Conor Doyle
Introduction
A year of work.
September 2024 to June 2025.
This book displays third year at SETU Design Carlow: Studio Projects, Design Cultures, Co-Design Practice, Live Projects, Material Swatching, Academic writing and universal design. Each chapter is a new brief — some researched on the page, some run as live project work with a partner or a manufacturer.
Opening
A look at the past me
The book
Contents
01 · Studio project
Product Teardown
This project allowed students to learn about a product on the market by tearing it apart, exploring what makes it work, internal mechanisms, design choices and would then move on to a product update/review to come up with potential improvements while keeping a similar price point and avoid new tooling.
01 / 04
02 · Design culture
This project is about design history
The Apple Macintosh was the product I chose for this project. The impact that the original Apple Mac had when it released was perfect for my social and symbolic meaning essay.
01 / 04
03 · Co-design
Getting to work closely in Co Design practice
This project was a personal favorite, allowing students to engage in a co design project where their goal was to solve an issue their chosen user had. My goal was to reduce the strain that anxiety and depression can have on a user in social situations.
01 / 05
04 · Industry project
Sturdy Products LTD Live Project
Sturdy Products LTD reached out to Design Carlow for a live project to gather ideas for their company. Experts in rotomoulding and tough in judgement, the objective was to bring new potential products to their product lines in a competition format where I would go on to win.
01 / 04
05 · Material swatches
Same tool, new skin.
A large part of third year is challenging a student to make high quality "looks like" models. Swatching is the process of replicating materials with only paints and clever ideas, keeping those initial product proposals cheap.
01 / 04
06 · Research writing
Saving the planet with longer lasting products
This is an academic writing project. The argument of my essay was the critical role that a product's emotional connection plays in the context of sustainability.
01 / 03
07 · Universal design
Designs for everyone.
This project was based around observations, where users may have difficulty with products in everyday life. Our goal is to reduce this friction.
01 / 03
Close
My views and thoughts after third year
After third year we were asked who we wanted to be and what we wanted to achieve in the future, and develop it into a philosophy, and also think of other quotes that might suit our views.