Cup Holder

    

     This smooth wooden cup holder exhibits a very functional design: flat and wide to accommodate cups of various sizes, with an earth-toned painting atop its face for aesthetic purposes.  Basic needs for a homeowner include places to store their drinks that will prevent damage to their furniture.  Holders like this one were created to meet this demand, and given the particular choice of visual design it also wanted to appeal to its audience's sense of visual quality.
   
     As can be observed in the example of the bottom image, the holder fits well on a typical home table next to other decor and items.  It is small enough that it accentuates the layout of the surface it inhabits without becoming too distinct.  The brightness of its colors makes the holder stand out against the dark wooden table, yet by that same token its warm hues harmonizes with the bright red bowl and red candy packaging nearby.  This particular installation of the item was clearly thought out in regards to how its design interacts with the current environment.  With this particular execution, the cup holder is visible and appropriate in its environment, thus its function and its aesthetics are strengthened.
   
     The idea for this design was to create a structure, with the right materials and physical construction, that can provide the basic household need of a sufficient space to place a drink in order to protect the surface of furniture.  The problem here is twofold: the visual design must be visible enough that homeowners will be drawn towards it and think of the object itself when they need.  However, the materials and structure chosen must remain functional, and not become so engrossed in visual appeal that it sabotages its own primary purpose.
   
     A thick material like hardened wood, in theory, sounds ideal for absorbing liquids, and it can be easily fashioned into the desired flat structure.  Unfortunately, it is not a material that produces good friction, especially when smoothed out and glossed the way this particular cup holder has been.  Without good grip, the cup will slide across the surface and possibly fall over the gap between the height of the holder and the surface under it.  Accidents like that are entirely within the realm of possibility, like an absent hand casually reaching for the cup with too much force.  Even sticky cup holders can only do so much to prevent such accidents, but a smooth, wooden holder like this only increases the possibility of such an accident happening.
   
     While perhaps not the most visually appealing solution, including small bumps and indents across the surface would provide additional friction that acts against the bottom of the cup, reducing its chances of slipping and falling over.  On the other hand, there are rubber cup holders constructed with a surface design that foregoes visual appeal and instead creates abstract, flat geometric shapes, like the bottoms of a shoe, that allow more grip. Perhaps rings of plastic, still painted with the same color scheme, that repeat across the circumference of the cup holder in different sizes, can alleviate this issue of smoothness without removing the visual style outright.

Lubriderm Bottle

     This small bottle of skin cream was produced with a semi-organic structure that smoothly moves around in someone's hands while still being structurally built in this vertical rectangle in order to stand upright.
   
     Given the qualifications on the front flap, such as the note about the product having been produced by a particular specialist and the bullet points at the bottom detailing the cream's properties, this bottle is trying to appeal to a customer's sense of assurance in purchase and use of this product.  These facts inform the design by way of extending its existence beyond what can simply be seen; now this product has an important-sounding title behind it, now it contains all of these positive properties.  This sounds appealing to any customer wanting a solution to treat their skin with.  
   
     The creamy-white coloration of the plastic bottle allude to the product held within and provoke a mental image of what the product is - a white cream - to the viewer who sees it.  The various tints and shades of blue for the text, the graphics, and the cap all unify the overall design so that it is not overwhelmingly white.  At the same time, this specific color choice serves to appeal to the particular brand associated with the product, Lubriderm. 
   
     Since its initial purchase, dirt and grime have built up all over the packaging, noticeably against the predominantly white bottle.  Even the structure of the bottle itself is slightly morphed inwards, a telltale sign of the bottle having been squeezed in order to push its contents out.  It is clear this bottle has seen some use, but has likely been neglected for some time, long enough for the package to build up dirt before the product has been completely used up.   This renders the package considerably less appealing, compared to its original, unaltered state on the store shelf when it was first purchased.
   
     This bottle's design idea was to create a small structure that can still stand up on its own, contain a sufficient amount of cream for the desired structure, and deliver some qualifying attributes that promote the product.  The problem here is to find a way to actively incentivize use of this product beyond the time of purchase.
   
