Jordan Diatlo，来自美国的设计师。早先作为鞋子设计师，他在Quirky 工作，因为常常能够与工程师和制造商们沟通，在保持设计本意基础上进行量产便有了丰富经验。现在Jordan经营着自己的工作室Leadoff Studio，服务大大小小的企业。而他告诉我，工作室的理念，就是要将用户体验放在第一位。

Jordan Diatlo

Narkii：

您的设计涵盖了各种各样的产品，有没有自己比较钟爱的领域呢？

Your design covers varieties of products. Do you have a favorite area?

Jordan：

我倾向于设计创新的产品，或者是对终端用户有所影响以及帮助的产品。我最想设计的就是能够改善人们生活的产品，希望我做出的设计都是这样的。

I prefer to design objects that are innovative or impactful and helpful to their end user. My favorite products to design are products that enhance people's lives, which I hope are all products I design. 

对于设计的产品类别，我没有特殊的喜好，倒是希望能够涉猎广泛。我觉得，设计许多种产品，能让我对某一种产品的看法有别于那些专注一个类别的设计师。许多时候一种产品的解决方案可以以一种前所未有的方式启发另一种产品。

I don't have a particular category the I like designing for, and I really enjoy working on a wide variety. I think designing for a wide variety of products helps me think differently about a category than someone who specializes in that category. Often times a solution for one type of product can inform a design in a different product type in a way that has never been done before.

Pivot Power

Narkii：

您提到了在Quirky有了与工程师和制造商合作保持设计完整性同时又使之可生产的经验，然而我们知道许多时候产品最后生产出来可能已经偏离了设计师的本意，您怎么看待这个问题？ 

You mention that you gained a lot of experience working with engineers and manufacturers to maintain the design integrity of  a product while still making it manufacturable in Quirky. However, we know that the products can often be deviated from the designer’s original idea. How do you think about it?

Jordan：

在我早期职业生涯中，在Quirky工作还是很棒的。它是一个平台，人们可以在上面提交自己的产品想法，作为工业设计师，我的职责就是要实现那些想法，将它们转化成创意设计。我在那开始工作时，公司规模还非常小，所以我得以参与了整个流程的每一步，直到把产品送出。我从这些经验中学习，知道了工厂可能会希望我的设计如何修改，也学会了如何与他们沟通来保留设计中重要又创新的部分。

Quirky was an incredible place to work as a designer early in my career. Quirky is a platform where people can submit their product ideas, and it was my job as an Industrial Designer to make sure those ideas were carried out as innovative designs. I started there when the company was very small so I was involved in every step of the process up until the product was shipping. This allowed me to learn from experience in seeing what parts of my designs factories would want to change, and then how to negotiate with them to maintain the important and innovative aspects of the designs. 

随着公司的发展，设计和工程团队也壮大起来，所以当时每一天，我都与工程师们在合作的环境中相处。这样要找他们就很方便，在草图阶段就能和他们讨论，假设执行设计的方法。这种开放的对话也让工程师们在早期就参与进来，所以当他们为了制造改进设计时，就也会有意去保持设计的初衷。

As the company grew, the design and engineering team grew, and so every day I was sitting next to the engineers in a collaborative environment. It was easy to turn to them and discuss my ideas while they were still in sketch form and talk about the hypothetical ways to execute an innovative design. This open communication also got the engineers invested early on in the process, so when they helped refine a design for manufacturing they had already thought begun thinking about how to maintain design intent.

Leadoff Studio正是建立在这样的经验之上。和工程师以及工厂之间的沟通教会了我如何在规定的时间轴内做出可制造的创新设计。

With Leadoff Studio I've built on that experience. Those conversations with engineers and with factories have taught me how to design for innovation that is manufacturable within a given timeline.

Narkii：

ADAPTIV-未来鞋子获得了2017年的红点概念设计奖，能和我们介绍一下它吗？

ADAPTIV - The Future of Footwear won the 2017 Red Dot Award for Concept Design. Can you introduce it to us?

Jordan：

ADAPTIV 是为SOLS做的一个概念项目，Carmelo Anthony在NBA全明星周所举办的时尚+技术展览中有进行展示。这个概念旨在利用SOLS现有的产品（3D打印医学矫正器），并且思考产品以及制造技术在未来10至15年会如何演进。我与SOLS团队一起展开头脑风暴，确认项目的方向以及其他可能与未来SOLS产品相互交织的关键领域。

ADAPTIV was a conceptual project I lead for SOLS that exhibited at a fashion+technology show hosted by Carmelo Anthony during NBA All-Star weekend. The idea was to take SOLS current product offering (3D printed medical orthotics) and think about how the product and manufacturing techniques could evolve over the next 10-15 years. I worked with the SOLS team to brainstorm directions for the project and to identify other key areas that may evolve to intertwine with a futuristic SOLS product.

