3dHubs 3D Printing in Architecture & Design event

Yesterday we attended 3dHubs 3D Printing in Architecture & Design event, held at the Google Campus. The event was tailored towards bringing innovative Designers, Architects, and Techies together and looking at the ways in which 3D Printing adds value and provides benefit in their work. 

Mostafa from Zaha Hadid Architects presenting how they use Rapid Prototyping in their iterative design process

There was an inspiring line up of speakers, including Mostafa El Sayed from Zaha Hadid Architects and Marcin Ignac from Variable.io Design Studio and even a range of 3D printers working live throughout the event. Set in Google Campus, it was great to bring like-minded individuals from a range of different disciplines together, generating some really interesting discussions.

One of the clear themes to come out of the presentations and Q&A was that the software used in the 3D printing industry at the minute presents a clear barrier to users, not being intuitive enough, and not providing enough information about whether a build will print successfully or fail spectacularly. We’d definitely agree, and it is fair to say that 3D printing is still a bit of a dark art rather than a science, where we rely on our experience and lessons learned over many years of using the technology to achieve the kind of results and success rate we produce. 

Combatting this, the 3dHubs platform allows a great communication channel between those looking to have their files printed, and those with experience in 3D printing and the knowledge of what makes a successful print on each printer/material. By creating this dialogue, that information can filter down to the 3dHubs users so that the print preparation can begin at an earlier stage while they prepare their model files.

For those of you unfamiliar with 3dHubs, it is definitely worth checking out here (and our hub is here)  and provides a way of getting your designs 3d Printed locally.

Hope you have a great weekend,

Joe
The Prod Team

MEX (Mobile User Experience) 14

Last week we attended MEX 14, the Mobile User Experience conference, which brought together a diverse community of designers, technologist and strategists to exchange best practice and work together in creating new ideas. The theme of the 2 day conference was User Modes; groupings of behavioural characteristics which provide a more reliable guide to user expectations than simply targeting device types, screen sizes or fickle trends. The 6 User Modes looked at were Communicate, Control, Consume, Locate, Trust and Create.

As well as the workshops and creative sessions solving problems using the User Mode as a focus, there were also some amazing talks given by experts in a range of fields and disciplines. The presentations included Peter Skillman, Head of Design at HERE (Nokia), who explained the process behind their design of the UI elements of their new in-car navigations systems, as well as how they were using Big Data to improve the UX of the product.

Also speaking was Per Nordqvist, Interaction Designer at Ocean Observations, who redesigned the patient journey and diagnosis process for Rheumatoid Arthritis. By identifying the problems in the current system and designing a new, more effective process they were able to reduce the time taken from initial contact to diagnosis and treatment considerably. 

A creative wall documenting the key points emerging from the talks and workshops was a great way of visually representing the output of the event

After such an interesting and creative event we’re feeling inspired (even though its a Monday morning), and we’re looking forward to applying what we learnt into our current and future projects. As usual we’ll keep you updated with tweets and images throughout the week, available through our social media tabs (see the bottom of the page).

Take care and have a great week,

Joe,
The Prod Team

Our new site is up and running

If you’re reading this it means you’ve found your way to our new, redesigned website. Congratulations, and we hope you like what you see.

We’ve completely updated our site, with the intention of placing more prominence on imagery, to show what we do, and what we are working on at the minute. The site is also now fully responsive, making the experience a lot better for those accessing it on mobile devices.

The development of the new site is an on-going process and there is still more we’re looking to do. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the new site, as well as any suggestions you may have for improvements or additional features.

Take care and have a great week,

Joe,
The Prod Team