     Given the age of the product indicating its lack of use, this design has failed to resolve the problem.  It is functional as an advertisement, though that power is limited by the sheer minimalism of graphic choices.  All of these positive traits associated with the product are not enough to compel a buyer to actually use the product when they need it, especially if they have other products like this in their home that they use more often. 
   
     In this case, the packaging would benefit from being a little more elaborate and colorful in its external design.  This muted pallet takes attention away from the product and makes it less visible against other background elements or products.  Having a design that draws people to the package, namely a proper use of saturation in colors among a variety of hues, will make it more likely that they will use the product.  This of course needs to be limited to a degree; with too much color, the bottle will become noise to the viewer's eyes that is difficult to look at, thus paradoxically becoming less visible in the background.  A choice of warm colors with a dash of a complementary color would make the product visually exciting while at the same time consistent and reserved.

Miniature Notepad

     This hand-held Mead Memo notepad implements a "flip-phone" design by laying out its spine at the top of the pad, as opposed to the side as most other notebooks do.  In so doing, the spine takes up very little of the notepad paper itself, maximizing the space provided to the owner on which to write. 
   
     Such a small notepad is useful for any person wanting a convenient documentation medium to take with them on the go, to temporary places and events like a seminar or school presentation.  A device like this provides an alternative to larger, classroom-oriented notebooks, which are  heavier to carry around may become mostly dead weight for the writer who only needs a small amount of space for their notes.  This notepad can also be useful as a grocery or check list, as seen in the bottom image. 
   
     The simple plastic cover and metal wire spine are typical elements of a notebook, both cheap materials that serve to protect the paper and bind it together respectively, but is otherwise far removed from anything ornate.  Even the graphic for the brand on the cover, a simple yellow block with white typography imposed over it, is very streamlined.  All of these design choices take attention away from these elements specifically to emphasize the paper, the main point of this notepads purpose.  

     A grocery list like the one displayed here provides poignant context regarding how this pad has been used since its purchase, and demonstrates its small scale through the size of the handwriting on the paper.  At the same time, this highlight's the notepads limited usability and disposable nature; with how quickly handwriting takes up space on the notepads dimensions, the lifespan of the paper depends entirely on the quantity of sheets installed into the design, which appears to be very little.
   
     The idea behind this design was to construct a handheld medium that effectively budgeted its limited space in order to provide a maximum degree of usability out of the pad.  The problem is also tied to the limited space, in that the designers needed to question how big they wanted the actual pad to be, how thick they wanted the cover and the spine to be, and how small or large they wanted to print out the spacing lines on the paper.
   
     Designs as sleek as this cover and spine are invaluable to the functionality of a product this small, yet they manage to achieve aesthetic quality through the simplicity of materials, color choice, and text.  The aesthetic design is appealing enough to draw the eye of anyone needing a convenient writing medium, but humble to ensure that it doesn't distract or detract from its main function.

Roll of Blue Tape

     This roll of blue painting tape is a very simple  doughnut-shaped design that is small enough for convenience of storage and travel, and big enough to permit copious amounts of tape.  Even the hollow interior serves a function, that being to provide a space in which instructions and information regarding the tape's purpose are printed in Spanish and English.
   
     Given this linguistic range, this particular roll was designed with the region of its purchase in mind; the designers, manufacturers, and store chains collaborated to ensure that this tape was printed with two specific languages in order to meet a specific regional quota, which gives insight into both the corporate purpose behind this tape's construction and the demographics this tape was aimed at. 
   
     In a general sense, though, this tape would typically be useful in any general situation where an adhesive material is required, but its specific function as a painting tape makes it specially useful for painters.  This tape creates borders that block off certain sections of a composition that the artist does not want paint on, which can be very helpful for any artist of any skill level who wants to maintain a profession quality of presentation in their own work.  In effect, this tape was created by design, for design.
   