我设计的这双鞋子是完全由3D打印制成的，并且百分百契合人的足部。鞋子外部为不同样式的网状，贴合足部以帮助移动（比如脚趾或脚踝弯曲）或提高稳定性（比如脚跟或足背）。网状的每一股线都是由弹性的外部和导电的内部组成，其实就是在足部周围制造一个有线网络。鞋内部有硅加压空气室。鞋子上方是“中枢神经系统”，是一个含有运动传感器的皮革部分。移动时，这个中枢神经系统能够根据用户的需求，适时改变外部的松紧程度。当外部弯曲时，它会挤压内部气囊层的空气，让用户的足部不同部分产生更柔软或更紧的感觉。

What I created is a shoe that is completely 3D printed to fit perfectly to your foot. The exterior features a web of different patterns that locate themselves along your foot to either help movement (for example toe or ankle flex) or create stability (for example around your heel or arch). Each strand of the web is made of an elastomeric exterior and a conductive interior, essentially creating a wired net around your foot. The inside of the boot is lined with silicone pressurized air chambers. Along the top area of the foot is the "Central Nervous System" which is a leather section that houses movement sensors. As you move, the Central Nervous System reacts to you needs, and loosening and tightening the exterior to correspond. As the exterior flexes, it squeezes the air in the interior air-bag layer, moving it to give you a softer or tighter feel in different sections of your foot.

举个例子来说说ADAPTIV是如何工作的，试想你正在打篮球，跳起来抢篮板。鞋子里的运动传感器感知到你正在往上跳，而由于持续的重力，很快你又降落。当你在空气中时，鞋子外部就会在你的脚踝处收紧，以确保你落地时保持稳定。通过收紧脚踝处，它会将空气囊层内的空气向下挤，从而在你足部下方制造一个更柔软的垫子。这双鞋子可以实时适应你的移动，减少受伤的可能。在上面这个例子中，它能防止运动员脚跟重重或是笨拙地落地，伤到脚踝。

For an example of how ADAPTIV would work, think about if you are playing basketball and you jump up to grab a rebound. The movement sensors identify that you are going up and becuase of the constant of gravity, you'll soon be coming down. While you are in the air the exterior tightens around your ankles to provide stability for your landing. By tightening around your ankles, it pushes air in the interior air-bag layer downward, creating a softer pillow landing under your foot. The shoe is adapting to your movements in real time in a way that reduces chance for injury. In the rebounding example it will help prevent players from breaking an ankle, coming down hard on their heel, or landing awkwardly.

ADAPTIV

Narkii：

您认为概念设计的意义是什么呢？您是如何洞察趋势的？

What’s the meaning of concept design in your opinion？How do you catch the trend?

Jordan：

概念设计的意义就在于展示各种可能，以及现今有的事物如何在未来发展成更伟大的事物。当我做概念项目时，我会去想现有的最前沿的技术，想它们通过其他领域的影响或是应用在未来可以发展成什么样子。这有点像是将点连接起来创造出一幅大的图像，不过有时也会往其中加入一两个点，好让它可行。

The point of a concept design is to show what will be possible, and how something today can evolve into something even greater in the future. When I work on a conceptual project I try to think about the very cutting edge technologies happening now, and how they might evolve in the future by getting influence or applications from other industries. Its sort of connecting the dots to create a bigger picture, but sometimes also adding in a dot or 2 to make it work.

比如ADAPTIV是关于3D打印的演进，但同时也研究了它会如何演化到与计算机视觉和软机器人等新兴技术进行互动。

For example ADAPTIV is about 3D printing's evolution, but it looks at it in the context of how it could evolve to interact with emerging technologies like computer vision and soft robotics.

Narkii：

现在您经营着自己的工业设计工作室——Leadoff Studio，它定位和理念是什么呢？

Now you run your own Industrial Design consultancy - Leadoff Studio, what is its positioning and philosophy?

Jordan：

Leadoff Studio 的理念就是将用户体验放在第一位。我们想要设计出可以持续的产品，也相信，只要一个产品为使用者带来方便并让他们感到愉快，那么它就可以持续地被使用下去。我们不想要设计出那种很快就过时最后只能被丢弃在垃圾桶的产品。

At Leadoff Studio our philosophy is to put the user experience first. We love designing products that are meant to last, and we believe that if a product is easy and enjoyable to use then it will have a continued life span. We don't like designing products that will quickly get outdated and end up in the trash.

