Micah Simon 2016 Industrial Design Portfolio
Here’s a little about myself... I was born into a family steeped into art and design. My household names growing up were Eames, Knoll, and Kandensky. Later, my life became heavily influenced by the study of Chinese after living in Taiwan during high school. My design philosophy centers around thorough research to expose real problems and to develop beautiful yet sensible solutions. Thanks for taking a look at some of my work. I hope I can make a great addition to your team.
Micah Simon Industrial designer Phone : (1) 281 - 725 - 3381 Email : m_j_simon@outlook.com Current Residence : Houston, Texas
Education University of Houston - class of 2016 Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences in Chinese Studies
Skills Rendering photoshop, illustrator, indesign, premeire, after effect, solidworks, keyshot, sketching (quick-vis & detail rendering)
Prototyping 3d printing, spray painting, metal-working, woodworking, ceramics, casting, microcontroller programming, sewing, laser-cutting, CNC machining, vacuum-forming, fiberglass, rapid foam modeling
Languages English (native), Mandarin Chinese (conversationally fluent), Korean (beginner)
Other statistics knowledge, product photography experience, proficient in Microsoft Office programs, construction experience, predisposed to staying up all night,
Experience Internship - Neutral Posture - Aug - Sep 2016 Redesigned a single product. Gained valuable ergonomics, engineering, and marketing experience.
content
Pylon
Future of LED Street Lighting
Emblem
Modern Take on the Tattoo Machine
juicebox
Battery Vending Machine
tome DongXi
NeXtep
Cord Management Done Right
East Asian Inspired Bench
Ergonomic Footstool
pylon LED Street Lighting Solution
Pylon is an updatable and replaceable approach to street lighting that can reduce the number of lightpoles a city requires as well as adding extra functionalities. Junior - Fall 2015 - 8 week project SPONSORED PROJECT
Condition of Utilites in the United States According to TRIP, a national transportation research group, approxamately 28% of US roadways are in serious need of repair and an additional 41% will need repairs in the next ten years. While the costs to fix these roads are already sunk, there are other areas we can turn to to save some money. Lighting US roads accounts for 19% of total US energy consumption. 700 water mains break each day. And over 100,000 metric tons of gas are lost from gas pipes each year.
47, 500
miles of roads
1,000,000
miiles of water lines
2,500,000
miles of gas lines
Water, Natural Gas, & Street Lighting Problems 1
2
3
Use of obsolete sodium bulbs and the lighting of unused roadways maintainance from broken mains costs $50.7 billion dollars a year old, broken gas pipes are dangerous and wasteful
How Xtralight’s LEDlinx Panel Technology Can Help LEDlinx panels are designed to be easily assembled and installed. They have a proprietary hole ventalation system that keeps them cooler than other LED light panels without the use of a heat sink on the back.
Energy Savings Dimmability, instant on/off, color temperature control. Saves energy while providing a more pleasant overall lighting experience. Allows for future integration into smart systems that use sensors to make sure lights are on only when they are being used.
Integration Allows for direct feedback and control of linked utilities. Using a nework of light poles outfitted with communication antennas, effective monitoring could significanly reduce maintainance costs and allow for quicker detection of gas leaks.
Data Analysis Data from utilites can be analyzed to detect failures as well as improve efficiency. Long-term, the data can be fed into computer models to find the best methods of maintainance and observe changes due to environmental or population shifts.
Design problem : Downtown Lighting Our downtown lighting systems are a haphazard mess of add-ons, expansions, and repairs. While they are adequite to serve the basic needs of a city, there is so much more we can do...
Undue Complexity Through Crude Modularity Additions and upgrades have steadily been tacked onto poles over the past few decades. 1950’s
1970’s
2010’s
2020’s?
Design Goals Reduce Number of Poles Since LEDs provide more controlable optics, we can change the size and direction of the lighting footprint to cover a larger area more evenly.
Make Parts Easy to Upgrade and Replace Due to frequent damage of light poles, as well as the ever changing pace of technology, there will always be a need to quickly and easily replace parts of the existing pole system.
Create an Elegant & Intuitive System by using a simple design style, we hope to make new additions to lighting systems practical and aesthetical in the long run
Ideation
1/8 Scale Model
Pylon Lighting System Modularity The Pylon system can adapt to any metropolitan lighting task; from ballards to stoplights, it’s just plug and play using concentric tubes into a standard base piece.
hollow internals
concentric attachment
Future Functionality Becasue of the modularity of the design and the large hollow space that occupies the center of the pole, the future for such a system is limitless. City-wide wifi, back-up power, parking indicators, and much more are simply a matter of fitting into the achitecture of the pole system.
