mccord.blackwell@gmail.com mccordblackwell.com 408.676.6611
my life has been a series of opportunities created by a world immersed in aesthetics and functionality. how I choose to act on these opportunities determines who I am and my stance on the world around me. I believe my choices have guided me down the path of design and has given me the opportunity to explore my passions and turn them into reality...
gleem bollard blu-gold lanca cafĂŠ sol
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
gleem gleem is a coffee table designed to use air to our advantage.
why I wanted to give people a reason to gather like they do around camp fires, but indoors in the comfort of your own home. The living room has become more of the TV room, I wanted to take back the space from the television and give it back to the user.
we have suffered from a lack in communication ability. I wanted to make something that faced this issue head on.
communication taking from the fire pit, I wanted to move the social aspect back to the people inside of the house. I took the body of a coffee table and morphed a piece of furniture and an appliance into one creating a source of conversation and interest.
for something as simple as a fire pit, it is an extremely powerful and an age old means of communication.
where as the television and couch arrangement have diminished interaction.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
inspiration cross sections create such an interesting form. I decided to use them as a guiding force for my coffee table. looking to art performed by Mya Lin as well as topographical maps, for inspiration.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
materials & tech my materials and fuel choice contributed a great deal to my choice in concept. I chose Corian as my main material. Corian is a Du Pont product that has characteristics that I was looking for. Flanola is a type of Bioethenal that produces minute emissions as well is a bio fuel source that is renewable.
the table my final concept was to move the fire place from the wall to the middle of the room. doing so by placing the fire within the coffee table itself.
rotating the handle opens the burner cup and allows for ignition of the fuel
once light the flame can be adjusted by modulating the doors of the burner
snuffing the fire is as simple as closing the doors the entire way
bits & pieces
components list: 1. burner 2. corian slats 3. brass sheeting 4. cast brass members
1
4
2
3
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
bollard
making the urban environment intriguing and interactive.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
metaphor man discovered the ability to create light early on. fire was the dawn of technology for man. has the discovery done more harm than good? that is the paradox that I wanted to bring to attention.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
inspiration
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
concept with my inspiration clearly spelled out, I wanted to develop a piece that played with one of human kinds most dangerous traits, curiosity.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
development the public security device called the bollard provided an ideal product to develop around. having a light source encapsulated in a ply able material that could be played with and peeled away from the exposed edge would reveal the light source. this interaction and curiosity seems to be uncommon in the public place.
the bollard bollards are used to protect large buildings from vehicular traffic. the bollard was ideal due to its already monolithic nature. the twist was to give the bollard more than one purpose.
the basics the bollard became not only a security device, but a social piece with a subtle statement. providing people with a seat like area and something to play with the bollard has now become a thing of play and intrigue. stimulating the public in an area that you would not typically expect to have a interactive structure.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
blu-gold rethinking the black box of disc players. taking a long time running form and turning on its head.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
project brief the objective was to take the mystery out of the products that we use on a daily basis. this day and age we seem to not have an understanding of how things work. as if when you use your ipod it magically takes your commands and turns them into sound. This mystery is due to the lack of understanding of what is inside of the things we use. the design project is intended to not to just reveal the internals by enclosing them in clear plastic, but by studying and analyzing the components that make the product function. Take these components and showcase them, glorify them and make them the center of attention. I took this challenge and ran with the idea that I want everything on the inside to be glorified and made to be the most important part of the device, second to its intended function.
who am I designing for? Cassie and Kurtis have just finished moving into their new home and are having friends over all the time, their home has to be clean and inviting. being playful with decor and limited on space, they are looking into alternatives to the plane black box
“When I buy electronics they look like the cardboard box they came in.” “Why can’t it fit the room? I would rather not have to hide my electronics due to them being boring and black” “We’re tired of the same old thing.” mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
user survey responses and priorities after taking a brief survey, results showed that concerns and issues stemmed from size and cost of most players that people owned.
keywords
“
sexy
not black!
smaller
�
visible
different
quick
accessible
interesting survey results show key areas of interest high 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 low
function
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
cost
ease of use
looks
size
product matrix cost & aesthetic analysis when looking at the spectrum of current products it reveals that there is an opportunity available.
cost exorbitant
brick
art appearance opportunity
cheep
clamp design the clamp design was taken from the pannini grill for inspiration. I liked the idea of clamping around the disc. a spin on the record player.
initial concepts metronome design with the metronome in mind for the movement of the disc versus the laser head itself. I liked the concept of moving the disc instead of the laser to read the content of the disc.
wall mount design looking at freeing up the clutter of the entertainment system, I was thinking that wall mounted would relieve space as well as freshen up the traditional form factor of the disc player.
