If your goal is to become a better designer, then there are a few tips you should consider taking into account as you strive to improve in your role. It’ll take hard work and dedication on your part, but it shouldn’t be long before you’re surpassing the competition and designing products that are in demand. Have fun experimenting and track your progress along the way so you can see what a difference these pieces of advice make for you in your journey to advancing in your career.

1.    Observe Others

Become a great designer by taking the time to observe others. Find a mentor who you admire and seek information and input from them about how you’re doing. Learn what design techniques they use and suggest and reasons why they’ve been so successful in the field. Watch someone present their creation in the workplace and take notes about their process. Also, observe what products are already out there and why you do or don’t like them and what you might do differently.

2.   Ask Questions

It’s also important to ask the right questions and remain curious about design in general. You can’t be afraid to speak up and understand what works and what doesn’t and reasons why. In addition to asking questions, seek out feedback from others about your performance and outputs. Understand what you could be doing better and then apply what advice you receive to your next project. The more questions you ask, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to improve your skillset.

3.   Learn the Tools

Your job as a designer is going to be a lot easier, and you’ll be more successful when you take advantage of the tools that are out there. Know and secure the best software for PCB design and manufacturing so that your final prototype or outcome is exactly the way you envisioned it. Pick the tool that you believe is going to help you become a better designer and get the job done right the first time.

4.   Read & Practice

Continue to educate yourself and take in new information about design over the years. Read books and blogs and practice designing in your free time. Use your creativity and challenge yourself to do a better job than you did previously. This is the perfect opportunity to make mistakes and learn from your errors.

5.   Focus on the User

Ultimately, your goal is to make sure your final design goes over well with consumers. Therefore, one tip to become a better designer is always to stay focused on the user. Take on their perspective as you design and build and try to make their lives easier in the end. Your objective should be to solve their problems and determine their needs so that they find the product useful and pleasing.

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Fake fires have sure come a long way since the 70s…

Every winter we used to go to our friend’s family cottage in Cornwall which was charmingly graced with one of those (very) vintage electric fires. An enormous, ugly plastic and metal beast that took up most of the miniscule living room

When it got desperately cold we’d switch it on and watch the bars turn an angry, incandescent orange. Fierce heat would emanate, along with a smell I could only assume was burnt dust. You’d feel your skin stretching and drying under that assault, and if looked at it for any length of time, you’d almost be guaranteed a headache.

I loved that cottage and all its vintage quirks, but I certainly wouldn’t buy me one of those. These days, if you’re in the market for an artificial fire, your options look much brighter indeed, and not in a migraine-inducing sort of way.

Glen Dimplex is the world’s largest manufacturer of electrical heating appliances and parent company for some of the industry’s best-known brands in that space including Ability, Burco, Campa, Creda, Dimplex, Faber, NOBO, Redring, Valor and Xpelair.

Glen Dimplex is the world's largest manufacturer of electrical heating appliances, and some of its artificial flame tech is being showcased at the Shoreditch Flame Studio
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It also designs, develops and manufactures professionally installed heating and ventilation systems for residential and commercial buildings. This ranges from smart electric heating systems using the latest control and communications technologies, through to heating networks encompassing heat pumps, MVHR systems and a range of heat emitters.

Their ‘Flame Technology’ incorporates the latest electric and gas fire technology and includes:

The Dimplex Opti-myst effect uses unique patented tech which creates a 3D illusion of real smoke and flames as is already proving popular not only among hotels, restaurants and homes, but also in TV and theatre productions

Nothing makes for a cosy evening like lighting up that kindling
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Another innovative approach to warming up your surrounding environment with tech is the Dimplex’s Opti-V, which combines real fire footage displayed on a high definition LCD screen with a unique illusory technique to create the effect of flickering flames – complete with smoke and burning embers – definitely better than playing a video of a fireplace on your TV!

“These technologies offer an easy, low maintenance and safe focal point in a room, offering a unique and eye-catching illusion and an alternative for those looking to get the ambience of a fire.”

These are all showcased in London’s Shoreditch Flame Studio which is a collaboration between designers and architects to create exciting, aspirational spaces to suit any individual project.

Hey, why not have a REAL fire, I hear the purists ask? I’m with you.. Nothing makes for a cosy evening like lighting up that kindling… The giddy sense of achievement you get when it catches, the smell of wood smoke, the being wrestled out of the way by three dogs as they park their fat little red bums in front of it for the evening. It’s all magic, and my little woodburning stove is probably my favourite thing about our house.

The Dimplex Opti-myst creates a 3D illusion of real smoke and flames
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These technologies offer an easy, low maintenance and safe focal point in a room
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But it a pain to clean, and you end up with most things around the house eventually coated in ashes. Plus there’s a lot of remembering to buy/order kindling, logs, coal, firelighters, etc. and if the atmospheric air pressure is not quite right, the chimney doesn’t draw properly and you end up with rather too much of that delightful woodsmoke smell.

Besides, as I know all too well having been forced to live in houses without fireplaces for way too many winters, it often proves difficult or impossible to have a real fire in your home. So this type of tech could offer a lifeline for those of us who are deprived of that wonderful feeling you only get from watching the flickering flames as your Stafford drowns out the Antiques Roadshow with his happy snoring. Looking at some of these techy fires, I have a feeling they might even fool my Watson.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post #BuildTheFuture >Tech to Warm Your Hearth appeared first on Tech Trends.

Technology can be a great aid for teachers in engaging with students and helping them learn, but it must be smartly integrated into classroom design to be effective.

Student outcomes are the most relevant factor when it comes to measuring the success of a learning environment. Though classroom design has an important influence on learning achievement, the majority of time and resources is still spent on traditional methods of enhancing the learning progress, such as executing standardized tests, professional growth for educators, and advancement or mediation courses for students.

There is a growing awareness of the profound impact classroom design can have on the educational achievements of students
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Thanks to a growing awareness of the profound impact classroom design can have on the educational achievements of students, however, educators are making strides toward constructing optimal learning environments to better meet the educational needs of various groups of students. The infographic below from Worthington Direct outlines some of the emerging best practices.

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Infographic: How Does Classroom Design Affect Learning? appeared first on Tech Trends.