Definition in a nutshell....or a blog site

So, what is it that I am trying to say? Through this series of posts, I've learned a lot about the condition and definitions of industrial design, as well as good chunk about myself in the process. Where so I fit in to this world of ID? Looking back on this collection of work, on the surface, it's not easy to find a common thread between each group of writing. But, after over thinking, then forgetting then thinking about it again, it is so clear to me now what this blog is really about. Other than a place to turn in my home work assignments, it has been, from the very beginning a place to define what Industrial Design means today. In the beginning, I named this blog "Collection" solely because I knew this would be a space to collect the homework. I thought it was representative of myself because I am a collector (of sorts). Now I can see that it is a place to take town the collective and ever-expanding definition of ID.

The first time I went inside of the ID building, was as a freshman. I attended the open house and meeting with the department head so see if I might be interested in majoring. My one and only question to the department head was, “Can you define industrial design?” From the very beginning, I have been looking for this definition.

If you are an ID student, how many times have you been asked what exactly the definition is? Or after giving your explanation, have you been asked "so, what are you going to design?" I always begin my explanation with a deep breath and each time, depending on who's asking and what my interests are at the time, the definition changes. For two years I have not found a string of words to encompass the identity of Industrial design. It is ever expanding and contracting, it deals with form, aesthetic, system, function, interaction, service, process, mapping.... The multiple facets of this discipline add up to encase almost anything you can think of. It can be taken anywhere from furniture to biomedical equipment, to services involving RFID chips and online dating, to social change and humanitarian issues. The funny thing is, I've drawn these examples based on the current projects some of my friends in the department are working on. The ID building is truly a place to explore and learn and collect. So, this is what I have collected of ID so far. This is just a small piece of what I've come up with. There is room to edit and grow from here.

One Word: Artdesign

By now, I think we have established that industrial design has an ever-changing definition with collective approaches to creating and different meanings behind those processes. As a major at RISD industrial design is influenced by a multitude of approaches, systems and production techniques. Fine art is approached in the same ways. Although fine art and industrial design are two different major selections at RISD, the fundamental disparities lie in the fact that the industrial design method of creation relies on user interaction and a planned human-to-object relationship. In fine art, this may or may not be the case. It is up in the air.

With regard to my own work and interests I don't feel like can make disparities between the two subjects. I don’t think that acclaimed artist/designer Tokujun Yoshioka has defined them as separate in his work either. It doesn’t matter to him. He makes a functional chair that looks cool and is widely recognized (Moroso chair), then he makes a conceptual chair form (Venus-natural crystal chair), unusable, but beautiful on every level: in the process of creation, in the final aesthetic, and in its presentation to an audience. It may or may not be for sale. If it were, it most certainly would not me accessible to the greater public in terms of cost. That is also okay.



In class last Monday we looked at Yoshioka’s straw environments created for Design Miami. Yesterday, one of Donovan’s Installations was an entire wall of straws, stacked in a way that creates and undulating surface. By trade some may call Yoshioka a designer, and Donovan and artist, but if you listen to the two of them each talk about their arrival to their forms created by the straws, you will see that they share the same processes of thought to arrive at different form solutions. You can listen here to listen to Tara Donovan speak. And this is a video of Yoshioka in Miami.




Before signing up with the ID department at RISD I always thought I would be a “fine artist.” Then, I realized that Industrial design encompasses the same creative thinking that sculpture does. With technical skills available in the ID department ill be able to explore further use of materials, processes, and forms for a user group, or just for display. I can make things that everyone uses in day-to-day life, or not. There is value in each and restrictions in neither. The openness and cross-referencing of both disciplines of fine art and industrial design is inevitable and beautiful. They can be one in the same because they are born from the same side of the brain.

Field Trip: Farmacy Herbs

On Saturday of last week's Better x Design conference i went on a field trip! There were several trips to local organizations around Providence that focus on community enrichment through eduction . I hopped on the bus to Farmacy Herbs down North Main St. by the cemetery. This plot of land located behind the unassuming Benny's Tire center is the wealthy producer of a a array of medicinal herbs. They are grown, harvested, and processed on site. All of the herbs, tinctures, bottles, bags and jars are lining the wall of the herb shop, giving it a powerful and pure earthy smell.
When we entered the shop, Mary, founder of Farmacy Herbs, gave us mugs to help ourselves to some herbal tea (a product of the garden out back) and told us a little about what happens in and around the 1/4 acre property.

