NYU

These are mostly notes for a discussion section I’m leading at ITP Camp, but I thought gathering them with links here would be useful.

In this 1.5 hour session we’ll talk about motors, torque, and how things move. Then we’ll open in up into a studio/discussion so we can talk about the ideas of the participants and how we can turn them into reality. You can come just for the how-to and discussion, but you’ll get more out of it you have a real project idea in mind that could benefit from what you’ll learn.

Mechanisms and Things That Move, Class 5

Making Things Move: DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists

These are mostly notes for a discussion section I’m leading at ITP Camp, but I thought gathering them with links here would be useful.

James Dyson Award
–What they’re looking for:
* demonstrates a significant and practical purpose, offering real benefits to the end user
* is ideally a working prototype
* is designed with sustainability in mind
* is commercially viable
–Awards
–Eligibility

How to come up with the next best thing…

1) Start – Now
Ignore the lizard

2) Find the Product Opportunity Gap (POG)
Become USER driven, not TECHNOLOGY driven
-story of the alarm clock

Where OXO is positioned – with help from Smart Design

Find the pain, brainstorm a solution.

Brainstorming techniques:
Individual vs. Group
Alphabet
Generate as many ideas as possible

Narrow down your idea… weighted matrix

3) Get your $hit together
Learn what you need to know, or assemble a team of people who already know it. It helps to be T-shaped and recruit T-shaped people.

That’s where ITP Camp comes in!

Follow Your Pez Dispenser
Practice Your Pitch

*A lot of these notes are from Creating Breakthrough Products. Here’s a link to the book website and where you can buy the book

One of the perks of being an adjunct at NYU is access to a professional development fund to support activities like attendance at an academic conference, meeting or other relevant professional development activity. I applied for the maximum of $1,000 to support travel to Maker Faire in San Francisco this May, and just got a letter in the mail today saying that I was awarded the grant! The Maker Faire lines up well with my residency at Eyebeam to finish my book, Making Things Move, and hopefully after I get a taste of what it’s all about I can participate more formally in the Maker Faire in New York in September.