我们对自己的定位是能够帮助客户展开整个流程或创造一个产品的设计服务公司。因此，我们与许多创业公司合作，它们常常都是初次向市场引入产品。我提到过，我们把终端客户放在第一位，但我们也设计符合商业的产品。这意味着为可能性，制造，物流，销售，品牌等做设计。

We position ourselves as a design consultancy that can help take a client through the entire process or creating a product. For this reason, we work with a lot of start ups since they are often bringing a product to market for the first time. As I mentioned, we design for the end-user first, but we also are designing products that need to fit into a business. This can mean designing for usability, manufacturing, logistics, sales, branding, and so much more.

THIS Cutter Case

Narkii：

Leadoff Studio既服务大公司，也面向创业型公司，为这两类型客户提供设计，区别在哪呢？

Leadoff Studio serves large clients as well as start ups. What is the difference between them when it comes to design? 

Jordan：

大客户常常会让我们做一个大项目的其中一个或几个部分，因为他们内部有许多能力可以应用。他们让我们做的更多是概念项目，比如刚与McCANN的创新实验室合作的USPS概念就获得了戛纳创新狮子将的银奖。无论这些项目是大是小，能够看到大公司是如何运营，以及看到Leadoff 是如何辅助不同公司文化来创造出好产品，这都是令人高兴的。

Large clients often ask us to help out on 1 or a few parts of a larger project, as they have a lot of in-house capabilities they can leverage. They also ask us do conceptual projects more, for example we just partnered with the innovation lab at McCANN on a concept for USPS that won a Cannes Lion Innovation Silver Award. Whether these projects are big or small its enjoyable to see how a larger company operates and to figure out how Leadoff can complement different company cultures to create great products.

如果是与创业公司合作，我们就能从概念发想到送出产品整个过程都与他们紧密合作。我喜欢这种方式，因为这样我们能够建立的就不仅仅是合作伙伴的关系，同时也能保证最后我们能得到一个好产品。过程很漫长，但也很有意思，因为大部分公司都渴望学习，我们会尽量帮助指引他们去推出第一个产品。

With start ups we often have a chance to work closely with the company from concept until when the product is shipping. I love this because it allows us to form more of a partnership, and to ensure that the end result is a great product. Its a long process but its fun because most entrepreneurs want to learn, and we try to help guide them on their journey of launching what is often their first product.

Narkii：

平时有什么爱好吗？这些爱好有给您带来什么灵感吗？

What is your hobby? Do you get inspiration from it?

Jordan：

我是一个篮球狂热粉，一直都关注NBA。NBA球队在前沿技术和设备上都有很大的投入，因为那是个获取灵感的好地方。Nike之类的公司总是在这领域推动着创新，这些优势可以进入其他领域。我认为篮球具有一种取自时尚和音乐的风格化的自由，这种自由也反过来激发了时尚、音乐及其他的潮流。

I'm a huge basketball fan, and love following the NBA. Its a great place to pull inspiration from since NBA teams invest heavily in the latest technology and equipment to get an edge. Companies like Nike are always pushing innovation in the category further and further, and those advances carry over into other categories. I think basketball incorporates a stylistic freedom that pulls from fashion and music and then also inspires trends in fashion, music and beyond.

EXO Sols

Narkii：

美国设计业为设计师们提供了怎样的环境呢？

What kind of environment for designers does design industry provide in USA?

Jordan：

美国有创新文化，而这种创新精神让它成为一个对设计师来说非常棒的地方。随着新的创业公司不断地兴起，推动创新更进一步以及资本化，它们寻求设计领域的帮助。我认为这是因为大家都看到了过去15年苹果的成功，明白了用户体验设计的重要性，他们需要设计来使自己完整起来。随着创业公司可以筹集到风险投资基金，大大小小的公司都在不断地发想创新的产品理念，以及寻求帮助将这些理念引入市场。我现在在纽约工作，我尤其喜欢这里，因为它有技术环境（尽管比起旧金山小得多），同时也有时尚，媒体和许多其他产业，它们相互碰撞和创新。这里对于设计师来说非常棒。

America has a culture of innovation and a spirit of invention makes the US a great place to be a designer. As new start-ups are constantly launching to push innovation further and capitalize, they are looking to the design field for help. I think that because of the success of Apple over the last 15+ years, companies now understand the importance of designing for user experience, and that they need design to compete. With the way start ups can raise Venture Capital funding, it creates an environment where both big and small companies are moving on innovative product ideas and are looking for help in bringing them to market. I love being based in New York City in particular because it has a tech scene (though it is much smaller than San Francisco's) but it also has fashion, media, and so many other industries that are all colliding and innovating together. Its a great place to be a designer.

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