Reverse Engineering

Product: Key Chain Tape Measure

 

Top View





Front View  



Side View




• Product Analysis:
• Visual Analysis:
• Design Elements and Principles:
• How the color affects the audience:
• Seems like becuase of its metal, shiny, simple type material used, the product is guided towards males and construction workers
• If the people made a girl version, aka a different color with different designs, it may be more appealing to females
• Texture:
• On the top, and sides there is a rough sort of texture
• helps with gripping the product so it doesn't slip out of one's hands while working
• Color:
• There is some yellow and red on the label for the project
• The actual measurement device is also yellow and has black numbers and tick marks on it
• The red helps make the product label pop
• easier to read when moving quickly through a store
• Metalic, and metal material
• Silvery and smooth
• Makes the product stand out and become more noticable
• good for tool boxes!
• Exploring the label:
• The actual brand: WorkForce, is in a different, fancier font then the useful information
• The amount of feet the tape measure can measure up to is 3 feet and it is in a simpler text and it is bolded and larger
• This makes it easier for the buyer to look at the project and see what the product is like in a quick sense
• The label also has the words Key Chain Tape, in all caps, and in a simple text
• Sense of yelling at the reader since text is bolded
• Easy to read! Which is key
• Functional Analysis:
• Purpose:
• Measuring different items on the spot
• Could use if needed wait measurements or arm lengths for people knitting or designing clothing
• Hence why it is a key chain
• Not used for huge items, just if one needs a quick measurment
• Keep it in car, or on backpack to measure windows, etc if needed
• Mechanics that support the purpose:
• Retractable unlike a ruler
• Coiling on the inside to help make it extendable
• Can be help at a specific measurement
• If working by yourself, you can push the stopper and then measure things like windows from one side to the other
• More sturdy this way
• Keychain attached to make the product more handy and available
• Audience/Demographics:
• Locations sold at indicate audience
• Local Hardware Store: Adult Male
• Big Box Hardware Store: Adult Male and Construction Professionals
• Drug Store: Adult Male and Female
• People that design clothing: waist measurments
• Sketches:

Challenge Disaster Opt In 2 Assignment

Overview: The Challenger spaceshuttle launched on its 10th mission on Jan. 28, 1986. 73 seconds after liftoff, live television coverage showed the shuttle break apart and disappear from view. Challenger's STS-51L mission was the first shuttle liftoff scheduled for Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. After several technical and weather-related delays, Challenger launched at 11:38 a.m.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_10T4UYpzV8&feature=related

• What technical problem caused this accident? Please describe with some detail.
• Studies later showed that a seal, called an O-ring, on the shuttle's right solid rocket booster had failed at liftoff, allowing pressurized hot gas to escape from inside the booster.
• This vaporized material impinged on the strut connecting the solid rocket booster to the shuttle's huge orange external tank which caused both pieces of hardware to break down.
• About 72 seconds into Challenger's flight there was a massive burning of the hydrogen that was streaming from the failed tank bottom, combined with liquid oxygen leaking from a part of the fuel tank known as the intertank.
• Under severe aerodynamic loads, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean one second later, or one minute and 13 seconds after launch.
• The 7 crew members on board died becuase of such a stong impact of the crew cabinet hitting the Atlantic Ocean.

• What was the big picture problem that set the conditions for this accident?
• A review board determined that exceptionally cold weather contributed to the failure of the O-ring seal. NASA concluded that the shuttle was not safe to fly at such cold temperatures.

• What implications did this have for the US Space Program? For the nation?
• All the crew died becuase the crew cabin hit the Atlantic Ocean at such a large impact. Therefore, mourning, and greif was a problem after the disaster occured. Families were sad because of their lost loved ones.
• The loss of Challenger and its seven-astronaut crew shone a light on NASA and the risks involved with human spaceflight. The media was all over the disaster becuase it was a big issue with the safety of spaceflight.
•  The Challenger disaster stopped NASA's space shuttle program for almost three years as the agency investigated the causes of the accident. During that time, NASA worked to implement suggestions from the presidential panel charged with studying Challenger's doomed STS-51L mission (Rogers Commission).
• A 225-page report was published June 9, 1986, the Rogers Commission documented the physical and organizational causes of the in-flight catastrophe. The commission found issues in NASA's decision-making processes (weather) and construction flaws in O-rings and the shuttle solid rocket boosters.
• The commission offered nine main recommendations, and NASA's space shuttle program saw a 32-month stopping period as the agency implemented changes and reformed launch procedures. Space shuttle flights resumed Sept. 29, 1988, with Discovery's STS-26 mission.
• The Nation had to invest in time with NASA to make sure there would be no more fatal disasters in space. There was money needed to conduct the studies being done by NASA and other space organizations as well.
• Safety became the NUMBER ONE concern of space shutte travel!!!!