     The blue coloring of the tape itself is an aid that distinguishes it among other types of tapes and adhesives on the store shelf.  When an individual sees this blue tape, and uses it frequently to help them paint, there is a chance they will develop a mental association between the color blue, its use in design for tape, and the tape's function as a painter's aid.  The internal cardboard is responsible for framing the roll and providing space for the text.  It is cheap, easy to manufacture, and easily disposable, which is useful for store sales and for the consumer once the product has expired its utility. 
   
     There's an evident sign of previous use of this roll through the small flap of loose, unrolled tape.  That kind of naturally occurring imagery evoke a sense of fulfilled purpose, in that the tape is clearly being taken advantage of and serving its purpose, even when the absence of surface area is not immediately recognizable.   Even so, there is still a vast quantity of tape remaining, so the evident use of this roll is still very young and its full potential yet to be realized.  This image can be likened to a journey having taken its start, with still a long ways to go before its end.
   
     The idea behind this design was to find the proper geometric form that would best cater to the customer in their needs for a painting-aid adhesive, and best serve the store in stocking and selling these tapes in bulk.  The problem has to do with determining the proper amount of tape, the size of the tape, and the size of the overall roll in order to meet all of those previous functions, as well as provide instruction on the product's use.
   
     The most apparent flaw with this idea's execution is readily clear with the internal design of the text, namely that it is cut off in both the top and bottom of the inner ring.  There clearly is text missing that might be important to the rest of the instruction and cautionary notes of the product.
   
     Increasing the height of the roll might have allowed enough space for every part of the instruction, but that would also mean increasing the width of the tape itself.  Doing so might be helpful to some artists, but probably unattractive to stores with limited space to store these rolls.  Decreasing the text size, while possible to include all the instructions, would potentially decrease readability, especially for customers with sight problems that prevent them from reading small text.
   
     Perhaps the best solution is to slightly decrease text size and to revise the text itself in order to decrease the number of characters and words needed to communicate the information.  The spacing between the top and bottom text should also be slightly reduced, a few millimeters at most,  and the red borders should be shrunken and thinned out, if not removed entirely, since they unnecessarily take up space.

Pencil Case and Display Hybrid

    

     This package for Prismacolor artist's coloring pencils implements simplicity in form in order to provide not only convenience of transfer but applicability as a display to make the pencils easily removable and replaceable within the display.  The front half of the package folds open and closed, and locks in place via two slots on either side that snap tightly together.  When folded open, the front half can then be snapped closed again, but without encasing the pencils.  When that closed flap rests against the pencils, the entire package creates a sharp-angled stand that props up and showcases the pencils, allowing anyone to quickly pull out and push them back in the package.
   
     Pencil artists looking for a small set of mixable colors will find a varied collection like this if they are willing to work within a limited palette that can be packed into a bag or case very easily.  They would find this folding mechanism useful as a way to economically budget their working space.  Without the case, the pencils would have to be stored elsewhere, like a larger case that must be set aside from the artist's work space, or on the work space where they might roll around and get in the way without a bumper keeping them in place.
   
     In creating a case like this, the designer wants to appeal to the artist's desire for convenience of space by creating a package that uses a small surface area and displays the pencils in a manner that is easily gathered and stored.  Therefore, this package is useful at the time the artist is working their craft in their studio, and can be closed up for storage in any larger bag or shelf where the artist keeps their supplies for future use.
   
     Transparent plastic for the bulk of the package is cheap for production but also pliable for the display and case hybrid design in mind.  Plastic is also convenient for showcasing the pencils themselves as the main attraction of the overall design.  This is the package's function as a marketing tool; the artist will see exactly what they're purchasing and can base their buying decision on this emphasis of sight.  To reinforce this, the few examples of paper on the case, both the brand claiming ownership of the case at the top and the more direct advertisement at the bottom, are minimal.  The bottom advertisement space, through its highly saturated and poly-chromatic color scheme, evoke the spirit of creation to appeal to an artist's own desire to create.  It also implicates the pencils themselves as being viable tools of creation that the artist wants, that they can create this wide and varied color scheme on any compositions the artist is making.
   
