12in12: September

Going Three Dimensional

After last month I wanted to switch it up a bit. Not a redesign but something new, not a project per se but a new skill. A new skill like…

This Month’s Project: 3D for Designers

3D is one of those things that always seemed amazingly awesome but I had no clue where to start. As usual, my attention is normally draw towards the colourful, geometric, and less than realistic style but the idea of digital sculpting, no matter the style, appeals to me (I have Pinterest boards full of it). Only problem is I had no clue how to get started. At least until earlier this year I signed up for 3D for Designers.

Devon Ko has developed an amazing looking course (and is doing a stunning job promoting it) and now that I’m free of coursework, I intend to dive in and finally learn the mystical arts of 3Dness. Do I actually do any work with 3D? Well no, but you can’t go wrong expanding your toolkit for expressing ideas.

Goals:

• Learn basic 3D modelling and principles (obviously)
• Actually complete a tutorial series
• Create an original piece of 3D artwork
• Practice consistently sharing work on social media (no matter how bad I might feel it is)

Icing on the Cake (a.k.a stretch goals):

• Use those new sweet 3D skillz for a personal illustration series

The lessons to come

Lessons for the Month:

Between tidying up last month’s side project and kicking off a month of 3Ding, I have actually been doing work. Already this week we’ve wrapped up one research test, kicked off another, and begun wireframing for a few other bits and bobs. All good stuff from which a few lessons stood out in this first week of September.

• Sharing is caring: Don’t design in a vacuum, don’t research in a vacuum. Getting ‘non-UX’ folk involved in design, testing, research sessions, and more is the best thing you can do. Show what goes on, show results and feedback, don’t hide what you’re working on and what you can help with. It may be different from programming but that just makes it all the more important to demystify what you do on a day to day basis.
• Make a mess, mix it up: Get off the computer and spend some time cutting up paper bits and taping up posters for a bit of hallway research, play around with that code you don’t understand, learn new skills. Different is good (and a good way to make research fun for the participants too). So why not learn 3D?

Now to put the studying cap on and get to modelling!