The greatest IT success stories over the past decade come from companies working hard to make sense of the ever-expanding stores of data, publicly available over the internet. It turns out, capturing data is far simpler than providing an elegant environment for interacting and organizing the mountains of information. Google made search simple and relational to attract users, but really packs their punch through the service-based tools they provide for free. Facebook is evolving more and more into a mirror of one’s daily life, from up-to-the-second musical tastes to wedding announcements to photos of the newborn. Online engagement is moving away from text-heavy environments to more visually-based experiences. The age of text-based secondary memory storage is nearing an end– images are the future. Pinterest is a rapidly growing startup working towards this future.

photo credit: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pinterest/id429047995?mt=8
photo credit: http://www.pinterest.com

In October of 2011, Pinterest secured $27 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and was valued at $200 million (Swisher, 2011). In the words of Pinterest cofounder, Ben Silbermann, the company is setting out to “connect people all over the world through common interest” (Kincaid, 2011). People use this pinboard service to, “show off things that interest them offline (in other words, it’s sort of like an online bridge between the web and the real world)" (Kincaid). The platform itself allows users to pin items to personal pinboards, which can be made public, collaborative, or kept private. According to TIME magazine, which named the site one of the 50 best websites of 2011, "Perusing other folks' boards, featuring everything from picturesque travel scenes to oddly beautiful bacteria, is as enjoyable as building your own" (McCracken, 2011).

Unlike many startups, the site has a “clear path to revenue —  a lot of the use-cases Pinterest users are coming up with have potential commercial intent (say, a list of things they want for their wedding). And there will certainly be business models that can be built around them" (Kincaid).

Perhaps Pinterest’s strongest draw lies in the unconventional, web-based traffic it attracts. "It's a visual bookmarking site used primarily by women" (Kirkpatrick, 2011). And, "the site is getting a lot of traction outside of the tech bubble" (Kincaid). There is even buzz stating that Pinterest may help support relationships by allowing friends, families, and couples to genuinely learn more about one another. According to Katherine Rosman, writing for The Wall Street Journal, "It hadn't occurred to me that such an online service also would be a window into me for my husband who sees me every day" (Rosman, 2011).

A prime example of the leading challenge facing Pinterest is evident through the following customer testimonial statements: "When I tell people about my new romance with Pinterest they just don't seem to get it. Sure I know of a few dedicated fans here and there, but a lot of those who I recommend it to, see it as a bit too ‘crafty,’ full of fluff, animals and wedding planning" (Caddy, 2011). This described reaction to a direct customer recommendation threatens to marginalize the potential utility of Pinterest to a niche by limiting penetration to a wider consumer base. Regardless of this challenge, Caddy is confident that once a user understands Pinterest’s true utility through direct interaction with the product, these inaccurate assumptions will vanish:

Yes Pinterest does lend itself to that kind of content, but it doesn't have to ALL of the time. The content you see and photos you re-pin totally depend on who you follow and how you use the platform yourself. It can be a really useful tool for all kinds of things, selling your products, how-tos, personal bookmarking and even a place to share your photos if you're working for a brand (Caddy).

Clearly communicating Pinterest’s true value to the uninitiated consumer requires careful consideration. The benefits of a successfully applied strategy will place Pinterest ahead of the pack in both engineered product and user engagement within this emerging category. Silicon Valley consultant, Semil Shah, says Pinterest captures what will become a big trend in the future, "discovery's primacy over search.” Shah argues this has huge commercial potential, “people are asked today what they want to search for - in the future they will be aided in their discovery of fabulous things they didn't even know they wanted to buy yet" (Kirkpatrick). Considering the rapid pace of web development, quickly establishing a broad, loyal customer base is critical. After all, Pinterest’s well-established rivals will not be far behind in innovating a competitive product, which they can immediately roll-out to their mature consumer bases. To achieve long-term success, Pinterest must capture and retain these customers before the competition catches up.

