Toasting Design

Ignoring the menu of hot-frozen toast with goosebump jam and icicle sauce. What design considerations go into food production on Antarctica. Where will the power come from? Mars is both like and unlike the southern polar region. Would blizzard kite-propelled mobile generators work? Would they stop for Penguins? Why did the Penguin cross the road? Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 6 March 2020

In a game of dominoes are the dots real? They are definitely more real than dragons. It is important to realise that dominant ideas and dominating personalities might negatively influence design work. Be wary of specialists, respect them but be careful of letting specialists make important design decisions. The design can fail if domination dominates. This occurs in daily life and in group work to...

Is perception a stapled caveat? Why is the design of the staple a staple of the stationary world of stationery? Arguments for and against the design of 2, 3 and 6 wheel multi-passenger vehicles are made. These design considerations are circularly discussed. The answer is 4. Always 4. Not 3. No. Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 4 March 2020

When choosing your bread for toasting you don't (shouldn't anyway) make the decision purely based on the piece that is at arms reach. There is the bread type, brand, slice thickness, price, state of freshness, availability at the store/bakery. Design is the same (minus the bakery). Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 4th March 2020

You've burnt your toast and now need to decide what to do with it. Do you start over, get a new piece of bread and crack on or do you dust off the burnt pieces and spread that butter? Alternatively if you keep burning the toast maybe just get a new toaster. Hosted by M. Boer, S. Schekman and C. Schulte-Brader on 28th Feb 2020

Designing something outside your comfort zone is inevitable. It comes down to a confidence in your skills and breaking things down to what you know. Also you can remember that if ever uncomfortable when undertaking a design just imagine all the information as being naked. Apparently that will help.   Hosted by M. Boer, S. Schekman and C Schulte-Brader on 28th Feb 2020

It's not that you are lazy, it's not you. It's me. I'm not Lazy.  Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman

Infinite staplers and stealth coffee mugs. These are the solutions that design provides, it is the duty of the design engineer to know when to say "no."  Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 21st Feb 2020.

I would think you can imagine the list of what we don't lecture is quite extensive but specifically we are focusing on those topics that are relevant to the design process and design methodologies. So if you are here for bear hibernation habits or an indepth discussion on your nasal cavaties then you may be a little disapointed and likely also listening to the wrong podcast. Hosted by M. Boer and...

Whether painting a cargo ship, "square" lecture theatre or a piece of toast, you need to run the numbers. Having said that, we in no way condone the literal painting and subsequent consumption of toast.... unless you have edible paint. Although what is the difference between edible paint and standard sandwich spread? Define edible. Define spread. Define toast and then eat it.

We may need a new toaster but the crumbs are still there... Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on the 7th Feb 2020

Getting distracted in design can have large ramifications in terms of did you know that human eye has an angular resolution 0.01667 degrees? And that can make things confusing.  Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 7th Feb 2020

Are mech's better than aero's? Would the average ground temperature near a volcano cause the coefficient of friction to increase with increasing hill gradient or would the ratio of air in the atmosphere be noticeably lower such that aerodynamic drag can be ignored? Preposterous questions you might think but would a mech or an aero give you a better answer? On a side note, we discuss mission planni...

Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Hmmm. Yeah. Anything. Ya. Ya. Exactly Ja! Hmmhmmm. Ja. Yeah. Hmmm. Okay. Okay. Kay....... I need a better script. Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 31st January 2020

If your car breaks down do you: (a) dismantle it in order to work out why it broke down (b) set fire to it and make it all just go away (c) try sell the car off as "slightly used" (d) argue with the car and insist that it's choice in breaking down was wrong and that you should be given a second chance (e) all of the above None of the above are recommended but if you do any of these please do write...

To plan or not to plan? That is the question. Easy answer though... plan, always plan... sometimes... if you have time... Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 24 January 2020

3rd year design projects for Mech's and Aero's 2020 There is a loophole to the 3rd year design projects. It is really quite simple. If you pay attention, put in the time and solve a problem that actually exists you will pass the project... who would have thought?  Hosted by M. Boer, T. Mangera and S. Schekman on the 17th January 2020.

2nd year design projects 2020 Will a toaster work on Mars with the different atmosphere or will there need to be a specific model just for use on the red planet? Also what about the deck chairs? Where will we get the wood? Hosted by M. Boer, T. Mangera and S Schekman on 17th Jan 2020

Defining a problem has never been so easy. Not that we necessarily tell you how, but in a more general sort of way it is easy. In other news we discuss a self defined problem and how what information and details were necessary to define it. Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on the 9th January 2020

Do all 4th year projects need to focus on swimming pools? Do we know anything about Kreepy Krauly's? Is this the decade/year/month/week where we remain on topic? Is Toast still relevant in 2020?  Some of these questions discussed in this weeks episode. Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on 10 Jan 2020.

Is a skateboard determined by a design, product or report? Yes! Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on December 6th 2019.

The design process, the product, the report. Whats the difference? What makes a good one and what makes a bad one? What habits are associated with each? Are skateboards still relevant? Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on December 6th 2019.

Podcast hosted by M. Boer, M. Atkins and S. Schekman on 29th November 2019.

Today we discuss design by deduction and induction. Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on the 22nd November 2019

Today we discuss iteration and optimization in design. Hosted by M. Boer and S. Schekman on the 22nd November 2019.