What is your dream home like? June 4, 2008

Here’s mine:

Much like the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe.

Very open, flowing and dynamic living spaces carved cleverly by the use of materials and the circulation of spaces. Imagine relaxing in the living room whole day not doing anything. No loud TVs. (A cool laptop and internet connection is sufficient. Ok, maybe a flat panel TV just for console gaming. =p )

Green note:

“…the design integrates concrete flooring to absorb the sun’s warmth in the winter, operable windows and large sliding doors to facilitate natural ventilation and low-maintenance recycled materials.”

- freshome.com

modularity. March 25, 2008

Two years of Architecture has taught me a lot about design principles. In particular, I discovered the power and beauty of simple and modular structural systems. Modularity does not mean boring. On the contrary, it is to take a simple unit and multiply it systematically – applying certain principles and conceptual rules – to form flexible and dynamic systems.

Take a look at the pine cone. What do you see?

My first assignment was to study pine cones. Pretty random and complex structure it seems?

No kidding, pine cones actually display the Fibonacci sequence in their structures! (This might help you understand the structure more clearly.) Every system you see is composed of a simpler system or a series of simpler systems. The degree of complexity is build up through different grouping combinations of many such simple systems, even the pine cones. And there is no limit to the size of the system. It can keep growing infinitely, without losing its aesthetic and functional values. That is the power of modularity.

How can modularity be applied to product design?

Taking a simple surge protector as an example. Two months ago, I found out about Powramid, a UFO-looking surge protector that not only resolved the issue of clustered plugs on traditional surge protectors but also redefined the aesthetic standards of what surge protectors could look like. The product design is clearly innovative, but only temporal. A Powramid can take up to 6 plugs. What happens when you have to power more than 6 appliances? You’ll need an extension strip that you plug into the Powramid and it goes on when your work station grows larger. Rather nasty in terms of the looks and all the cables crossing over each other and entangling. I use about 9-10 sockets at home at all times: Monitor, CPU, 2 external hard-drives, external DVD-burner, speakers, USB-ports hub, cellphone/digital camera charger, desk lamp.

E-rope Modular Power Strip

The E-rope is an IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards) Bronze winner in 2006. Although it is only a design project, the concept of taking a power socket module and multiplying it to grow into a power strip really creates a flexible solution to fit different power needs. Whether it’s 4 sockets or 12 sockets, big plugs or small plugs, E-rope is completely customizable. Imagine each little unit is a surge protector itself…

A lot still needs to be refined when taking this design concept into actuality. Such as considering the amount of space required when more than a dozen modules wriggle out from the wall socket. And how realistic it is for cables to be coming in from different directions? What about the space in between when the strip makes a corner? By connecting the modules in series, it means that when one plug is switched off, the rest in line would be off too. What if I want to switch off some, but keep others powered? Can the modules be modified so that they can be connected in parallel?

Eubiq Power Outlet System

Perhaps it’s not too difficult to realize a modularize and practical power strip design. The Eubiq Power Outlet System is an example and can be an architectural solution for modern homes, where you can have sockets anywhere you want and exactly where you wanted it. Just watch the demo. Really cool. Seriously, turn this into a Power Protection Outlet System and future homes could automatically enjoy the benefits of reliable power usage. Might be a bit costly to re-install it throughout the house when it’s time to change the protector, but c’mon.. everything needs to be built-in nowadays! Houses are no exceptions.

What are the possibilities of innovation? February 7, 2008

Infinite.

Recall Powramid.
Here’s another way of reinventing old fashioned surge protectors to allow for more spatial flexibility.

Doesn’t look as stylish as Powramid, but still an innovative attempt to make our everyday lives easier.
$39.99 from Ideative.

Follow up: POWRAMID, “UFO” Surge Protector at CES 2008 January 28, 2008

Remember the UFO-looking surge protector I blogged about earlier this month? Well, they were at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2008) in Las Vegas (Jan 7-10). If you missed out the action of getting hands-on with this little alien device, check this out:

(video by unplggd.com)

And, they come in different colors too.

No more old-fashioned surge protectors. We want UFOs. January 3, 2008

Look at the image below. What do you see?

A very typical old-fashioned uh-ger-li looking surge protector eh? It’s called the Surge Protector DELUXE. 10 bucks.

Also 10 bucks (from Newegg.com). Slightly better because it has the little curvatures on the ends for absolutely no purposes, and it is not White! But note the difference in the orientation of the pin-holes.

Ever feel frustrated because you couldn’t fit all your power appliances’ plugs onto one surge protector? I do all the time. Why have 6 outlets when you can really only fit 4? A lot of products these days still have ac adapters bigger than a pebble, and these usually takes up more than 2 outlets on a surge protector/power strip. Huge bulky adapters + tiny narrowly-spaced outlets is not a good combo. Well, why haven’t we try to make our day-to-day lives easier then? There has been some efforts, I believe, in better product design.

For instance, Nokia mobile phone chargers are designed such that the bulk part of the plug hangs outside (over the edge) of the surge protector instead of crossing over neighboring outlets. Hint: Notice how the orientation of the pins will fit nicely on the APC surge protector. Of course, it wouldn’t do the same neat job on the first surge protector. There has also been surge protectors with 1 outlet farther away from the rest at one end of the strip. But there just may be more large plugs than you think you would use.

This is where things become interesting. I searched for “surge protection” on Technorati this morning and found something quite unique, that maybe could be the key to end all my frustration. Ever thought of a round surge protector?

Today, Kreative Power just demonstrated innovative product design with the introduction of Powramid, a conical surge protector. Like a pyramid, which is how I think it got its name. More like a UFO, imo. It may not be perfect, but see how it’s more likely to have enough space for those large plugs now? Product design is emerging as an important selling factor, at times more effective than actual product functionality. Look at the iPods (and iPhones)! They may not be the #1 Mp3 players in terms of functionality, but Apple sure made them look like one with the unique wheel-roller interface.

The article I found on coolest-gadgets.com commented, “We all know just how sensitive electronic devices are, so giving them a little extra protection with the POWRAMID makes perfect sense.” While I agree that electronic devices are sensitive to fluctuations in power quality in the digital age, I don’t agree with the latter. In fact, the Powramid sounds just like a higher-end traditional surge protector: UL 1449 licensed, absorbs up to 900J of energy before failing, clamping voltage of 330V, and less than 1 nanosec of response time. This is about product design.

Powramid will be featured at CES 2008 (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas (Jan 7-10). Check them out.