Design Blog

Geared engineering system for Tectonic Dragonfly mechanism

What an Insect Can Teach You About Mechanics

Three engineering systems in Tectonic Toy Insects that facilitate STEaM education. STEaM is an approach to education which integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics for guiding a student's inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. The process is for a student to engage in observation, questioning, self-guided discovery, problem-solving, and synthesis into a creative process. Although STEaM is generally a curriculum within a classroom, we believe that toys at home can promote this type of education without having to be a formal teaching instrument. Tectonic Toys are a fun way to promote education and discovery surrounding different engineering systems, each allowing multiple levels...

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An image showing the Salt Lake City and County Building in the background and a travel sketch by Eric Jacoby of the same composition

How to Do a Travel Sketch

Sketching is a deep part of me - as essential to myself as my right hand. Not many people see my sketchbooks, but once in a while someone will one and ask for pointers or drawing lessons. This blog post is a travel sketch lesson and case study I did as a tourist in my own hometown - a step by step instructional documentation of my sketch process for a building I’ve been meaning to sketch for years....

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Balance in Design

Balance in Design

How Balancing Contrasting Methods is Crucial to The Design Process. I often evaluate my design process to help understand myself, but also plan for future projects. Sometimes I analyze my process during, but mostly after I'm designing a product. I have concluded that a key component of my design process is to balance opposing forces. This blog post outlines five contrasting ideas that I balance during design: Forced/Natural:  My goal is to let a design be what it wants to be, rather than forcing it into something pre-conceived, but the challenge is how to find what the design wants to be. Occasionally, when I stumble...

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travel sketch exhibit

Eric Jacoby Sketches Featured at UCFA Architect as Artist gallery

We are pleased to announce that Eric Jacoby Travel Sketches will be featured at Utah Center for Architecture - Architects as Artist Gallery on April 18th, 2019. The event will be in conjunction with Architecture Week. Further Reading: Simple trips on making a travel sketch Perspective drawing basics

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