Improved Lighting Modules Consisting of eight LEDLinx panels, the improved lamp head provides the same level of lighting as traditional street lamps while only requiring 2/3 of the number of poles. traditional street lamp (with LED)
60 feet
new 60Ëš lighting module
100 feet
communications module LEDlinX panels sheet metal body driver housing tubular supports
Base Plate & Extension Module Fits onto any existing bolts and connect to Easy on-sight adjustment using the two holes at existing power conduits for easier installation. the top of the module secured with bolts.
Emblem Emblem is a modern redesign of the tattoo machine which has existed, largely unchanged, for more than 100 years. It is designed to be more ergonomic, comfotable and easy to use. Junior - Fall 2014 - 4 week project
Tattoo Machines The original tattoo machine design has remained unchanged for the past century largely for reasons of reliability and maintainence. However modern material and manufacturing techniques has made limitless variations of new shapes and configurations possible.
Problems 1
center of mass is above and off-center from grip C.O.M.
2
vibrating components are resting on top of the hand
3
tight pen grip fatigues fingers during long sessions
Ideations
Emblem Emblem aims to provide a comfortable, compact, and easy to use platform for the novice and expert alike. It’s monocoil and refined handgrip places the weight in a less fatiguing position and a rubber buffer placed between the magnet bar and coil reduces vibration.
contact pin 35mm power supply
magnet bar copper coil
bread board
Emblem
JUICEBOX Juicebox is your one-stop-shop for mobile device charging in the form of a battery dispensing vending machine that’s been designed for convience and the cultural habits of the competition’s host region, Taiwan. Sophomore - Summer 2014 - 4 week project a project submission for Taipei international design award
Design Prompt: How can we make life in a city easier? The Taipei city government issued the following challenge to designers: improve the lives of people in the city. But the perfect tool for life in the city already exists...
Cell Phones : The Omni-Tool Most of us would find it pretty challenging to get by without our cell phones nowadays. Whether in a new environment, in need of a friend, or just bored, the cell phone is now an indespensible tool for living in a modern city.
With one fatal flaw... Navigation
Business
Wallet
Networking
Entertainment
Your phone dies, what now?
stick to a wall?
carry a battery?
be disconnected?
outlets aren’t always freely now you have another device to lose access to your social and available and your stuck in one keep charged and carry with business circles as well as place... you... entainment and navigation...
What if you could borrow a battery only when you need it? totally mobile
free to move while charging
no charging
have someone else do it
cheap cost
cheaper in the long run
What is Juicebox? Juicebox is an innovative network of mobile device external battery rental machines. It allows individuals the freedom of knowing they will never need to remain tethered to a wall socket when their device inevitably loses power. Whether you are running to a meeting, going out to lunch, or out late, there will be a Juicbox to provide a portable charge for a small fee. Customers can walk up to a Juicebox and quickly receive an external bettery capable of recharging their mobile device to a full charge while on the go. Once charging is complete, customers can return the battery to any Juicebox location. This saves both the hassle of needing to carry a phone charger and the time wasted from being forced to wait in one place for your device to charge.
Need
Use
Return
The business plan With convenience in mind, Juicebox is our proposed solution to the problem of keeping our problem-solving tools functional. By acting as a support for existing systems, Juicebox can seamlessly integrate into our lives by making charging up less of a burden; freeing us from being stuck on a wall, providing for more people, and preventing us from being disconnected.
subways
airports
shopping areas
Ideation
Battery Pack
Quarter Scale
The Juicebox machine
battery bank touchscreen interface credit card reader dispensing/receiving
cable pack bank
User Interaction
swipe credit card
select type of charging cable
battery pack is dispensed
return to any juicebox location
card is charged once returned
The battery pack
cord stop battery
cable pack
Juicebox Rent. Charge. Return
tome The charger that belongs on the table Tome can contain, organize, and protect your laptop charger and accessories in an intuitive way for the on-the-go person. Junior - Spring 2015 - 6 week project
Why Manage Cables? Tangled cables wastes time, decreases their lifespan, and looks unprofessional
There are many good systems for managing your cables on your desk space, but the ones for the on-the-go types leaves something to be desired...