Farmacy is a not-for-profit community health care center which focuses on holistic health (mind,body,spirit). They offer free natural health consultations to the community, as well as other programs, workshops and apprenticeships. Check out all of what they have to offer at their website.

Whats so great about the Farmacy is that it offers an alternative to the overpowering and often harsh treatments of western medicine. For some people this may not be the most sensible way to health. Also, this form of healthcare is not always affordable. Farmacy makes it affordable and accessible to lead a healthy lifestyle by educating the community of the the benefits of preventative and holistic health. Accompanied by the donation-based pharmacy, they can offer specific medicinal herbs with a consultation.

I strongly suggest going to check this place out if not to ask a few questions and check out the site, to volunteer growing or processing herbs. It's a welcoming and calming atmosphere- a great hub for community wellness.

Humanitarian design, sustainability, not for profit/for profit, social entrepreneurship, bottom of the pyramid, triple bottom line, systemic change.... all of these terms have been floating around in my head for the last semester and even more so in the last three days at the Better World By Design conference that just took place between Brown and RISD this past weekend. In fact, I've never felt more densely saturated with ideas, concepts, people, projects, and general information on the topics that revolve around said terms. I'm at a loss as to where to begin. There are so many new emerging concepts revolving around design-influenced change. Change is a large part of what this conference was about. People with ideas that spark change for the better by putting their design talents to work. As I've learned this weekend, there are innumerable approaches to creating this spark, but I've noticed there is only one general outlook to sparking this change, too. And that is a positive, creative, persistent (sometimes obsessive, but aren't we all), forward thinking, and open-minded outlook.

I've literally just gotten back from this conference, and if this assignment didn't have a deadline, I would have let is all sink in a little before opening a new blog post on the topic. So, while I wish you would excuse my scattered thought, you should know that it's mostly the excitement I feel on the topic that causes it. But, I cant think of a better way to show just what this conference was about than by showing you how it came together, which is through the internet. Much of what happens out there on this side of the design world is HEAVILY documented by their creators and enthusiasts because the best way to propagate your idea and create social change is by spreading the word. We all know the internet is the tool to do this. In fact, I noticed that there were a significant amount of people blogging while in the presentation, panels, and workshops that took place at the conference.

So instead of regurgitating what I've heard from some amazing designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs over the weekend, I'll send you right to the source. All of the key speaker are posted on the Better X Design website with links to their companies and organizations. I'll key you on a small hand full that aren't listed on the site.


Cameron Sinclair is co-founder and executive director for Architecture for Humanity. His TED talk is similar to the talk he gave on Friday in that he really stressed the importance of taking action and responsibility when you have the power to do so. He said it's not about being a do-gooder. It's about living up to your human potential. He is also editor of a fantastic and wildly popular design book, Design Like You Give a Damn, which gives some innovative examples of responses housing crises around the world as well as other innovative community-centered architectural projects.

What I like about Architecture for Humanity's approach to design, and much of what makes it successful, is that it empowers the people. Giving resources to the people in need of a stronger community infrastructure, and empowering them to create something that they feel belongs to them, and was not given to them, is the main focus. He said something like, "we know we've done our job when we've left a finished job site, built in collaboration with the community, and they never say thank you to us, because that implies that they felt ownership over the project." you can have a skill in designing and creating a building for a community in need of a space, but the space will have little worth is the design of implementation is not considered.

Much of what I've touched on with regard to Sinclair and Architecture for Humanity describes much of the buzz around the Better World by Design conference over the weekend.
So, here are some other resources to people, projects, and other cool companies that were floating around the Brown and RISD campuses this past weekend...

People who also gave a TED talk:
Iqbal Quadir- I heard his talk today. He came up with the concept of Grameen Phone with the idea that promoting a good democracy within a developing country begins with the strength of the collective whole and not the strength of one leader. And so, by getting people connected, they improve efficiency and, therefore, improve productivity, building strength as a community.

Very cool, very local:
farmacy herbs just down south main street in Providence behind the Benny's.