According to Pinterest’s customer usage data, customer retention will not be a problem. In fact, the “Customer Loyalty Score [Customer Satisfaction x Customer Retention x Customer Recommendation]” (Best, 2009, p21), of existing users is high. Recently, Pinterest’s founder stated that Andreessen Horowitz is primarily excited about Pinterest since, “the service has very strong user engagement — Jordan [the founder] says the users who are registered often wind up using it 'fairly voraciously'” (Kincaid). Additionally, current growth figures appear positive. “The site is showing very strong growth metrics, despite the fact that it’s still in a semi-private beta” (Kincaid).

To secure strong customer loyalty and strong growth in the long term, Pinterest should look to emulate other companies that have successfully mitigated a potential gender-bias to their product or service. Victoria’s Secret represents a perfect example. The founder of the lingerie power-house, Roy Raymond, identified an opportunity to attract both genders to shop in an industry with historically single-gender patronage. Raymond reported feeling “embarrassed trying to purchase lingerie for his wife in a department store environment” (Wikipedia, 2011). So, his stores were designed with the male customer in mind:

The stores were meant to create a comfortable environment for men, with wood-paneled walls, Victorian details and helpful sales staff. Instead of racks of bras and panties in every size, there were single styles, paired together and mounted on the wall in frames. Men could browse for styles for women and sales staff would help estimate the appropriate size, pulling from inventory in the back rooms (Wikipedia).

At the end of their fifth year in operation, Victoria’s Secret sold $6M per year across six stores. Less than a decade later, following nationwide expansion, the company became America’s largest lingerie retailer generating $1 Billion in annual sales. (Wikipedia). Rather than marginalizing half of their “new potentials,” Victoria’s Secret took advantage of a previously untapped customer segment. Pinterest would be wise to follow suit.

Considering the inherent differences between consumer engagement within the physical and digital marketplaces as well as Pinterest’s stated platform utility across non-gender specific consumer segments, the issue really comes down to communication. To establish a healthy conversation with the “new potentials,” Pinterest should implement a clear and effective customer education campaign. The campaign should be gender specific and seek to open up a dialogue with at least the following three consumer segments:

1. Underrepresented Male Population – This campaign should focus on how Pinterest can support the “male” experience. The primary challenge here will be establishing credibility with a wide enough variety of male-specific consumer segments; therefore, this should be a campaign of highly focused mini-campaigns.
2. Uninitiated Female Population – Develop a campaign that concentrates on Pinterest’s utility as a daily product. Focus on personal relationship-driven experiences, framing Pinterest’s potential to positively support the daily– and spark the extraordinary– moments in our lives.
3. Existing Loyal Customer Base – Demonstrate continued dedication to innovating around the existing Pinterest platform while encouraging the use of “Customer Recommendations” with family and friends. The campaign should provide examples demonstrating Pinterest’s utility by both male and female customers.

Inviting these customers to engage in the actual Pinterest experience will lead to positive incremental growth and a strong, dedicated user base. Moving forward, Pinterest’s success will ultimately depend on their ability to face the inevitable innovation onslaught from their mature competitors.

Bibliography

Caddy, Becca (09.16.2011). Pinterest: Is it just full of crafts, cookies and kittens? Shiny Shiny. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2011/09/is-pinterest-just-crafts-and-kittens.html.

Dennis, E. E., & Vanden Heuvel, J. (1991). Emerging voices: East European media in transition: A report of the Gannett Foundation Task Force on Press Freedom in Eastern Europe (2nd ed.). New York: Gannett Foundation Media Center.

Best, Roger. (2009). Market-Based Management: Strategies for Growing Customer Value and Profitability (5th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Kincaid, Jason (10.07.2011). Confirmed: Pinterest Raises $27 Million Round Led By Andressen Horowitz. TechCrunch. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/07/confirmed-pinterest-raises-27-million-round-led-by-andreessen-horowitz/.

Kirkpatrick, Marshall (09.16.2011). If You've Never Heard of Pinterest, You're a Big Dork. ReadWriteWeb. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/if_youve_never_heard_of_pinterest_youre_a_big_dork.php.

McCracken, Harry (08.16.2011). The 50 Best Websites of 2011. TIME. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2087815_2088159_2088155,00.html.

Rosman, Katherine (09.25.2011). Technology: My Marriage's Secret Glue. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903703604576591272533051998.html.

