Shapeways

This week we had a guest speaker (which meant pizza!) from Shapeways. Shapeways is a 3D printing company where users can design and upload 3D printable files and Shapeways prints the files for them. Consumers are able to make any product they want through their own creativity, very neat!

She gave us a tour of the facility via webcam and I thought this was so cool. We saw the office space transform into the printing warehouse. I liked how the facilities were connected allowing the workers to watch or monitor any printing activity. The Shapeways office was an open creative space.

I decided to watch the video of the Shapeways CEO talking 3D printing. I thought he had a great explanation of the company and what they offer. He talks about using your own creativity and being able to get the product you want. The 3D printed hand was revolutionary. There are so many people who loose their limbs that could benefit from a 3D printed hand, arm, or leg. Creating a body part that functions like real ones would be life saving to so many individuals.

In Class & Readings

This week our team was able to accomplish a lot for our project. We are creating a vertical garden. Each of us were on different pages about how we interpreted our end product, this caused a lot of confusion. We spent time talking specifics about design and focal points. First, we want to have two layers to our garden since this is a prototype. We decided to grow basil and radishes because they can grow in 4-5 inches of soil. It was hard determining our measurements because we wanted space to make a successful garden, but it has to be small enough for a window cell in a dorm or apartment. We concluded that it would be a foot and a half tall and 6 inches wide: keeping it relatively small, but room to grow. Another discussion we had was about the sensors. Our sensors are going to measure water levels and alert the user when water levels are low through a text messages system. We will attach the sensors partially in the soil while the wires maintain on the outside of the pot. We drew a sketch so that visually we all understood. Attached is a picture of our sketch (will not let me upload, no space!). We are excited to continue to develop our ideas.

David Kelley talks about design as an iterative process. Spitting out a crummy first draft of a prototype allows you to build on that idea. It does not matter if it starts out bad, what is essential is the idea behind it. Personally, a lot of my first drafts is writing and now designing usually are terrible, but I have learned to stick with it and evolve it into something better.

Today I am on my way to San Francisco for a job interview with a tech company. They have their own SaaS SEO platform that drives traffic to websites from organic search. I am super excited to see the office and be in San Francisco. I hope to experience the techy and innovative environment that San Francisco is known for.