It's all "Design!"
Another beautiful morning here in Southern Florida, 75°F (sorry to all my friends in the Northern climates), "Simpsons clouds" in the sky, settling in for a the day, drinking my first cup of coffee.
Over the weekend, I've got a few requests to look at what I refer to as "blinky light" projects, the kind of thing shown in the upper left hand quadrant of the image posted; this was an idea for a "balloon light" that doesn't require a valve. Never saw the "light" of day... okay, sorry, no puns this early in the day.
I also got a request to look at the "the NEXT super-duper IoT device" that is going to be the next "pet rock". In order for me to see this "new awesome *thing*" I'll have to sign an NDA, etc. I appreciate their enthusiasm, but not before my second cup of coffee... NDA's... another NDA...
I also, and this my favorite, got a "request" from another Recruiter (headhunter, and don't get me wrong, I welcome the inquires) looking for more, very specific information regarding my background: "Do you program in Python?", as well as a slew of other "HR" questions. Well, I don't regularly program in Python, or any other "language" for that matter. Sure, when I'm designing my own stuff, I usually use a mix of assembly language and BASIC (Yes, BASIC). The "BASIC" side of the program does all the "skeleton work" and the assembly language does all the "heavy lifting". However, if a client wants the firmware programmed in "C" for example, then sure, why not? Segue to the point of this post - It's ALL JUST DESIGN.
If you look at the image I posted, you'll see just a tiny fraction of the gamut of "design". I was asked for "balloons that light up", so, that's what I designed. The upper right hand corner shows a robot pick and place needed for a special machine; so I designed one. The lower left hand corner shows an experimental guitar amp I'm working on; the case is sheetmetal, so I designed the sheetmetal. I don't need to beat the poor horse at this point; I was asked by Fisher-Price (years ago) to design a remote control car for preschool children; the image shows the gear-driven steering box with a clutch.
So, when a new client comes to me, or am approached by a recruiter, and they start asking "Do you do toy design?" "How about machine design?" "Audio circuitry, complete with PCB layout?" the answer is "Yes, of course", with demonstrable output.
BTW, while I'm at it... On my profile I say "Product Design Guru". What a pompous, asinine thing to say, and it must put people off. No one but me and a few of my friends get it; I was approached by an individual, he's on LI as well as "AngelList Talent". He lists himself as a "Guru" and says he can (his words) "Design anything". But then he called me up to work on one of his "projects". As I do with some prospective clients, I took him through my work flow via TeamViewer. He was astonished by how I do things, and said many times, "No, I don't know how to do that". Yet, there he is, promoting himself as a "Guru". He actually finds people like me to do the work (nothing wrong with that, as long as they pay, which in this case is hysterical; I quoted him $5K for the work; he offered $400 and "perhaps some stock or something down the road" - ROTFLMAO) and represents that it is his work.
So, if you're working on a project in which you need "complete, 100% controlled in house" new design work, or looking to revive or update an old one, give me call.
It's ALL JUST DESIGN...
Have great week everyone!
M