Swisher, Kara (10.07.2011). Exclusive: Pinterest Closes New $27M Round with Adreessen Horowitz Valuing Start-Up at $200M. All Things D. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://allthingsd.com/20111007/exclusive-pinterest-set-to-close-a-new-round-with-andreessen-horowitz-valuing-start-up-at-200m/.

Wikipedia: Pinterest. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinterest.

Wikipedia: Victoria's Secret. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria's_Secret.

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May 3rd, Portfolio and Process - Initial conceptual sketch for site specific design. The portfolio is the focus of the site, placed dead center. Comprehensive contact information and a listing of recent process blog posts act as a permanent footer. Bridging the gap between the "finished" portfolio and "work-in-progress" process becomes an important focus of the site with complete and seamless integration of my online identity developing as the long-term goal.

July 2nd, Philosophy - The permanent footer receives a second blog listing addition, which contains writings pertaining to the philosophy behind my work. The initial essays included were previously written as application essays for my MBA program, which focuses on Sustainable Business Practices.

August 2nd, Augmented Reality - Efforts to more actively integrate my online identity lead to the addition of social media tools directly on the site. Google +1, Facebook Recommend, and Twitter Tweet & Follow buttons are all included. This development point marks the site's layout transition from fixed to dynamically scalable. My sights are set on full-bleed portfolio imagery, not to mention the complete banishment of flash, as the site matures.

The full-screen view below was captured using @GoogleChrome in Max OS X Lion. At this point, the site is cross-browser compliant; however, due to the continued use of flash, dynamic scaling behaves differently depending upon browser and operating system.

August 26th, Business Card - Credit for the minimalist design surrounding the email address on the front of the card goes to @borismus. For this version, I have added my site logo to Boris' original conceptual design.

Next up... mobile compliance, replacing all remaining flash components with HTML5 & CSS3. The writing of accompanying text for each portfolio piece will also be included during this phase– at this point, the portfolio exists in perpetual tweak mode.

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Below are samples of the final photography for the finished piece.

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Stay tuned for the next project...

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It all comes down to a man, a drill, and the product of ten weeks of work-- NO mistakes permitted! The drilling phase of the construction process was both exhilarating and terrifying. Prior to the drilling phase, the highest pressure point occurred while inserting the cabinet into the core. Both pieces were "finished" and the joints were so tight that four heavy-duty clamps, innumerable towels and a glass of wine were all required to bring things together. The glue timer was nerve-wracking – fifteen minutes to get things together or bust. As the clamps were slowly tightened, the wood creaked like the hull of a ship in a storm. Thankfully, everything worked out beautifully.

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The pictures above and below were taken during the drilling phase and highlight the jig constructed and used for drilling evenly from corners at a 90º angle without the use of a drill press. The final hardware is also featured within the images. Stainless steel rods were cut to length by Justin at Coyote Steel and the precision custom threading was completed by Ken at Welch's Machine Works. A special thanks to Ken for rushing this job and taking the extra time to make sure the flange/weld nuts and the threaded rods fit together seemlessly. Other than the six screws securing the horizontal and vertical pieces of the MDF core, the exposed hardware is the only hardware used in the entire piece. All flange/weld nuts were pressure fit.

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Really starting to feel the pressure as assembly approaches. Here is the collection of "finished" pieces before assembly.

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The painted MDF core piece.

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The "finished" cabinet. Notice the unfinished end-grain left for glue application.

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The "finished" keystone. The natural finish makes the walnut sing.

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Throughout the project, I was concerned with hardwood respect. As a beginning woodworker, I was especially concerned with making a mistake or using more of the material than necessary. The project was completed without the use of safety pieces or a reserve stock of wood. This approach racheted up the pressure considerably as "forward progress" and the "potential for catastrophic failure" maintained a direct relationship. Below are images of two cutting boards made from the scraps of the project.

This cutting board took advantage of end piece scrap, both from the initial milling phase as well as after the Making Bigger Boards glue-up.

The striped board above used the long grain scrap pieces shaved from the sides of boards during "final cuts." To bring order to the pattern, a "bookmatch" approach was used here by slicing the longer boards in half after the glue-up, turning one piece around and matching the two together.

The remaining scrap, which will be used for future projects.

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"The Keystone" or "Big Bookmatched Box" defines the large piece of walnut that wedges through the MDF core. This move serves to tie the project together.

