L'aperitivo

L'aperitivo culture is now prevalent all around Italy, but it first started in Milan in 70's. L'apertivo in English means "happy hour" and if you order a drink for 6 Euros to 8 Euros between around 6 o'clock to 9:30, you can eat as much as you want. Normally, restaurants provide potato chips or olives, but in Milan, one can eat legitimate food like pasta, prosciutto crudo (raw ham), keish, salad etc.

L'aperitivo started with a drink called Campari; it's a type of alcohol that smells and tastes very herby. Some people say it's a very Milanese drink, but I had a sip of my friend's campari and I did not like it that much (it was waaaaayy to strong). So if you ever have a chance to visit Milan, try L'aperitivo :D

CONTINUUM lecture

CONTINUUM

based in Boston, Milan, LA, Seoul.


Good design is more than eye candy. It drives business, holds the power to create new markets, dfferentiates companies from competitors and helps achieve measurable success. Put simply, good design helps companies compete And win.

To do this right, we feel we must...

1. Engage our clients in the process
2. Utilize cross-functional domain experts in a team-based process
3. Examine audience behaviors and gather insights
Develop sound business strategies, and use them to create targeted design solution
Define goals and measure outcomes based on our clients'criteria for success


Continuum solves complex problems in a team environment.

Creating business success with Reebok, Swiffer, Masterlock, JCI Controls, Chicco, Moen etc. Continuum has long term relationships with companies like Samsung (for the last 15 years).

Continuum's approach is to

1. discover and align in Brand and Business, Consumer and Context, Technology and Process, and Culture and Trends
2. connect and envision
3. refine concept
4. define and evaluate

Continuum's job is to not only designing products themselves, but also designing the system around the products and providing consumers with good experience and service. They focus on people interaction and people experience- thus concentrate on researching and interviewing people and their behavior while designing.

Concept design: Obituary

The first day of concept design studio, we wrote obituaries of ourselves. This exercise was done to express who we are and who we want to be in the future. I thought it was a quite interesting exercise. And this was mine :)

Concept design: Consumer Profile

In Concept design, we are going to have a market day on June 23rd. Students have to make certain amount of profit in 4 hours. We designing products that are manufacturable in industrial scale that is also marketable and profitable. This year's concept is...

"TRAVEL"

Nowadays, the world is getting exponentially smaller and people are able to travel long distances in a short period of time with a smaller budget. Therefore, more and more people travel for various reasons and therefore there is a big market for traveling products. In class, we have discussed about how designers are the trend spotters who can predict future. I really like this year's concept since I myself have traveled a lot and am aware of need of clever designs for travelers.

We were required to create a consumer profile and present in any way we want to. We were asked to create an imaginative scenario and write a script as though we were making a movie, book, or a show.

Giulia and I came up with a story of a girl who has a dream telling her to go to Milan. But then she has the worst day of her life in Milan.



Both Giulia and I didn't quiet understand this homework until the day of presentation, so we came with a story that is kind of broad, so now we need to focus on how we can solve this girl's problem.

Trip to Rome

So I made a trip to Roma for a weekend to see my friends who are on EHP in Rome. I was so haapy to see them especially after being all alone in Milan for a while. I felt so welcomed and loved at Cenci (where EHP students stay and study). This trip was extra special because I stayed in an Italian artist's studio that Aya works for. His name is Baldo and he was very kind to offer me his studio place.

Now I have to describe how beautiful his studio was. It was located literally 2 minutes away from Pantheon. Also, it's a mansion that has caravaggio's paintings and the main gallery is open to public.

Noi abbiamo andata...

1. Parco di villa doria pamphili (Pamphili park)
2. Trastevere (this area next to Tevere river)
3. Porta Portese (sunday flea market)
4. Pantheon
5. Vatican Museum-Sistine chappel
6. San Pietro (Saint Peter)
7. Fontana di Trevi (Trevi)
8. Lot's of gelato and pizza places!
9. Piazza Venezia


woops! i wasn't supposed to take this photo... but I really wanted to try going to sistine chapel early in the morning and lie down on the floor to enjoy it. But the guards there would never allow me to haha

Yeah, its the beat!

This semester, I'm taking

1. product service system design

2. concept design

3. interactive design

4. type design

5. design for sustainability workshop.

Doesn't it sound already overwelming? I realized that in Italy (at least at politecnico), group works are encouraged and almost all homework or projects are group works. For finals, all students are required to team up in 3 for a final project in almost every major. I think it's a great opportunity for me to learn how to work with people- professors say that we don't always get to work with people we like in your career and one must learn how to communicate with others especially as an industrial designer- and I totally agree. I'm at Politecnico di Milano as an ERASMUS (exchange student) in master's degree, Product Service System Design, aka PSSD.

So! this is PSSD studio's first group work, and I get to work with 3 talented girls. Two girls are from Italy and one girl is from Columbia. Students were asked to create a video to describe each team and teammates. I think it was to encourage students to know more about each other. I had so much fun making it, and I hope the other girls did too. We worked on After Effect.

Enjoy!