FurnLab from Jeffrey Matthias on Vimeo.

Soon, my furniture files will be hosted at FurnLab.om and this site will become effectively an online portfolio, which is tough because the more you're making, the harder it is to keep your portfolio up to date and I'm pretty busy these days getting FurnLab up and running.

Thanks for your loyalty in checking out my site.

One of the reasons was that I found out about Inkpad for iPad. (I have since found out about iDraw and will give that a try as well) While I don't love creating vector art for the projects I'm working on, a lot of the reason is that I don't like creating images directly into the computer via the mouse. Up until now, I have done my ideation sketching with paper and pen and scanned the work before making corrections in Photoshop. I was banking ($500+) on the fact that the allegedly intuitive interface of Inkpad would make the process of vector work more enjoyable. I spent some time this playing with it and walked away with a very favorable impression. This isn't intended to be a full review of all the features, but only a quick review of my first experiences with Inkpad.

The path options serve the same purpose as Illustrator's Pathfinder menu. While the functions are very similar, they have names instead of icons. It took some getting used to and plenty of undos until I got those down... which I mostly do now.

Anchor point addition/deletion is menu based. This is a little odd for me because I seem to like working with the iPad on a flat surface where I can spin it like a piece of paper to get the angle I want for drawing. This leaves my menus in the wrong place, as with the device flat, the accelerometers don't know to change the view. This is not a deal breaker.

The are definitely fewer tools than I'm used to, but that simplicity is actually a plus in a lot of ways. Honestly, for what I do, which is simply presentation images, sticking to basics works really well. I wouldn't try to do a full layout for print with this, but that isn't why I bought any of this.

Once I figured out where things were hiding, like the group command, the workflow smoothed out pretty well. Grabbing a single anchor point handle is easy. After you start moving it, you simple touch the screen anywhere else with your other hand and the other handle snaps back to it's original spot. Rotating and scaling are nice, too. You select the tool, choose the center/focal point and then just slide you finger on the screen in a very intuitive way.

The colors are a little simplified, but eventually I got used to setting up my pallet and actually may prefer the simplicity of having fewer options. There only two types of gradients, but I sorta feel that might help people stop overusing them as well.

What's that? Layers? Oh, right. It's got layers, too. And, unlike SketchBook Pro, which I'll write about soon, it isn't a limited number. This is great. As just a basic Illustrator user, I gotta say, the layers are nice and easy to use. Not too many options to accidentally select. (yeah, I just totally put myself into the novice category)

There is one last thing that probably explains why this interface worked for me so much better than a mouse/monitor or even Wacom/monitor set up. Your control of the viewing area is simply intuitive and fast. You want to work up close? It's the same controls that you've been using since you got your first iOS device. It's amazing how something so simple transformed the entire process for me. Sure, working directly on the screen has a lot to do with it, too, but the zoom controls are my favorite aspect.

One last thing to note is that I spent most of the time working with the Stylus Socks Pro stylus, but I did try out using my fingers and it works pretty well that way, too. I seem to use the stylus when I'm in drawing mode, so it will likely stick as my way to do it.

In summation, Inkpad is a well-written app that is well thought out, supports DropBox, .svg file format, and utilizes an intuitive interface. Will it replace Illustrator for you? I don't know. That depends on how you use illustrator. It will for me. I don't need most of the features that Illustrator has. More important than anything else, I enjoy working in Inkpad where working in Illustrator feels like a burden. Perhaps I'll feel differently when the shine starts to wear off of the iPad...

After waiting a year since the iPad debuted and really got the new (vs. the old, Windows-based) tablet market going, I have been chomping at the bit for the tablet to be released that was just perfect for my needs. My demands weren't complicated:

•10" screen or bigger
•iOS or Android
•Market competitive speed
•Capacitive touch screen 
•Pressure-sensitive  stylus

Ah... that last one is the kicker. Everything else and I just described several options on the market. As an industrial designer, that stylus is the key to saving me plenty of work time. Right now, I draw things on paper, scan them and make digital corrections afterward before emailing them to my clients. What I was looking for was effectively a Wacom Cintiq on the cheap.

Wacom Cintiq: pricey AND tethered to a computer, but with 1024 levels of sensitivity.

I am happy to forego the Cintiq's 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and 12" screen (the big ones are way out of my price range) in exchange for portability (especially getting rid of the cord) and price. Problem is, there hasn't been enough perception of a market base. There are several $1000+ Windows based tablets showing up on the market right now, aimed at professional services (like carpet installers) that need pen-based input for on the fly jobs, but no one was doing what seemed to be the obvious answer to me: developing an Android tablet for artists/designers.

HTC Flyer: methinks they forgot to Photoshop in a shadow for the pen.

Then, all of a sudden, there was hope. HTC announced the Flyer. Sure it has only 7" of screen real estate—I figured I could take a hit on ONE of my demands—and sure it has a single core processor—but it's 1.5 GHz, so I could make do—but is has a real, pressure sensitive, stylus! The Flyer definitely has promise. The more I thought about the 7" screen, the more I had mixed feelings. It seems a little small, but I've been drawing on an iPhone, so in comparison, I could make it work. After hearing Jeff Jarvis talk about the portability of 7" tablets, I was keeping an open mind. I even gave a positive response to SolidSmack's Josh Mings when he asked me about it. 

