Learning Blender

The more I learn about product design (digital and physical), the more I want to design something of my own. I began trying out digital product design two years ago with Figma; since then, I designed various products, mostly web and mobile applications. The next step in this journey was always going to be 3D/physical product design and I recently took an important step in that direction.

This is not the first time I started learning Blender. I tried it back when I got my first Apple Silicon Macbook in 2020. I initially downloaded it to test the capabilities of the M1 SoC but then I ended up advancing through the first six lessons of the famous donut tutorial series. Then I kinda left it there and forgot everything I learned in a matter of weeks, as you do.

Not this time though! I completed the tutorial, kinda... To be perfectly honest, I didn't complete the last part of the tutorial which goes over doing animations with the objects we create. Blender is a very powerful piece of software but my main use case for it is designing products, at least for now.

After the donut tutorial, I took some time to decide on a product simple enough to design with my limited skills. It had to be a product that I liked and even better if I own(ed) it. Then I remembered the brief time I spent with the great QAcoustics 3020i bookshelf speakers. It is a simple shape but still proved to be a challenge for a novice like me.

It took me 3 days to get here, starting from the first donut video to finishing the speaker render, much faster than I expected going in. Currently, I am creating a virtual studio to showcase the products I will design. It will probably look similar to the setting of the hifi.de picture above. I am also thinking about what to design next. I will design at least two other real products to improve my blender skills before tackling a design of my own. Here are the top contenders for my next projects:

• iPod Nano (1st gen)
• Kef LS50 Meta
• Braun TP 1
• Braun SK 4
• Braun LE Speaker
• HTC M8
• iPhone 4

Until next time, take care!