Upcycling comments

Andrew Bae

Simon De Graf

Bec Womersley

Lukas Cibirka

Sarita Parto

Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute long animated video that aims to make us aware of how mindless consumption is harming our planet. Narrated by Annie Leonard, it greatly simplifies what is a massive complicated system, into one that is easy for everyday people to understand. This simplification means that the video has been viewed over 7 million times, something that would have been unachievable if she were to attempt to explain all of the intricacies of production and consumption process. This is both a positive and a negative in terms of the video. As a positive, it really gets the message across that our current climate of consumption is not sustainable and needs to be changed to something that will last (theoretically) a lot longer. The explanation that a linear system cannot be run on finite resources is a great way of representing that eventually, we will run out of "stuff" to make all of the "stuff" that we wastefully use and then throw away. However, the concept of simplifying the entire process is not without its drawbacks. It introduces the possibility that certain facts will be omitted and others altered to help get a certain message across. Such tactics are why many people still view environmentalism with some skepticism because of the truth bending that is sometimes involved. What it also leaves out is that for thousands of years, humans have changed their systems as technology has evolved and enabled new processes to be created. Just because a solution hasn't already been thought up, it doesn't mean that at some point in the future we wont be able to tackle these problems with innovative answers. I sometimes thick that idealistic messages like this can undermine all of the hard work that people are already doing to be more responsible with the resources we have. Also, whilst i agree with many point in the video, painting corporations and governments in such a negative light makes people forget that many companies and governments are already actively trying to change the current situation.
The Story of Stuff is simply a tool that is being used to change the current way of thinking. Whilst it may be a little rough and have its problems, it is none the less helping us achieve something. With some refinement and time, its message could really make people not only pay attention, but actually want to help and change the world.

Design for Life

BBC's Design for Life is a six part series following 12 young British designers that are competing for a 6-month place at Philippe Starck's design firm. As can be expected with any subject specific program that is aimed at the general public, Design for Life would be somewhat entertaining for those with little design knowledge, but somewhat underwhelming and mildly patronizing for people to whom design is a familiar subject. Tasked with "saving British design," these 12 young hopefuls do battle with the hope of becoming the next Philippe Starck, a point that is made painfully clear by the format of the show. The irony is that with a designer such as Starck at the helm, there is no change that his ego would allow any of the contestants to achieve such a title, by reminding them at every possible opportunity that only he may be the chosen one of modern design.

A distinct problem with the program is that whilst Starck has made his reputation based on creativity and outward thinking, Design for Life follows what must be one of the most well trodden paths of reality TV formats. Based loosely on the apprentice, each week the young designers must complete tasks set by Starck or face elimination, then head home and live with each other for the duration of the show. Because of this, BBC have managed to strip the creativity from what should have been one of the more interesting shows of the year.

Once you get down to watching it, one of the more frustrating elements of the show is that Starck seems unable to articulate himself in a way that would remotely make sense to English speaking viewers, let alone those with no design background or any knowledge of design terminology. The suspense over who will be evicted is not generated in the usual way of a reality TV show, but more because we have utterly no idea as to who the winners and losers are in the eyes of the all-mighty Starck. At the end of each show, everybody seems to be at a loss to explain why a certain person got evicted and what they might have done differently to gain a better result. Without the voice over of Adam Buxton, who is brought in to explain things that should be obvious to the viewers, this show would border on unwatchable. 

Objectified

Gary Hustwit's Objectified is a film that aims to educate consumers (ie. everybody) to the fact that almost everything they come into contact with in their lives was conceived and designed by somebody, somewhere. Whilst this relationship between designer, object and user is one probably the largest focus of the film, Hustwit really should have devoted a larger segment to the wastage end of the spectrum. Although there was some footage of recycling plants reclaiming computers and electrical appliances left "out in the cold" after having been replaced, many people know that the real damage of irresponsible design is what is not reclaimed and gets discarded into landfill or our oceans.

The problems dont seem to end with the subject matter, as the interviews with "famous" designers seem to send contradictory messages about what they believe and what we as a planet should be trying to achieve. Anyone with a remote interest in design will appreciate the early footage of Jonathon Ive inside the Apple workshop, talking about what was at the time, Apple's latest Macbook Air. The positioning of this interview is crucial because if placed after someone sending a message about minimising consumerism, Ive would be made to look like a crook, with no thought whatsoever about the environment. Later in the film me meet Karim Rashid who, after telling us that he designs chairs for a living, asks us why chairs are still being designed. This kind of hypocrisy shows us that not every designer acts with the best intentions and that whilst people such as Rashid are in the spotlight, the prima-donna image of image of designers is sure to remain for some time. 