• What other challenges have the Space Shuttles encountered?
• On Feb. 1, 2003, seven astronauts lost their lives as the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during its return from its STS-107 mission.
• The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into th Earth's atmosphere resulting in the death of all seven crew members.
• The loss of Columbia was a result of damage sustained during launch when a piece of foam insulation broke off the Space Shuttle's external tank (the main propellant tank) under the aerodynamic forces of launch.
• The debris struck the leading edge of the left wing, damaging the Shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS), which protects it from heat generated with the atmosphere during re-entry.

Graphic Design: What's Going On In This Design?

Identify where your advertisement came from:

Electronic Design Wireless Everywhere

September 9, 2010 Volume 58, Number 11
Identify what it is that is being marketed

Digi-Key Corporation

As a team, discuss each of the advertisements selected. Record both team members observations for the advertisement you've selected. Analyze the add using the following Message Analysis considerations:

• Message Content:
• The message that the add is trying to convey is complete and short. There are no paragraphs about the Digi-Key Corporation, but instead there are pictures of what type of products they sell. The website is on the add and the phone number as well, so whoever is looking at the add can buy a product if they are interested. The logo of the corporation is on the add: You Need It, We Have It!
• Size and Shape:
• The first thing that catches my eye is the You Need It, We Have It saying of the corporation at the top of the page. The name of the company is the second thing that catches my eye, since the text is so big reading: Digi-Key Corporation. It also has an oval around it instead of all the boxy shapes on the rest of the page. I think it is weird that the images of all the products they have are so small becuase it makes it hard to see right away what type of items there are on the website, especially if one is just taking a quick glance at the magazine. Everything that is important like the website and the phone number are bolded, and the website is even in a different color which makes it stand out.
• Readability:
• It is very easy to see what is being advertised becuase all the important facts are in different colors. The black background and the red and white text makes everything stand out more, but I don't like how they put so many small pictures of the products on the add. The boxes with the products in them are different shades of oranges and reds, and then the products themselves are black and silver. The fact that the images are so small actually makes my head hurt, and I don't like looking at it. I like the fact that their logo attracts people, and that it is in bold white text, but I just wish there were fewer, but bigger images present on the page!
• Needs the Audience:
• Becuase the add is in a electronic design magazine, and the Digi-Key Corporation is a company that sells electronic products, it fits the magazine that it is in. It obviously will attract to people that are in search of the various products they sell, but becuase I can not fully see the various pictures I have no idea what the products are that they are selling. All I know is that this add attracts to engineers, and people that are interested in mechanics, etc. I think that the add attracts to older aged people becuase I don't understand the pictures what so ever. So obviously it doesn't attract to teenage girls that are not interested in mechanics :).
• Designs and Principles:
• There is definitely color in this add, and the color is good and bad. It helps to make the add less boring, but really it makes it really chaotic and hard to read which I don't like! There are different shapes which I discussed before, and there is a different shape around the Digi-Key Corporation becuase it makes it more prominent. This is good since this is the company being advertised! There is definitely emphasis on the Digi-Key Corporatioin and the logo at the top becuase they are in bigger, bold text compared to the rest of the page. The fact that the pictures are so small makes it seem like the products are not important, which may be true, but to an extent I would like to know what the corporation sells. Honestly I would love to see bigger images rather than small ones!

Identify where your advertisement came from:

Scientific American Mind

Volume 15, Number 5

Identify what it is that is being marketed:

Nikon Coolpix 4800 Digital Camera

As a team, discuss each of the advertisements selected. Record both team members observations for the advertisement you've selected. Analyze the add using the following Message Analysis considerations:

