood
and for my drums themselves, exotic hardwood.
So how do I touch on this issue without offending
people with aspects of my work. I think that
ultimately I am trying to create a visual metaphor
throughout my piece. The seats and the shell
that is holding up the drum, are made from exotic
hardwood. I use a bamboo veneer for the seats
and the shell. I try to create an artifact quality. Not
something that you will see at a garage sale or that
you will want to throw away, but something that
can function as a family heirloom and be passed
down from generation to generation. That is what I
personally see as sustainable design. If something
can last longer and the tree or the material from
which it is produced can reproduce itself. I think it
is a step towards sustainability.
SJ: Why do you need to use the exotic hardwood?
BM: The exotic hardwoods are mainly used for the
tonal quality. The soundboard is an African padauk.
I’ve experimented with an expansive amount of
imported and domestic hardwoods and pedauk
for the sound board gives the best tonal quality.
That was what was traditionally used for the
original log drum. So I am trying to touch on this
cultural richness of Africa. It’s always been a place
that has intrigued me (I’ve never been there but
hope to go some day). The sound box is a wood
called bobinga which comes from Western Africa
as well as parts of South America. It is extremely
dense and very hard and heavy, which gives it
good resonance qualities. Both hardwoods are
very linear in grain which you’ll notice a lot with
instruments. The wood that is used is generally
linear grained, because you get better tonal quality
out of it.
SJ: What are key elements in your process?
BM: I start with a rough idea and then I try to
go into 3D as quickly as possible. It allows me
to see how a material will react. The more that
I’ve created these drums and worked with them,
the more precise I’v become. I’ve learned how
far I can push a material in terms of quality. In
industrial design we are able to learn how to create
something that you would see on a shelf essentially
and the high level of quality you can get it to. When
I first started making these drums, I found myself
almost fighting with the material because it was so
hard and dense. I was running through a lot of bits
and saw blades. Now with this most recent piece
it was like cutting butter; it wasas if I’d become in
tune with the material.
SJ: What do you think is the most important aspect of
designing in 2011?
BM: Trying to create designed objects that are
the most efficient that they can possibly be. And
when I speak of efficiency I mean efficiency of
ergonomics, manufacturing, production, shipping
and storage. Because efficiency ultimately allows
you to be sustainable with your work. If you can
limit the amount of off-cuts that you use, materials,
power you use in creating something, I think you
will produce a better product that is going to be
more user friendly, and more environmentally
friendly.
“Efficiency ultimately
allows you to be sustainable
with your work.”
Watch the interview with Ben on the Current blog:
current.ecuad.ca
INTERVIEW
Hello Design°, my name is_Ben McLaughlin_ and I am one of the Industrial Design alumni_ atEmily Carr University__, an Art and Design Schoollocated in Vancouver __, BC. I am known for my Ubuntu Project and its ability to allow for multi-_cultural interactions____.An Emily Carr Alumni, I graduated in _2011__, and found myself working__in the �lm industry and ___designing and building ___custom furniture. If I could give a student one piece of advice, it would be ___to fully utilize the resourcesand opportunities available_as undergrads, because thesame resources can be harderto come by after ECUAD.X. Ben McLaughlin_____
X
What is the biggest challenge
designers face today?
How did Emily Carr prepare you for
your career in design?
What skillset is best suited for a
graduate entering today’s design
industry?
SELF PO
RTRAIT
10 W
ORD
S T
HAT
DES
RIBE
YO
UR
PRA
CTIC
E
Acquiring the networking connections and resources to push your designs to the next level; In order to maximize design complexities such as (but not limited to): usability, innovation, ergonomics, aesthetics, manufacturability, sustainability.
Above all else, the Emily Carr design program taught me that design is not just about creating an end product that is beautiful, but how to use critical thinking to situate a particular design (or set of designs) within the larger system to which it relates. It fostered a state of mind that focuses on Aware-ness. Awareness of how the product or service it provides, �ts into the larger global system. A system that is both human and environmentally centered.
Work ethic/PassionPursuit of InnovationPursuit of Increasing e�ciencyEnvironmental Awareness and Understanding of ImpactFocus on ergonomics and user comfortCultural Awareness and understanding of end user/target demographicDeep understanding of material choice and how to maximize production
CuriosityObservationInspirationExperimentationInvestigationEvolvingMethodologicalRe�ectionRevisionRe�nement