Peer Comments

http://d-antonio.blogspot.com/2010/10/design-confusion.html - Design Confusion

Project One Comments

http://stellaanddesign.blogspot.com/
http://www.z3337777.blogspot.com/
http://sebgregable.wordpress.com/
http://saritaparto.blogspot.com/
http://d-antonio.blogspot.com/

Mobile Tea Plunger/Mug

The target market for my experience enrichment tool is a middle aged professional, possibly male or female. Whilst being fairly wealthy, their daily lives would be a balance of family and work responsibilities, and therefore they do not have much spare time. They would desire to lead a healthy life style and exercise may be a large part of their recreational time. They would be design conscious when purchasing items and would more often that not, choose quality over a cheaper price. They would most likely be well travelled, either due to work commitments or holidays, and the experiences of these travels would be ones they would like to relive. My belief is that by drinking foreign teas, they would in a way be able to achieve this.

The decision to design a tea mug/plunger tool, is based on there being a need for and easier way to consume loose-leaf teas, specifically green teas, on the go, whilst still maintaining the ease and functionality of a travel mug. Whilst black tea is quite acceptable to have from a teabag, green teas in teabags are often of poor quality and are therefore not as convenient to consume when time is short. Such a tool would ideally enable the user to prepare and consume high quality, loose-leaf teas, in the same time that it would take for conventional teabags.

Because this tool is intended for use with Asian teas, its styling would need to reflect this in order to separate it from conventional travel mugs and tea plungers. The current design language of travel mugs is based upon functionality and uses materials such as rubber, plastic and steel to create a product that says it can be taken anywhere without the risk of breakage. Such mugs are also only practical for use with teabags, or tea brewed in a pot. For my product, I wanted to create a theme of relaxation and stillness, things that are commonly associated with tea drinking and resting, but also make sure that it was practical and could be used on the go. Such a product would be appealing to those who have visited Asia and have taken part in the traditional tea ceremony, and wish to relive it whilst at home or work.

Based on research, I found that a wooden finish would be most appropriate for this styling. This could be used to reflect the traditional Japanese woodcraft of magewappa, which has been used to make domestic vessels for hundreds of years. Items made in such a way are often the work of a master craftsman, and are therefore considered a high quality product to own. To add some semantics to the design, the top of the cup is cut at an angle, part in indicate which side to drink from, part of represent a stork of bamboo that has been chopped off with a blade. The grain of the timber runs vertical up the sides, drawing the eye to the top where a circular piece of plastic adds a visual cue to the use of where to drink from. Along the top, the grain of the timber as oriented horizontally, somewhat representing calming ripples that could be found on a pond. The materials used in this product include, Japanese cedar laminate for a traditional look, Borosilicate Glass due to its low heat expansion characteristics, Polypropylene because of its heat resistance, as well as EVA, Stainless steel and rubber for internal mechanical components.

Bad Designs

Organic Teapot Shape

Original (read: rejected) Concepts

Mood Boards

My target market is a Female between the ages of 35-50, who would be balance her work during the week with her family responsibilities at home. She would be concerned with living a healthy lifestyle but does not have to time to cook for the family every night. Good design is something that she is concerned about, and may place it about functionality when purchasing a product.

Don Norman - Emotional Design

Don Norman, a Cognitive Behaviour expert, explains to us the relationship that exists between our emotions and our behaviours, and the relevance this can have to design. It also allows us to analyse objects in a way that can give us a better understanding of why they are successful and popular with their owners.

He begins by contrasting the idea of an item that works perfectly, but is ugly, with that of something that is beautiful but does not seem to work at all. As an example for the latter he explains how he purchased a special edition gold-plated Philippe Starck juicer, but does not make juice with it due to a warning label about citric acid tarnishing the plating. Instead, he places it at the entrance to his home for visitors to admire. Because of this we question whether or not the initial purpose of the juicer was in fact to make juice, or does it exist for the sole purpose of being admired (its designer has since confirmed the latter). Thus we come to the conclusion that a product can act upon us on several levels (physical, emotional…) and that it need not perform a physical task to be useful, because its intended use is to cause positive emotions.

From here Norman explains the three ways that we can analyse a product and its effect on us. The first is the VISCERAL level, which can be expressed in design by the use of colour, font, line, form and other characteristics that determine the way we perceive the object in question. It can also be thought of as the way we experience things and the ideas and emotions that we attach to them. An example that is given is a San Pellegrino water bottle. It could be said that people buy this item, not for the water that it contains, but for the bottle and its ability to evoke emotions. The next level we look at is the BEHAVIOURAL level, which is the way that these objects and experiences act upon us in a physical level. The feeling of driving a sports car, or standing underneath a shower are both good feelings and therefore are enjoyable to do because subconsciously our brain tells us that they are good. The way an something acts can also fall into this category, because if  it works in a new or interesting way then this behaviour that the object exhibits is something that we connect with on a positive level. The third and final level is the REFLECTIVE level, which is how we remember the object or experience, and what sort of emotions we are left to associate with it. If the experience has been a positive one, then our brain will remind us that we enjoyed it and want to use it again. Likewise if it was a negative experience then we will not feel motivated to take part in it a second time, or will be cautious if we do. It is also connected to the way we feel we should present ourselves to those around us, causing us to buy nice things or things that we feel will let people know more about us (or what we would like them to think about us). 

