Designing for the Royals

So something we have been wanting to shout about for a long time, we have recently worked on a one off product for the newest addition to the British Royal Family!!!!!! A quick thanks to Steuart Padwick the project leader for inviting us to be part of such an interesting project and everyone else involved, lets hope she likes it!!!!

Interesting clarification on the use of the new "I-size" regulation for Children's Car Seats. Provided by the BPA

Clarification regarding the use of i-Size child restraints
10th June 2016
...

It would appear that there is still some uncertainty in relation to the use of i-Size child restraints and the Baby Products Association would like to provide some clarification.
UN Regulation No. 129 came into force on 9th July 2013. It sets out performance requirements and test methods for integral ISOFIX child restraint systems, in which the child is restrained by means of a harness or shield that is coupled to a child seat. In addition, it introduces the “i-Size” concept for child restraint to car compatibility, a stature-based system of classification (for child restraints), a new family of child dummies (the Q-Series) and a side impact test procedure.
With regards to compatibility, a parent that buys an i-Size child restraint system is assured that it will fit in any i-Size seating position in any car. Even today, relatively few cars on the road have i-Size seating positions, although the number is increasing all the time. Child restraint manufacturers provide a list therefore to specify which other cars and (ISOFIX) seating positions their i-Size child restraint can be used in. There is no legal barrier to doing this, and it ensures that as many children as possible can benefit from the increase in safety that the new Regulation is likely to bring.
UN Regulation No. 129 does state that i-Size child restraints are for use in i-Size seating positions and this simply helps to define what an i-Size child restraint is. However, this has been misinterpreted and so in the proposed 01 Series of Amendments (of UN Regulation No. 129), this was re-worded to say they are primarily designed for use in i-Size seating positions. This amendment has one more stage of voting to pass through later this month and it is likely to come into force in January 2017.
Although not in force yet, it illustrates clearly the thinking of regulators about the use of i-Size child restraints. More recently, the very latest proposal to amend Regulation No. 129 clarifies this even further. To avoid any doubt, the following has been added “The instructions of a forward facing i-Size integral ECRS that utilise a top tether as the anti-rotation device may declare that the ECRS can be used in any ISOFIX seating positions. The instructions of other i-Size integral ECRS may declare that the ECRS can be used in ISOFIX seating positions specified in a car fitting list”. This addition is contained in the proposed 02 Series of Amendments, which have their final voting stage in November 2016, and are likely to be in force by July 2017.

Commercial Realities of Design…………………………………..

We have had an a young intern working with us for the last couple of months and as the want of enquiring young minds he has asked some interesting questions that have caused both some thought to answer and a subject for a blog article.

Most of his questions have been not about the actual process of design, but more about the business side of what we do. I list a few for you to see my point.

1. How do you make sure you have a successful business?
2. How do you know how much to charge?
3. How do you make your calculations for profit?
4. How did you learn to make a business from design?

Now this sort of commercial knowledge is not what your normal design student is asking but it was definitely in our young guys mind.  How to be a successful and make money in the world of design?

When I think back I have learnt any useful information about this from previous employers, asking questions, some reading, some teaching courses and a load of mistakes to learn from.

It was not something I thought about at university but it would have been useful to have some guidance in things like proposal writing, profit and loss, following budgets, project management. At the end of the day you may be the best designer in the world but if you don’t know how to turn that skill in to a paid profession it will be useless.

It would definitely help students be more employable to have some basic commercial understanding.

Joining the Community…………………………………..

So we attended the annual Shenzhen Industrial Design Fair and I have to say it was a bigger success than we first thought it would be.  We met some interesting new prospective clients that I am hoping will turn in to real projects in markets outside of what we have normally worked in.  This should keep the team happy and interested working on new problems.

I got interviewed for the show’s internal media and for local television which was fun. 

We saw an interesting way to get people to your stand by having a naked girl being body painted which is very novel in a family exhibition!!!!

I got to meet the head of the IF Design awards, and the President of ICSID who are both very funny men.

We met some of the local competition and found that Shenzhen has a real growing design community which I hope we can now grow to be part of.  It seems the approach is very different from what I am used as all the local design agencies seemed to know each and even worked together.  Not the competitive nature I am used to in the UK.  It seems even the staff move between companies back and forward, but I guess that is a problem with a small industry.

So they all know who we are now so let’s see what these new friendships lead as the design industry is here to stay in Shenzhen and its only going to get bigger. 

The only let down was one of the companies had re-designed the Apple watch…………….to look like the Apple Watch and another’s company logo looks remarkably like  American Airlines logo which is maybe a bit of an oversight on the organiser’s to not get them removed as possibly not ideal in a show about Design and Innovation. 

 

 

 

Recomendations from the studio 5.

1. Music - Adele - 25 - https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/25/id1051394208

2. Film - Objectified - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectified

3. Film - http://v.qq.com/cover/8/8h31emg0mne8pva.html?vid=e0172m8qjqh&pgv_ref=aio2015&ptlang=2052

 4. Music - Newton Faulkner - Human Love - http://www.newtonfaulkner.com/

5. Product -  Glow Forge 3D Printer - https://glowforge.com/

6. Website - https://www.hellobonsai.com/rates - Design Rates

7. Film - Spectre - http://www.007.com/bond-returns-in-spectre/

8. Car - Aston Martin DB10 -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin_DB10

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

We hope you all have a Happy Halloween 2015!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our good friend at AquaBabes / Orby has released her Kickstarter campaign to take over the swimming aids market. Have a look at her innovative idea that we at Hachi Design helped realize. Good luck with this Lee-Anne!!!!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orbygirl/orby