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The top and bottom of this piece utilize the large walnut board previously resawn by Urban Lumber composed into a beautiful bookmatch. Constructing this piece was complicated by limited thickness. Consequently, all planing and sanding had to occur after the glue-up. This process left the boards slightly warped for assembly. Since big boards bend, this minor warping was not a problem. However, the dado cut along each short edge was complicated due to the warp. My favorite detail of the entire project is pictured above where the "H" back piece meets in a tight corner. Creating this joint, which maintains grain orientation integrity while keeping the wood untrapped, took considerable time to plan and execute.

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With the cabinet and core pieces constructed, it's time for "finish."

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Since the cabinet wedges into the core 3/4 inches and sits on top of the base of the core, "finish" and paint must be applied prior to assembly. The images below show the core piece after the application of primer.

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The sanded and frog-taped cabinet is shown below. The tape is applied to the end grains to maintain glue efficacy. Land Ark's natural wood finish will be applied to all walnut surfaces for the project. Linseed oil, tung oil, beeswax, pine rosin, and orange oil comprise this finish. This choice is domestically produced and does not contain any petroleum products or heavy metal dryers. Rather than a distasteful chemical odor upon application, the "finish" leaves the piece and surrounding area smelling of citrus.

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Choosing the appropriate paint color took much more consideration than initially anticipated. Throughout the term, I planned on choosing a bright white paint to sharply contrast with the naturally finished walnut. However, this solution would cause the MDF core piece to become too dominant within the composition. Below are images of all colors considered.

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Reds and oranges were eliminated at the same time as the white for similar concerns. As in drawings, blue steps back as a color, which satisfies the desired intention of a "quiet core." To contrast the clean minimal lines, "wedgewood gray" from the 18th and 19th century classic pallette was chosen in an attempt to bridge the gap between past and present.

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The hardware choices for the piece proved quite frustrating. Since all hardware on the piece is exposed, the aesthetic of these pieces becomes integral to the success of the composition. Above are images of various failed attempts on the hardware front.

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The dry-fitting of the cabinet into the base structural piece represents the first test point for construction precision. Thankfully, everything worked out with the assistance of some minor sanding.

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The fit was so tight that final assembly of the "finished" pieces will require heavy clamping-- that should be a nerve-wracking experience.

On a side note, the strength of the base structural piece was confirmed after separating the two pieces when the base structural MDF component fell off the three foot table. My heart stopped for a moment; however, upon investigation, there was no damage to the piece. Solid!

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The cabinet assembly was deceptively difficult as I began the clamping expecting a straight-forward experience. It turns out, however, that creating a three-sided box where all three pieces meet in one corner is much trickier than creating a box where the three pieces form a "U" or a box with more than three sides.

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The challenge lay in maintaining 90º angles for the base, walls, and each shelf. The requirement for shelf flexibility in the vertical dimension compounded this difficulty as each shelf could only be glued along one edge. This construction detail provides the opportunity for a seemless fit into the MDF base pieces developed concurrent to the cabinet and mentioned in earlier discussion.

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Clamping is difficult to do well and integral to hardware-minimal furniture production. The sequence of images below illustrates the high-volume clamping used to face join the 0.75" thick pieces of formaldehyde-free MDF to one another creating the 1.5" thick structural base for the project. Consciously avoiding the use of hidden screws and/or nails, a comedic number of clamps and concrete blocks were required to complete this glue-up.

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As a new woodworker I realized, after the fact, that heavier duty clamps were necessary to efficiently complete this task. Regardless, the end result turned out nearly flawless. Keeping some extra size in the original pieces, the table-saw effortlessly cleaned up the edges of the base pieces while maintaining sharp 90º angles. This approach allowed for minimal sanding near these sensitive edges.

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Making larger boards from dimensional lumber was most complicated during gluing and clamping. In order the retain as much thickness as possible, close attention was paid to board alignment in all three dimensions. In this case, shorter boards are easier to work with as there are fewer variables involved in a clean, straight join. The chalk triangle visible across boards is an efficient trick for remembering alignment as boards are moved from one location to another.