Design Excellence: The Slingbox 700U

For its design, the Slingbox 700U truly deserved to be amongst the winners in this years design awards. The idea of making the entire product a heat sink is innovative enough, and yet Sling Media also managed to make the product look amazing. Its solid aluminium body mean that its design is years ahead of other set-top boxes and is sure to be imitated by rival companies in the future. Its use of recycled materials and environmentally friendly processes means that it is also a product that manages to cause minimal harm to the planet, and because the body is made in such a way, it could surely be recycled again in the future.

I could not say that I really agree with the technology though. The idea of purchasing a product so that i could watch my own television whilst travelling seems a little absurd, however I can imagine that there are people that this would appeal to, like those who would wish to follow their sports teams whilst in foreign countries.

From this exercise I found the best way to approach a study of a product was to break it down into its simplest characteristics, like form, line, materials, texture ect. From there is was easy to assess all the details of the product one at a time and gain an understanding of why the it was designed a certain way.

Dave Kelley on Human Centred Design

In his lecture to TED, Dave Kelley explains to the audience the change he has perceived in the design industry in the last decades of the 20^th century. The change he is talking about is the shift in focus towards Human Centred Design that he and his colleagues have taken.

He begins by reflecting back to the 1980’s when he states that many people were focused on the “product” with relatively little thought towards the bigger picture of how users would eventually interact with the product at hand. Nowadays, whilst still focused on the products they are creating, the focus is more on designing human qualities into he objects, in an attempt to blur the boundary between humans and the items they surround themselves with. He also points out that when presenting a product to clients, 3D models and renderings were all that were originally, but have since found the need to incorporate videos into their demonstrations to further explain how newer products are intended to be used and interacted with.

In explaining his belief that design is beginning to have an impact in a different way, Kelley makes a reference to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. This suggests that he believes good design today not only succeeds on basic physical levels (i.e. colour, form, texture), but now is able to connect with its users on an emotional because of its ingrained “behaviour and personality.”

Included in his presentation are a series of examples of the work he has been involved in recently at his company IDEO. Starting with small products like handheld personal-assistants and commercial defibrillators, he then moves onto several examples of experience and environment design. These environments range from a Prada store located in New York City, to the Ideal Cubicle for Dilbert and other office employees, and show off how, as designers, the staff at IDEO were applying the new broader definition of design to create positive experiences for the people that would be using the spaces. 

Why do I want to be a designer?

I guess if I had a firm answer to that question then studying this degree wouldn’t be as interesting as it’s been so far. I can tell you now that any motivation I had for choosing this course at the start of the year now seems irrelevant having completed first semester and all that went with it. What drives me one week will, in all likelihood, be vastly different to the next based on what I experience in day-to-day life. Because of this, I cannot begin to imagine what might motivate me in three years time when I am (hopefully) nearing the end of studying Industrial Design as an undergraduate. If I had to narrow it down at all, I guess I could say that it is the variety and limitless possibilities of design that are leading me in this direction. To be any more specific about my ambitions would be, in my opinion anyway, somewhat naïve. That is not to say I believe having goals is unrealistic, just that following them too precisely can distract you from that fact that your personal goalposts are constantly moving.

What drew me to Industrial Design in the first place is kind of difficult to pin down. Before enrolling at UNSW I had studied Aeronautical Engineering at The University of Sydney for two years. I can’t say that I look at the time as wasted because it taught me things about both engineering, and university in general, that have no doubt helped me in my time at UNSW. It also taught me that 30 page maths assignments weren’t my cup of tea and that if I was to complete a university degree, it would have to be something more hands on and practical. It was then that someone suggested to me that I look into Industrial Design. Having originally possessed only a vague notion of what it entailed, I found that it seemed like a logical step from the Graphic Design and Design Technology that I had studied as school, plus ran somewhat parallel to my fascination with drawing things, building them and then discovering if they worked as planned.

At this point, I couldn’t say what I think my future in design might involve. What I can say however is that as a designer, I hope to work in an industry where being responsible with design is something that becomes as natural as colour schemes or production processes. Hopefully in the future, “environmentally friendly design” is something that can be assumed, and not some catch phrase that marketers have thought up to play on consumer guilt. I would like to think that by the time I am turned loose in the design industry, this can will be more of a universal mantra as opposed to a series of hoops and obstacles that need to be jumped through and negotiated. Whilst I am sure that there are many out there who already work in this way, for designers to remain a respected part of the community, it needs to be adopted by a vast majority to achieve the intended result.

Whilst much of it may seem like thinly veiled cynicism, I can’t help but feel myself that my decision to undertake an Industrial Design degree has been vindicated by the amount I have enjoyed myself so far. Each time I read, write, draw or make something involved in this degree, it seems as though I have found something that think I could continue to do for years into the future.

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