HASAN DANIEL JACOBSEN

I am a foreign exchange student from Norway, working on my masters in Industrial Design.

The three qualities I have chosen to represent my designs are these:

1. Simple

I want my designs to be simple, not overly complex and unneccesarily complicated and difficult. I want them to be simple, minimal and to the point.

Logo: The logo is very simple, yet expresses complex ideas and emotions to the viewer. It does a lot with very little.

Product: The product, the Bamboo Lamp, is not put together from many different parts, but it still has a pleasing shape and an effective design.

Poster: The poster for the movie Jaws is very simple, it has only three distinct elements, yet communicates both the main plot of the movie and the terror of a shark attack.

2. Elegant

I want my designs to be elegant, to fit into a modern and sophisticated setting and to be graceful and cool.

Logo: This logo has a more complex shape than the simple one, but is still balanced and natural, pleasant to look at and an effective image.

Product: This product, the Shell Chair, is also more complex than the previous product, but it's natural shape and repeating pattern and balance give it a feeling of elegance and tranquility.

Poster: The poster for the 2011 Cannes Film Festival is rather simple, but very elegant. Using the partially blacked out image of a woman and golden lines to signify the number 64 it conveys the spirit and romance of cinema in a very elegant and effective way.

3. Surprising

I want my designs to be surprising, to add something beyond their function, something which keeps them fresh and interesting and makes people remember and cherish them. This quality takes an object beyond just functional tool to something people form personal relationships with.

Logo: The logo is for a company called Eight, and all the characters are a part of the number 8, cut up and put together in a way that spells the word. It is surprising and smart in that it takes a number and writes it out, using one itself, something which is impressive and surprising.

Product: The product is the Poised Table, which surprises in that it does not look like it should be able to stand like it is. The internal weight distribution of the product makes this possible, and is both aesthetically pleasing and intellectually stimulating.

Poster: The poster is for the Exorsist, one of the scariest films ever made. By making the font a family friendly colour and shape and the picture of the little girl look appealing and cute, it surprises people who know the plot of the movie and what it is really about. It plays cleverly on your expectations.

Here is the first excersize, the transformation.

Further, I tried to identify some rules from my references to go with my attributes:

Simple

How to end: Removed jagged edges and make smoother
How to fold: Do not fold more than 2 times
How to divide: Divide cleanly

Elegant

How to end: Make more balanced
How to fold: Fold in fluent movement
How to divide: Divide in equal, or close to equal parts

Surprising

How to end: End in an unexpected place
How to fold: Fold to create interesting perspective
How to divide: Divide where there isn't normally division

Second Excersize: Generative Characters

For my theme I chose to design a wristwatch

As my catalyst I chose this advertisement for Lego

It is simple, elegant and surprising: everything I look for in my design

Paradigm

Inspired by my catalyst I made this paradigm

I want the watch itself to be surprising, the band to be simple and the fastener to be elegant. The fastener holds together the watch itself and the wristband.

And my sentence in my mother tongue, oonnected to the paradigm

Transformations

1. More simple

I take my paradigm and make it simpler by removing uneccesary shapes and curves and making it more like a wristwatch

2. More elegant

I make it more elegent by making it more balanced and flowing, and also symmetrical by adding another wristband. It is now even more like a wristwatch.

3. More surprising

I take away something to make outlines of the objects, to them more surprising and unusual. I add some numbers and connect the pieces to make it more like a wristwatch.

4. More Elegant

I added a piece to the watch itself that now shows the time, and added more details to make it like a proper wristwatch. It is still only on the sketch level, but from here I can develop it into a proper design.

My poster for the Triennale