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Deciding how the grain patterns should meet between boards was the most time consuming part of this process. The figured nature of walnut quickly creates visual complexity as multiple boards are joined together. The design of the overall piece relies heavily on this visual complexity, which should juxtapose nicely with the clean lines and orthogonal organization of the various components.

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For the largest board (10ft x 10.5in x 2in), which is shown above being resawn by the group at Urban Lumber, a book-match join will be employed. The newly composed board will become the top and most prominent surface on the piece. The group at Urban Lumber did an excellent job resawing this piece of lumber, which was too large to saw using the machines at the university shops.

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The first week of construction is well underway with the milling process for the walnut boards nearly complete. In the photos below, I have documented the progression from raw boards to joined and planed boards of approximate length.

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The MDF base is nearly complete and took approximately two days to finish all of the cuts. The two most difficult parts of this process were ensuring pieces were identically sized as well as accurate cutting of the 3/4 in, squared-off holes where the shelves wedge into the core of the structure. Identical sizing of pieces was accomplished through the use of the router utilizing the first copy as a template for the second. Creating the squared off holes for the shelving required the dado saw, bandsaw, chissel, sandpaper and lots of patience. Success allowed for zero mistakes, which made each cut more sensitive than the previous. I completed the work leaving only one seam, which will be in the back of the piece and should disappear under the base's paint.

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The final design for my piece in furniture studio. Walnut hardwood, painted MDF, and steel dowels. The drawer slides are located beneath each drawer and the top drawer moves together on both the left and right side. Considering the time available to build, I will likely finish the drawer construction and installation during the Summer. Below are the three sketches, completed in light of the midterm review, which were most influential for the final design.

The pdf below contains renderings, dimension drawings, as well as assembly instructions for the final design. I am still working out the specifics of the calendar for the next 4+ weeks of construction. Stay tuned.

finalproject_20110504.pdf Download this file

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The hollow-core concrete beam spanned approximately 40 feet and was loaded with 24 tons before failure. Each concrete block placed on the beam by the forklift weighed 4 tons. Prior to failure, the beam deflected over 11 inches. Within the picture that shows the hollow-core end of the beam you can also see the minimal steel rebar reinforcement running along the bottom plane of the beam. There is one rebar piece in between each hollow-core. This image also shows a close-up of the crack, which developed along the central axis of the beam and likely led to the complete failure.

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Below is the complete video of the loading and failure of the hollow-core beam. Throughout the video, you can track the growing deflection. Also, take note of the difficulty the forklift had in setting down the 4 ton weights without pressing on the beam. The intense failure is captured around the 9:00:00 mark.

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The field trip to Knife River was excellent. Looking forward to the next adventure for the Ecology of Buildings Materials course. Thank you to Dusty for an informative tour.

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The model is built from a Douglas Fir 2x10, which was milled down to make both the base and slats. The rectangular volume is made with laminated pine boards. This portion of the piece utilizes finger joints and rabbet joints. Although, I messed up the routing of the rabbet joints. The final piece will have a door that flips down on the front, which will complete the effect of the floating rectangular volume.

The joints between the rectangular volume and the wood slats will be adjusted for the final piece. For the prototype they were constructed using a drill, hammer and chisel. I am considering a more oval shape for the final, which will make the utility intention more realistic. The rectangular volume piece should be able to easily slide up and down along the slats coming to rest on the steel dowels threaded through the slats.

This model took approximately 11.5 hours to complete and does not have any glue, nails, or screws holding it together in the pictures shown.

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My first experience wood working with hardwood. This box was made with rought alder hardwood. Each corner joint is different, utilizing the following joining methods: Finger, Rabbet, Miter, and Butt. I became familiar with the joiner, planer, bandsaw, table saw with dado blade, and router to complete this little project. From start to finish the project took approximately four hours.

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The most difficult cut came with the router, which required a cut that did not extend to either corner of the piece. The router wanted to grab and launch the piece of wood off the table. Additionally, the miter joint does not fit flush. Overall, this was a great practice experience. Looking foward to getting started on the big project.

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Progress report at the end of week 3. Building a full-scale prototype next. Resolving the cantilever balance issue will be the focus of the model.

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At the wrap of week two, current progress for the two leading schemes...

drawingexplorations.pdf Download this file

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