     Since installation, the pencils themselves have become a wide mix of sharpened, dulled, and shortened, all demonstrating telltale signs of use.  The overall design is made rugged, "lived-in" as it were, which, if anything, strengthens the packaging's advertising power despite it no longer being a product in a store awaiting an owner.  It has already been used several times by an owner, which implies that they have found the case's function to be highly useful to them during their experience with this design. 
   
     The idea here was to produce a packaging and advertising medium for a set of colored pencils that would transcend the store shelf and provide convenience to the artist throughout the lifespan of the pencils.  The problem with such an idea is figuring out how to actually convince a buyer after purchase to recognize the package's intended function and embrace it, rather than discard the package and store the pencils elsewhere.
   
     Being made up mostly with an inexpensive and crude material like plastic, the package's aesthetic appeal is lacking.  The focus is more prominent on the wide range of colors from the pencils, so they are given the proper emphasis as intended by the package.  Divorced from that, however, the package's minimal, functional appearance can deter buyers from taking advantage of the package outside of the time of purchase. 
   
     That said, plastic is not only a good material to use to make the package cheaper for the buyer, but it is also one of the more safe and convenient mediums with which to create a transportable package like this.  Glass is a potential alternative medium that allows transparency to showcase the pencils, but glass is fragile and creates an obvious health hazard in a situation where it falls and shatters.  This plastic is durable, so it can absorb a decent degree of abuse as the artist carries it from one place to another, and thus safer than glass.
   
     Furthermore, setting aside the aesthetic quality, the package works perfectly as a small display for the pencils during an artist's creation process.  It takes up less room than if the pencils were all lain out on the table side by side, so it can take up room at the table or desk next to the artist's composition without being an inconvenience.  Keeping the pencils together in this package also makes it much easier for the artist to access the specific color palette they provide, as opposed to if the artist chose to store them in a large box alongside many other pencils from many other packages and color palettes that will all end up bleeding into each other. 

Medieval European Knight Figurine

     

     This figurine of a European Knight was designed in such a way that its standing pose is well-balanced atop the stand, maximizing its stability when on display.  Its small size allows any collector of medieval-themed memorabilia to place it in any convenient space within their household.  Any customer attracted to these types of figurines will find its hand-held size easy to transport and place anywhere they wish. 
   
     This figure fits nicely alongside other decorations or collector's items carrying the same Medieval European tone, especially to do with warfare or knighthood.  On its own, though, it can stand out among other unrelated household items without being too large as to overshadow them or too small to be overshadowed itself. 
   
     Using hardened plastic minimizes the cost of producing this, but the light doesn't bounce off the material the same fashion that authentic metals do.  The golden-colored inlays against the steel-toned chassis stamp a regal presence upon this figure.  At the same time, the design of the armor is very grounded in realistic design, such as the numerous belts along the back of the leg pieces keeping them in place while giving the impression that they were designed to be adjustable based on the wearer's body proportions. Like the rest of the work, though, the belts themselves are not made out of authentic leather, so they, like every other piece of this figurine, are a simulation.
   
     The idea behind this figurine's design was to simulate the look  of a European knight  in a hand-held scale with attention to detail in mind.  The problems of such a task involve seeking out the appropriate materials that will reinforce this simulation, and arranging them in such a way that they will remain functional atop a stand.
   
     The technicalities of this work at least have been accomplished; it stands up in excellent stability, the design is ornate while avoiding fantastical liberties, and the choice of materials guarantees it to be lightweight and cheap.  On the other hand, in choosing these inauthentic materials for the sake of functionality, the intended simulation of a knight's armor set is very shallow; upon touching and scrutinizing the figurine, its materials clearly do not match the genuine article.  Even looking at the way the light affects the figurine gives its cheapness away. 
   