• Message Content:
• The message of the Nikon digital camera add is that the new camera's best feature is it's zoom. People say "pictures speak a thousand words," well that is definitely the case here. The picture in the add shows the zooming feature of the camera becuase the girl is very far away, but when you look on the screen on the camera she is up close, hence the zooming feature. At the top of the page there are four boxes with key information. The first box has the type of the Nikon Coolpix camera which is the 4800. The amount of megapixels are 4, and the optical zoom is 8/3X, and the price of the camera is $399.95. All the key information is directly at the top of the page therefore it is easy to see. The website to order the camera online is nikondigital.usa.com, and this website is at the bottom of the page so it is easy to read.
• Size and Shape:
• The size of the camera is huge, and it is definitely the prominent item in the ad. The fact that the size of the camera is so big helps to make it easier for the person looking at the ad to see what is being advertised. The picture not only is just of a camera, but it shows the special feature, (the zoom), of the camera, in order to show the readers that it is not just any old ordinary camera. The next big thing that catches my eye in the ad is the top of the page with the boxes of information. The four boxes have bigger lettering, and they are white on a yellow page, and therefore they stand out. This is good so people know what the camera is all about, and how much it is going to cost them if they want it. The size of the information is a lot smaller than the camera, but that is because most of the information is conveyed with in the picture of the camera in the center.
• Readalility:
• This ad is definitely very easy to read. There is one picture that conveys the whole message, and the overall summary of the camera, and then there are four boxes at the top with key information about the Nikon camera. At the botton lies the website, so if one wanted to go online and buy the camera, then they could. Pictures are always good because they keep the clutter down in the ad, producing a less chaotic add. Providing only needed information helps readers of the ads not get headaches, and it helps them not feel sick while reading it. All you need in an ad is the key info about the product, the price, a little about it, and where to buy it. All of those things are included.
• Needs the Audience: 
• The fact that the add is so easy to read makes me belive that this ad was triggored towards young people looking for a camera. I say this because when people are looking through magazines and they see this, any one kid could read the basic information on the page, and see what is going on in the picture as well. I don't think teens, and children were the only audience, I believe adults were as well. I say this becuase the ad is in a engineering magazine, and most kids would not read that. I believe the ad is guided towards adults too because the picture being taken is of someone's daughter or grandaughter while fishing. The photographer is an older person, and therefore portrays that the person buying the prouct should be older. 
•  Use of Proven Design Elements and Principles
• There is definitely use of color in this picture. There is a yellow background, and the camera is silver, and the girl in the picture has a red life jacket on. The color makes the ad less boring, and it helps to keep people interested. Instead of having a black background with white writing and no color, it is better to have color to make the add more interesting and appealing. There is also emphasis on the camera, aka the product being sold. There is emphasis because the camera is in the center and it is the biggest thing present in the picture. It is good to have emphasis on the camera because it shows that the zoom feature is the most prominent of the Nikon Coolpix digital camera. Those are the two main design elements and principles that are present in the ad for Nikon. There may be others but, they don't really help to make the ad stronger or weaker in my opinion.

:

Visual Design: Elements and Principles

1. Six Design Elements
1. Line-vertical, horizontal, diagnol, and curved
2. Color-warm (red, orange, yellow), cold (blue, green, purple)
1. Color can affect how people feel
3. Form/Shape-outline or configuration of something
1. squares, circles, ovals, triangles, rectangles
4. Space- open, cramped, unused vs good use of space
5. Texture- rough (absorb more light), smooh (reflect more light, intense color)
6. Value
1. shade: lightness or darkness of a color
2. tint: pale or faint variation of color
2. Five Design Principles
1. Balance- symmetrical (formal), asymmetrical (informal), horizontal, vertical, radial
2. Rhythm- repeated use of line, shape, color, or texture
1. regular, graduated, random, gradated 
3. Emphasis- points of attention, attracts one's eye, there is a focus point, most personal aspect
4. Proportion/Scale- 3:5 Golden Mean
1. Comparitive relationships (ex: big to small)
5. Unity- harmonious, calm feeling

1. Principles:

1. Asymmetrical balance because it has one color in the left hand corner, and a different color in the right corner.
2. Proportion and scale. The one is the left is bigger than the square in the right corner.
3. Emphasis on the blue square becuase it is bigger, and it is a bold color as well
4. Rhythm since there is a repetition of black lines in this picture
2. Elements:
1. Line in particular, there is vertical lines, and horizontal lines
2. Color in this picture, blue being a cool color, and yellow being a warm color
3. Shapes in this picture are squares, and rectangles.

1. Principles:

1. Asymmetrical balance since the tree is only on one side and it is not present on the left
2. Emphasis present on the hotair balloon since the light is coming from behind and lighting it up, plus it is in the center as well
3. Proportion and scale sicne the hotair balloon is farther and the tree is closer; the tree seems bigger becuase it is closer to us
4. Unity becuase it almost seems harmonious andvery tranquil when looking at it
2. Elements
1. Curved line becuase of the balloon
2. No color becuase it is black and white
3. Shape and form becuase of the balloon and the shape is almost like an ellipse. 
4. Unused space which is the sky in the background, and used space which is the tree and the balloon
5. Value becuase there is lightness and darkness. The clouds have some darkness to them in the botton and along the sides, but they get lighter towards the sun. The baloon and the tree are very dark though.

Before talking with Mr. Olsen, I didn't realize that a lot of objects have a lot of the princples and elements. 