So what changed? Why did I end up waiting until the stroke of 2am (Mountain time) last Thursday night? A few things:

•HTC has failed to provide a release date (Q2 2011 is too vague for this gadget hound to hold out)

•HTC has yet to give pricing information. European sites have indicated a €669 price tag (which, today, converts to over $900, if you assume they will be charging the same world wide).
(UPDATE: reports from the UK are now saying $600. HTC should have gotten this out before the iPad launched, though it probably wouldn't have changed my mind.)

Inkpad for iPad. So vectory!Inkpad. Look at all the layers!

•Inkpad for the iPad. Steve Sprang, the creator of Brushes—a very accomplished iOS app, itself—has realized the awesomeness of the un-asked question: what do you get when you combine an iPad and vector illustration software? Inkpad is his answer. I found out about it on the recommendation of Don McAllister as his pick of the week on the Macbreak Weekly podcast on the TWIT network. Don stated that is was simple, but the interface is intuitive. I was sold. (Update: Click here for my first impressions/review of Inkpad)

Stylus Socks Pro: Hard plastic surrounded by conductive cloth. Genius!

•I FINALLY found a stylus that works well on the iPad. Thanks to Jeff Bare at jbare design for making the recommendation of the Stylus Socks Pro. I never would have found it on my own because I kept thinking that some accessory company was going to be the way to go. As an independent industrial designer, I should have known better. This stylus has by far a better response from Apple's capacitive screens—and all others, I'm sure, but I've only tested it on Apple devices—than any of the other rubber or foam styli that I've tried. It's great.

After reading Andy Ihnatko's review for the Chicago Sun Times—it came out post-launch— I'm glad I lost what precious sleep I did that night. As a new parent, sleep is VERY precious. Reading Andy's impression left me feeling good about the decision. I know that it will be annoying to not have pressure sensitivity, but I am pretty sure that I will be fine. I lood forward to sharing my opions and work down the road.

The other thing that I've been doing on the sidelines for the past year is figuring out where I'm going with all this flat pack cnc furniture that I so very much like to design. While the concept is still going through branding, I am now working to establish FurnLab(.com) an open source furniture laboratory.  What is that you ask? Good question. Here are some highlights of my model:

-regular release of new designs, most at some level of finish and available for sale
-All or most designs will be distributed with a creative commons license that allows non-commercial reproduction and modification, with attribution
-a regular search for collaboration partners from other industries (and other designers)
-designs will be available to others for production.

The idea will be to get as many of the things from my brain (and, as things develop, the brains of others) out into the world. This will mean some of the work will be finished designs, while others will be loose "Scketches" that others are welcome to develop further. Any work someone else does to evolve a piece has a very high chance of being integrated into the current version. Credit will be given to those who make significant contribution. The idea is to evolve a large collection of ideas into an experimental catalog of furniture (and housewares).

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to proceed in terms of file format, version tracking, material selection, and credit to contributors. I am also working with The Holdfast Creative to brand the company and work on publicizing it all. The goal is to launch in early 2011. Your feedback, as always, is welcome (unless its spam for knoack-off Louis Vuitton purses).

This Year's IDSA National Conference is themed DIY: Threat or Opportunity.

Seriously? Wasn't the time for this about 4 years ago when talking about it could have actually made a difference in how things played out? We're already at the "DIY: how to stay in business by not sucking" point. The answer to IDSA's question is already here. DIY is absolutely an opportunity for anyone who is excited about the new technologies available to us and wants to experience what it's like to help shape the future. It is only a threat to those interested in maintaining antiquated systems for getting ideas to users. If you like how things have been for the last 20 years (I know, it's longer, but how much is open to interpretation), well, tough cookies. The good news is that you won't be in business much longer anyway, so you won't have to worry about what happens after that.

Ok. I'm coming off a little strong about it. And the changes won't be overnight, but they are coming. And it's a good thing. $3000 just became the entry price for a competitive 3D printer. I no longer need injection molding to get a plastic part run off. And now I don't have to over-produce to hit a price point per item. Is there still opportunity for designers here? Oh, yeah. Now more than ever. Any of us with a good (or bad) design can get a product to market. The designers should have the advantage. We should be able to get better products to the market. If there's a demand for it, it is risk free to move to a larger production run.

Tad Toulis told me this weekend that there is a kid in China that has an Alias seat and can do what I can do without my fancy schmancy degree. Sadly, I'm pretty sure it's true. One of the biggest differences between a designer and an amateur is practice. Technology is getting cheaper and that means that the access to the equipment and tech to "practice" is becoming widespread. So what to do?

Figure out how to do more than draw pretty pictures. Don't depend on the history of design to keep you employed, depend on your skills to keep you employed. Figure out how the new technologies are changing things and put yourself at the front of the industry. Or keep designing plastic trinkets for injection molding until you're out of a job. Your call.