disc holder design starting with a sarcastic concept of a taco, I then realized that there might be some validity to the concept itself. holding the disc in a state of limbo creates a sense of tension.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
narrowing down metronome
wall mount
clamp
the metronome design showed promise with its effect of showing progress with out the use of a screen
the wall mount design was appealing due to its effectiveness in being a piece of art when not in use and again being an alternative to the traditional
the clamp design was a new approach to loading the disc. Giving the user an alternative to the long time running reign of the disc tray
art
design
the desired effect was for the blu-ray player to have visual interest even when not in use. having it wall mounted was one of the best ways to show case the design whenfunctioning and when not
key functions simple gestures are the modest commands the are required. right to advance, left to rewind and tap to stop
swipe
left
tap
right
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
ready position
key functions telling time the entire system is automated from start to finish. drop the disc in and away it goes. the disc will scroll from left to right to indicate where you are at in the movie.
insert disc
once over the disc will return to the middle and turn of automatically.
positioning the wall mounted design allows for the player to be oriented to in any direction. the design was intended to compliment the TV not to distract from it.
beginning of movie
progress displayed
end of the show
orthos & parts major parts and components
spin motor laser body drive motor
5.063 2.350
3.375
1.114
1.375
9.094
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
lanca
the 21st century bike flag.
who & why
mission statement
profile
experience Description • Santa Clara County • range of activities associated with urban cycling • safe and secure riding experience that supports commuting and short distance errands in urban areas. • other comparable regions • suburban or rural areas • support transportation of cargo • intermediate security needs • retailer - Specialized/Globe • user • sales force • service center • production
with a baby on the way and an active lifestyle Roberto is struggling to find the time to maintain his current activities.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
motive
safety
visibility
elevation
providing afet for riders in urban settings was a key motivating factor for me.
safety by visibility was a way to achieve a less hostile environment for bicycle riders
a way to increase visibility is by elevating the light to a more accurate eye level of drivers
the light the flag has two operating positions. when not in use the flag is collapsed and stows at a comfortable height that is equivelant to the radius of a typical bicycle wheel. extend the pole and the flag then snaps in the upright positions. once fully extended the flag then illuminates and is ready to use. it is that simple.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
getting there the way I discovered the function of the flag was to make multiple mock ups. from that number of mock ups I was able to determine the best route to pursue.
action
the light emitted was enough to remain visible from a far distance. combined with the extension and its exaggerated movement, the light even more noticeable in traffic.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
light I wanted to keep the asthetics simple and sleek, in order to not take away from the overall feel of the bike. the flag should compliment the bike instead of detracting from it. In order to keep it clean and complementary I decided to use mostly brushed aluminum and acrylic. the light is a low power electro luminecent rope inside the acrylic rod. electro luminescent wire is an unconcentrated light source, requiring only a small amount of energy and componentry. electro luminescents were idea becuase they fit into the small space and produced the right amount of light.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
cafĂŠ sol
an accessible public area that can power all your gadgets.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
sol San Jose’s Green Vision Clean Energy Showcase was an opportunity to develop a public structure that utilizes the power of the sun.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
sketching a preliminary method to explore the possibilities of form. with a few ways to support the large solar awning I took a a couple of directions and pared them down to a semetrical design on a post. this umbrella design seemed to provide the most shade while minimising the actual foot print of the awning.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
inspiration
looking at Italian espresso bars and American diners I wanted to create a place for people to take a break. whether it be five minutes or fourty five minutes.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
location
the Paseo de San Antonio provides an ideal location for my structure. major destinations near by provide ample foot traffic, not to mention the south facing sky is not prohibited by many tall buildings.
materials
there are three inovative technologies that I wanted to use in the structure.
Color Kinetics is a large scale LED company that has done many public instalations. this lighting provides a great source of interest and variability to the structure.
High Flex Solar is an inovative company that produces light weight, flexible solar panels. by removing the glass substrait and replacing it with flexible plastic. the weight is dramatically reduce, and making it a prime canditade for my solar structure.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
Lirtracon has developed a type of concrete that is imbeded with glass or plastic rods. these rods allow light transmission in a single axis. I decided to use this material to give the large structure a lighter and more open feeling.
in san jose
the details
18ft
18ft
I wanted to have the majority of assembly done in factory. in doing so on sight construction will be reduced to a minimum for time and cost reasons.
22ft
a simple sub structure provides rigidity for the flexible solar array.
the table top houses the outlets for charging. the steel I-beams and concrete uprights house the wiring as well as provide the majority of the strength the concrete base is the foot of the unit, housing the batteries and major components.
mccord blackwell mccord.blackwell@gmail.com
thank you for taking the time to look through my portfolio. hopefully in doing so you now have a better understanding of not only my designs, but who I am and my view of the world around us.
mccord.blackwell@gmail.com mccordblackwell.com 408.676.6611