1. Principles:
1. Symmetrical balance. Not in that the designs are exactly identical on both sides, but the object its self is symmetrical. Since it is a rectangle, it can be folded in half and overlap perfectly
2. Emphasis present in this picture because the words are bigger than the rest of the picture. The reason there is emphasis is because the company is trying to sell their product, and therefore want everyone to know the product they are selling
3. Proportion, meaning the words in proportion to the rest of the picture are a lot bigger than the designs
2. Elements:
1. Lines, becuase of the words, and there are curved lines becuase of the leaf in the corner
2. Cool colors which are blues and purples in this case
1. Value going from the top being light to the bottom being a little bit darker blue. It provides more interest to the pack of gum

1. Principles:

1. Balance
1. There is symmetrical balance in this picture, but it obviously wouldn't be perfect becuase it is wood, and not every groove in the same size. 
2. There is radial balance as well since it is a circle, and you can tell where the center is
2. Emphasis: probably not intentional emphasis, but I know when I look at it, my eyes go right to the center where the line of the groove is a lot darker. It sicks out since it is longer than all the others, plus it's in the center. 
3. Rhythm in the piece because of the constant repetition of the grooves going in a circle 
2. Elements:
1. Line, but it is not drawn line, so it is implied. Meaning it looks like there is an actual line drawn, but it is just the space in between the grooves
2. No color: there really isn't any warm or cool color, just browns. 
3. Value: The fact that it gets darker in some spaces, and then lighter in others means there is value changes. Where it gets darker is showing that it is deeper in the wood. 
4. Texture, becuase it is a photo. There is actual texture in this picture, but you can also tell because light is being absorbed not reflected at all in any of this picture
5. No specific shape: there isn't a specific shape present except the oval stump, but there are like little square type pieces of wood present.

1. Principles:
1. Rhythm, in specific it has the repetion of lines on each one of the wings. There are multiple repetions that are going on in this picture, including the dots as well. 
2. Balance, assymetrical balance to be exact. If you fold it over to the right it will be the exact same, and overlap perfectly, but if you fold it down it will not overlap perfect. Which means that there is vertical symmetry not horizontal. 
3. No emphasis: there is not really anything emphasized to me in this picture. When I look at it I just see the butterfly as a whole, not any one part in particular. 
4. No proportion and scale. The top wings are bigger than the bottom, but that doesn't mean there is proportion and scale becuase there is not another object the butterfly is being compared to. 
2. Elements:
1. Curved line in this picture to make up the butterfly its self. But there are also curved lines within the object to make the designs on the wings. 
2. There is no color becuase it is a black and white picture. 
3. Shapes present: there are circle type things, ovals, and that is about it.  
4. This picture has no space because there is no background and it is not an actual object in 3D, meaning it actually doesn't take up space. 
5. There is no texture becuase it is photocopied or something
6. There is no value. I mean there is a different between the black and the white, but there is no shading or anything present, just two colors; white and black.

2.4.1 Design Challenge

1. The 2.4.1 Design Challenge is a group assignment, and we have to pick one of the five challenges, and create an item that will follow the constraints of the client companies. We have to make sure the object that we create also satisfies the consumer, and solves the problem that the company addresses. In this case the five areas that we can pick to make objects from are: a desk organizer, an emergency supply organizer, a candy dispenser, a fluid power toy, or a train car design. For this project, I am partnered with Bethany, and we are doing the Desk Organizer Design Brief. The problem is that keeping office desks clean and not cluttered is a problem, so the Office Supply Chain Company wants a design and model of a project that will reduce the clutter and frees up space. The contraints are: it must not attach to the desk, it may not have a footprint that exceeds 6" depth x12" width x10 height, it must include a recessed area, a bent platic part and have a base 3/4" thick, it must have a minimum of five different parts once assembled, and it must hold a minimum of six items. When designing this project we are making a few changes. We asked our supervisor if we could only have 3 different parts instead of 5 and he said yes. We decided to do this becuase it would be easier to assemble, and less work. It would prevent a bunch of screws from being needed, and it would prevent problems if the screws fell out.
2. Honestly, we chose to do the Desk Organizer Design Brief becuase we thought it would be the easiest. Since I have problems keeping my desk organized at home, I thought it would be easy to come up with a design since I have first hand experience in what I feel like someone would need in order to keep the clutter down to a minimum. I think that to keep a desk organized one needs things to put their pencils in, drawers to put paper clips and various miscilenius items in, a book holder/paper holder, a place to put your stapler, hole punch, etc. I chose this design because I think that it is possible to make a very simple design that proves to be the most effefctive one as well. One doesn't need buttons to press or anything; it can just be a very simple design that provides free space.
5. Decision Matrix
6.