What Goes in a Bag? One of these things is not like the others...
what’s wrong with laptop charger? Shape of The Pouch Flat, thin, rectanglar cavity is designed to hold flat, thin and rectagular objects such as books, tablets, and laptops.
Shape of The Object flat & thin rectanglar cavity is not designed to hold a fat box with two strings, and thus fits awkwardly into the space.
Ideation
Tome Tome is the all-in-one device that holds everything your laptop needs in a slim and convenient package. Simply pull out and use and put away just as fast. It keeps your laptop cables organized as well as safe while providing an excellect platform to store smaller everyday laptop accessories such as thumb drives, usb cables, and headphones.
magnetic strip
charging adapter fabric cover
magnetic strip storage area 4 USB 3.0 charging ports
Features
Tome houses two retracting cables with interchangable tips for different laptops as well as differing plugs for different counties outlets.
Tome is designed to be left on top of the table. In addition to it’s improved appearance, the fabric covered top cover can double as a mousepad.
tome
DongXi DongXi is an artpiece meant to symbolize the conflict and unity between East & West. It’s name comes from the Chinese word “東西“(dongxi), meaning “a thing” but literally means “east and west.” Senior - Summer 2015
Cultural Inspiration As part of the North East Asia study abroad program, we went to Taiwan, Korea, and China to gain inspiration from local crafts and traditions, have fun, and leave our comfort zone.
Eastern & Western Philosophy “Man is a part of nature”
Rooted in Chinese culture and language, waves of Bhuddhism and Confucianism.
“Man is above nature”
Roots in Greek and Roman culture and language, Christianity, and mercantilism
Philosophies Reflected in Furniture Design
Hidden Jointery No Fasteners Status Symbols Few Materials
Exposed jointery Fasteners Privacy Mixing Materials
What is DongXi?
Western Furniture
Ideation
Western Philosophy
Dichotomy
Eastern Philosophy
Eastern Furniture
The Design Maple Wood
Common in East Asia and throughout Europe.
Final Model
Metal Fasteners
Symbolize the Western philosophy of reshaping an environment
Tete-a-Tete
constrast & sameness of two sides
Wood Joints
Symbolize the Eastern philosophy of working with nature
Technique
Power tools and hand tools used in construction. symbolizing old & new
DongXi
NeXtep
ÂŽ
Ergonomic Footstool A more ergonomic alternative to the traditional foot ring on stool height chairs. Internship - Summer 2016 - 2 month project
The Neutral Body Posture This natural, stress free position is the posture natually assumed by astronauts floating in space. Neutral Posture products were developed to help users emulate this preferred position while they work, because it is in this posture that the body achieves equidistant spacing of the vertebrae and an ideal balance in the muscles, tendons and ligaments. Body-centered Vertical reference 24º (± 5º) 90º
Body-centered Horizontal reference
Micro One-G line of sight grav ity li ne o f sig ht
49º (± 20º)
10º 15º (± 2º)
122º (± 24º) 39º (± 11º) 12º (± 6º)
36º (± 19º) 128º (± 7º)
133º (± 8º)
200º (± 10º)
111º (± 6º)
Neutral Posture incorporates these principals into ther N-tune system of office furniture. A standing desk system meant to improve the health of employees and save employers’ money in the long run by reducing the causes of initial injuries.
Current Solution The current solution for how to maintain the health and correct posture of office and factory workers is the NeXtep. It is essentially a footrest attached to the chair and serves the function of raising the ground up to a comfortable height when sittomg at a standing desk.
Provides a footrest to be used when standing next to the chair. Extends the angle that the knees are bent to be more ergonomic
Problems With Current NeXtep
1
foot rest doesn’t extend far enough to meet neutral posture standards
2
original design does not prioritize aesthetics (bulky and visually heavy)
3
platform is in the way when getting into and out of the chair
Ideation
final concept direction
Final Design cantilevered locking mechansim
rough top surface
smooth support bar
The Redesigned NeXtep The new design more closely follows the ergonomic principals of the neutral body posture. It is less obtrusive, easier to operate, and has a more elegant design without an increase in price.
125ยบ
freely swivels feet make contact with the ground under weight
60ยบ
5th percentile female
95th percentile male
The Nextep is easy to extend or retract from a seated or standing position. Allowing the user to have the convienence of a footring with the benifits of a footrest.
The Nextep is also unobtrusive in its retracted state. Allowing others to pass very close to or manuever the chair with ease in the crowded conditions of an office or factory.
the redesigned
Thank You!