John Muhlenkamp is from El Dorado Hills, CA, but has had opportunities that have taken him all across the map. He currently works for the supercharged design firm Astro Studios in San Francisco. John is a graduate of the acclaimed BYU ID program and is always looking to learn new things. John has a love for all types and areas of creativity, with a particular passion for footwear design and soft goods. He also enjoys time with his wife, Melissa, and daughter, Eva, in the San Francisco area. John takes delight in golf, basketball, wakeboarding, speaking Spanish, photography, vacationing and, of course, sketching. He took some time to speak to us about design.
As silly as this may seem, this keyboard is not far off from what we are offered as consumers. Human factors are less and less prominent in new design, if you ask me. The size, arrangement and texture of buttons are so awkward, when they should be intuitive to users. The Maltron keyboard configuration is no more far-fetched than the button array on any PDA, remote or cell phone that many of us have.
Irregular in placement, near impossible to access with ease, and more visually appealing than functional. Yeah, the button configuration is funny to look at but compare that short checklist to your cell phone keypad. Is it irregular in placement, near impossible to access with ease, looking cooler than working properly? Same thing with your remote controls.
Ergonomics play a large part in how we communicate between ourselves and our ‘things’, but the ‘things’ are winning. The user is at a disadvantage it seems these days when size trumps function, and ease of use gives way to visual appeal. Yeah, this silly design may seem funny to look at, but I don’t see it being far off from what you might find in your state-of-the-art electronics store. And after seeing this post, I imagine some manufacturer is saying “Yeah, let’s make that,” and some consumer is saying to theirself, “Yeah, I would buy that!”
What a novel idea to have the drying feature built into the design of this dinner plate. Reminding me so much of a clothesline, this plate drip dries after you hang it to dry, leaving no water droplets behind. There needs to be a line of silverware and bowls using this same air-dry feature.
What a clever way to celebrate your book collection and interest in geography. The designer has taken a great amount of time in creating a nice wall display for magazines, newspapers, books and digital media. I think there should be one of these in every library. And I also believe there should be one designed for each continent, not just this cluster of the continental United States. Who would have thought that there would be more reading in Texas than in Pennsylvania?
Ok, I thought that I had found the ultimate camera a few posts back, but I stand corrected. The Hole-On Ex uses the pinhole camera technique, which takes longer, but adds more character to what you choose to capture. I have taken the time to construct cardboard models and can appreciate the effort in creating this scale model camera. The kit comes complete with instructions, but you have to supply your own 35 mm film. After such a great effort to make digital photography the standard, there is still a desire for doing things the old way, as you can see by this well-designed build-it-yourself camera.
Oh, how I wish I could be cruising in one of these right now! This see-through canoe takes sightseeing to a whole new level. This design is great for a few reasons, one of which is 100% visibility. At only 40 pounds, it is also lighter than most aluminum or wood canoes. If it flips over you can even use it to shield gunfire because it is made of the same polycarbonate as bulletproof glass. And this design has been extended to a line of kayaks as well, if that is your preferred means of water transportation.
This Catamount corn popper is easy on the eyes and offers true functionality in the reusable, see-through design. Simple as can be, this glass popper gets filled with a layer of popcorn kernels, then a pad of butter is placed on the wire mesh lid. Press start on the microwave and watch your snack appear before your eyes. This design is very engaging, almost like watching an experiment, and is also fail proof. A bit better than getting disposable popcorn bags, safer than skillet popping, this design is a nice compromise to healthful snacking and reusable kitchen gadgetry.
