Three Levels of Design

Nathan Schedroff brought out in his lecture What is the Place of Design in Our Society?-Sustainability", how a more sustainable and meaningful world is in our grip. He mentioned how the "slow food" movement builds upon a relationship between a person and their meal. He further suggests that we think about how the food came to be on our plate, where it came from, and how far it traveled? This form of sustainable thinking can be implemented into sustainable design: designing products that make tomorrow better for everyone.

Schedroff stressed that sustainability should not only be pigeon-holed to "green" thinking and recycling. In fact, in order to sustain this earth, society needs to take into consideration financial, social, and ecological aspects. This approach on design thinking effectively fabricated an ideology of taking care of our future. Designing for usability, accessibility, dematerialization, reuse, disassembly, recyclability, and so on, humans would have the power to transform society's incessant need to extract precious and depleting resources.

Objectified

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.objectifiedfilm.com/

Gary Hustwit's film "Objectified" highlighted the importance of looking at how form expresses itself through the object, either artistically, through symbolism, function, etc. One designer commented that designers today should "become cultural generators... intellectuals of the future". The general consensus of the designers featured in the film was that of simplicity, a "moving forward" attitude, and ingenuity. It can be said that people want to see how a product would fit into their lives- the human-object relationship, therefore, demands a personal expression of form. Because consumers project themselves on products, i.e. we often project ourselves in a space and imagine how it will impact our lives, design should be "useful, simple, unobtrusive, understandable, and as little design as possible"- mentioned one German designer.

Many people feel like a product should work and perform for them. For example, Apple's iPod does all the work for users by playing music, storing data, connecting to the internet, etc. Most importantly, Hustwit stressed the idea about how design should be doing something that is contributive. Karim Rashid commented on society's current issue- "are the things we are doing really making an effect and making change?" Rashid emphasized the importance of adapting to society's needs, and the need to identify with today's digital age. People change and design too should move forward with an advancing society.

If Mac Ruled the World

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.macwallpapers.eu/wallpaper/Pc-Mac-Apple-Leopard-Os-Desktop/

In your pocket. In your neighbor's pocket. Two tiny white modules connect you to your personal transportable library. A 24" screen fits beautifully atop your desk. Thin as air. The latest iPod, Macbook, and iMac are just a few Apple products that fit these descriptions. A sleek, hip, simple design describes today's zeitgeist of modernity and a technologically forward society.

The Apple company has been critically acclaimed for it's ingenuity in technological products. If you watch television, listen to NPR, any radio for that matter, read a newspaper, magazine, or talk to people, you would know what the latest Apple gadget or newest generation of iPhone is. Jokingly, one does not even have to have contact with the outside world to know that the newest iPod is now an iTouch. Almost everyone is turning Mac- Apple is slowly taking over the world one Mac virgin at a time. Many buy into this company for it's high-performance products. However, from a designer's perspective each product is beautifully crafted, also helping society keep up with today's digital age.

There are so many convenient factors that you inherit once you "turn" Mac. For instance, no need to carry around your outdated, bulky, "portable" CD player and large case of CDs. Even better, you can carry the World Wide Web, an entire music library, and a personal agenda around in your pocket- all in one device! Apple's slimming design behind every computer and portable mp3 player is befitting to today's digital age: less is more.

Barbie Nation

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.barbiedressup.info/

All of my friends had one. She came with so many different outfits, purses, shoes, and she even had her own dream house. When I was four years old I remember unwrapping the shiny pink box to my white blonde Barbie. It was the center of many of my play dates. We would dress her up, plan out her day, and take her on romantic dates with Ken in her luxurious pink convertible. Little girls dream of attaining everything that Barbie has. She has every material possession possible, she's classy, has the perfect boyfriend, loyal friends, and of course the perfectly proportioned, slim body. And what more reason to want to be Barbie because she can be anything she wants- she's a doctor, race car driver, and flight attendant all in one day.

Just standing a little under one foot tall, little girls have been able to live vicariously through this plastic object as a "grown up" without having to step a foot outside the door. Everything about barbie, her face, figure, form, house, family, etc., is universal. Hence, every girl can play Barbie. As a result, Barbie has become a social icon and if there was perfection in a woman's physical appearance, Barbie would be the standard.

Visually and mathematically, Barbie's body was designed to be perfectly proportioned and symmetrical. From this seemingly innocent play doll, ideologies have adhered to Barbie longer than have her plastic high heels (which cannot stay on longer than a few minutes). Barbie has become a focal icon on what can be considered the American Dream signified by her picturesque lifestyle. In a Mattel advertisement, Barbie is shown alongside a beautiful house that has a white picket fence. Her driveway wraps around her large yard and there is a dog and a personal dog house in front. Peering through the window and into the house, one can catch a glimpse of her life: a three-story house equipped with every type of room imaginable, a three car garage, and her main car- a pink convertible with her boyfriend, Ken, in the passenger's seat. A materialistic American Dream is epitomized in this one advertisement alone and an iconic figure is fashioned into the very soul of society. What Matell designers are signifying through Barbie's universality is this: Barbie can have everything. There are no limits on the possessions she owns. Yes, you can be Barbie.

"Reinvent Wheel? Blue Room. Defusing a Bomb? Red Room."

In a color study done earlier this year, scientists and anthropologists marveled at the results they discovered. "Reinvent Wheel? Blue Room. Defusing a Bomb? Red Room." This New York Times article discusses the exploration of human interaction with color in the aforementioned study. Experiments dealt with revealing the relationships behind the colors red and blue and how individuals interacted cognitively when approached with situations involving either color. What these numerous tests revealed was first and foremost the emotion assigned to each color and how certain situations moved individuals to react cognitively. For example, a test was conducted to see whether or not cognitive performance varied when participants saw the color red or blue. Results determined that "red groups did better on tests of recall and attention to detail, like remembering words or checking spelling and punctuation. Blue groups did better on tests requiring imagination, like inventing creative uses for a brick or creating toys from shapes." The article suggests:

"Experts say colors may affect cognitive performance because of the moods they engender."

So, how is this information useful and important to the world of design? When it comes to color choice, designers, artists, and the like, usually think about how intensity, hue, and tonality will shape the relationship between product and user. Many people don't realize how much thought is put into this part of the process in designing a product, or even painting a room. Color choice is not just thinking about what is or is not aesthetically pleasing. Most often, certain hues are chosen to convey or fuel moods in audiences and their relationship with the color(s) at hand- sometimes even moving people to make decisions subconsciously.

Designers in an array of fields can use color to their advantage. Apparently, color has potential power to control situations, make decisions, and speak emotion. A seemingly elementary aspect of life, color choice is arguably one of the most crucial decision for designers. Decisions are usually based on an emotion, and if color can persuade certain emotions within people, then designers have the upper hand on what a product can do for the consumer. The fact that humans attribute emotion, even value, to colors is ample proof to consider appropriate colors in a given situation.

Article found on:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/science/06color.html

Medvedev's Branches

Photo Courtesie of: Franklin Bowles Gallery

Igor Medvedev's work is so fresh to me as a student, that I'm inspired once again to write about his work on display at the Franklin Bowles Gallery in San Francisco. One of the collections, titled Through the Branches, renders the baobab tree in an African desert setting. The baobab has been called the "up side down" tree because the branches resemble a complex system of roots. Medvedev's illustration of the baobab tree is an exploration of the mysterious and bizarre quality of the seemingly unknown natural world. Because the human eyes is not often exposed to seeing what lies beneath the surface of the earth, the baobab opens a door to one of nature's enigmatic creations.