     While it would have been more expensive to invest in proper steel, gold alloys, chain-links, cloth, and leather, the design of the work would have been vastly improved and the simulation that much closer to real life.  A collector would value such an item greatly, and probably be willing to pay whatever cost necessary to include it in his personal gallery.

Antique Coffee Advertisement Decoration

     This piece of household decor generates a worn, down-to-earth atmosphere through its rough and antique visual design.  This choice of style and tone caters to individuals who wish to transplant it into an intended space . Using coffee as its signature nails down the type of environment that this piece would feel most at home in: the kitchen, where actual coffee is made and consumed, and in a restaurant space, particularly one associated with coffee, coffee products, or even breakfast as a general concept.
   
     The simulated scratched-paint effect along the edges, the slightly white-washed earthy colors, the typographical choices, and the simple graphic of the hot coffee cup impress a "dated", or old-fashioned, tone.  Even the use of metal wire as the medium from which the sign is installed onto the wall reinforces this tone by the natural occurrence of its bumpy, bending frame.  The five-cents stamp at the corner and the slogan at the bottom are all signals that this decor is simulating an dated advertisement; such a small price for coffee at a store or chain is unheard of today.  This correlates with  bygone decades, possibly between 1920 and 1940, and every detail of simulated age supports the idea of this sign being a product "out of time", as it were.
   
     The design idea was to capture a specific period in time as a tool to generate a specific tone that could accentuate or give context to the space it inhabits.  The problem not only entails being able to accurately capture that time period, but also making it appropriate for modern times and modern sensibilities.
   
     There is no denying the construction of this decor successful creates the impression of "old-fashioned" design, but it is left vague exactly what date this sign is supposed to originate from.  Ultimately that latter concern is unimportant here, because the point was the impression of old times, rather than being an accurate time-capsule in of itself, and that impression comes through clearly.  Whether or not it fits its environment, however, ultimately relies on the owner of the work and their ability to transplant this decor into an appropriate place.

Wall Candle Mounts

     This set of decorative candle displays implements its aesthetic design into its two key functions: holding the candles, and providing a space with which to hang the display itself onto a wall.  There is a particular organic construction in these pieces that resemble leaves at the bottom and vines sprouting up from them to form flowing patterns, cultivating in a heart with a loop at the top for the nail to rest in.  Even the tray for the candles appear to naturally spring from the vine structures, extending the candles themselves as part of this nature-like appearance. 
  
     Any homeowner with a ready supply of candles and nails, a need for a stand to place them, and a desire for the type of organic, abstract style embodied within this set will find it attractive.  As a product, these mounts were created to appeal to that specific market.  As decoration for the home, they are both attractive to that market and functional.  The metal material gives the mount a certain sturdiness and strength that allows it the ability to firmly wield the burden of the candles.  The design itself is also minimal enough that the material will not be so heavy as to rip itself out of the nails through sheer weight and gravity.

    The specific layout in which the two pieces were nailed to the wall in relation to each other, one higher above the other, creates a certain elevation-effect to the whole set.  They are not just static, but embodying a sense of motion through their mere placement around each other.  The choice of red, broad candles complement the black metal mounts in generating a low, dark tone to the design.  All of these aspects were imposed onto the piece by its owner, highlighting the dynamic relationship that exists between the piece and the audience.
   
     The idea behind these mounts was to deliver function through form by way of a particular organic style that would appeal to a specific audience.  The problem to solve here would be the ideal choice of material, and the best way to implement that material into the form, in order to allow the set the ability to hold heavy candles without risk of falling off the wall under its own weight.
   
     Opinions on the value and appeal of the mounts' aesthetic are mostly subjective, since the design succeeds in its most important goals while still being versatile enough to allow the owner to arrange the set however they choose.  They can easily be placed in relation to other home decorative items, even on the same wall, in order to create a greater unity.  If there is any flaw to this design, it is the mere fact that, on its own, these candle mounts are only as effective as they fit into their environment.  On a wall next to modernist sculptures and paintings, these ornate mounts may seem out of place, but next to decorations of a similar aesthetic they are made more noticeable and appealing than on their own.