The Providence Steel Yard
as220

Cool Companies and Organizations:
World Bike
living homes
Botsford Echotech
Better Place
Engineers without Borders
Kiwanja
Emerging Future Labs
Massive Change
Biomimicry Institute
Architecture for Change
Portable Light Project
Afrigadget

Everything is a multi-tool

No matter how hard a designer tries, she/he will never be able to design meaning into an object. Meaning is the most subjective concept I can think of. It is sufficed to say that some consumers can be creative as well, finding that the “intended” use of an object is something completely different than what the designer had in mind. Of course, we can all think of objects that we use for one specific purpose, and others with a more broad rage of applications, but no matter what, the user’s relationship with an object can never be fully pre-defined. Through looking at Maine’s case study with the history of the vibrator, we can see that an objects inherent evolution of human interaction, an objects relationship with the public will evolve. We saw the reasoning behind the birth of the mechanized vibrator, and when relating that to the current state of vibrator fashion, one could call it a whole industry within itself. Now, do you think the original creator of this mechanism saw it coming?
As long as a designer makes something with no specific intended meaning or use of an object, its intended use will be fulfilled. I believe this is the only way in which designers can see their product being used in the way she/he imagined. Once an object is created, and the idea conceived, it is no longer in the hands of the creator, but solely in the hands of the collective consumer.
Building materials, for instance, hold no specific application. Being a college student, my relationship with cinderblocks has been beneficial in creating makeshift bench-style seating, as well as supporting a horizontal door (coffee table) and creating a shelving unit. Why? It’s cheep. It’s universal.
Lets look deeper into the roots of today’s cinderblock…how has its used been developed? What is the evolution of this product that brought it to many of our living spaces, and supporting my weight as I sit at the table typing this? Was the design intended for something specific? Do the physical properties suggest a specific use today and how has the use of an object by consumers shaped the sale of cinder blocks today.
With a little help from Wikipedia, we can behind to understand the basics of the cinderblock’s (or should I say concrete masonry unit) history. Cinderblocks are used to build structures in a masonry style, that offers something of an insulated wall with its two square openings in each block. These openings are also helpful in running rebar through the length of the wall and into the foundation of a structure for added support. The physical properties lend themselves to quick and relatively inexpensive construction, much like that of the suburban neighborhoods after WWII.
From what I can gather this is the extent of the initial intended use of the cinderblock, but it’s functionality continues to change form there. Cinderblocks buildings, while easy on the pocket is not easy on the eyes. The application of siding, stucco, brick, and glazing are ways in which the product developed to give an otherwise drab look, a little more pizzazz.
So on an individual level and collective level, the user will always determine his/her own experience with an object. The collective experience pushes the object in one way or another as a product. I believe that it is the large array of alternative uses found in the form of the cinderblock today, that has brought it to the home depot and then to my apartment. It is the collective consumer experience with the vibrator that brought it to the shelves of the Hustler store to be curated and talked about in an accessible setting.

ID for Humanity

Shouldn’t be colder this time of year? The world is heating up. The seasons are getting warmer. It’s affecting our crops, and lets not forget the polar bears. It’s affecting the ocean, enraging it, provoking it to create hurricanes and sending them ripping mercilessly through the south coast of the United States. The most devastating of recent hurricanes, Hurricane Katrina, is an example of one of many small battles humans have had with mother earth starting from the moment the levees were built to hold back the mighty Mississippi from changing its course as it wishes to do ever couple of hundred years. After it broke, the buildings flooded, the people left with little but water logged foundations, where did they go? To FEMA trailer cities scattered all over the crummiest parts of the southern United States. Every time I arrived by plane back to my hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we’d fly over a dismal looking grid of white trailers where those with no other options after the flood, resided with their families.

These are what we call disasters. When humans are misplaced, and communities are scattered, with no safe ground on which to reconvene, the citizens of the US call it a disaster. We are lucky. In countries torn by civil war, disease and famine the standards for disaster are much higher.

The more we are able to keep in touch with what is happening on the other side of the world, the more we all should feel responsible for taking action in humanitarian efforts. The entire human race is a disaster. We are here causing death and destruction to the earth and ourselves. We have the resources, today, to keep up with it all and to see what is happening in every community across the global map. This global knowledge mixed in with American guilt is what motivates me to use my developing design skills to flip humanity around.

I know I’m not the only one who feels his way. Today, the definition of industrial design has expanded. It is no longer a trade that specialized in the prettyment of objects for the want-based consumer market. It had reached beyond form and function. Today, industrial design has taken on more responsible roles in the global community. Why? Because when you have all you need, and more, there only thing left to do is give back.

I’ve been looking a lot lately at examples of people who have used their skills as thinkers and designers to promote the general welfare of humans. Some are specific to the welfare of a certain community, and some are farther reaching. All of them address a series of questions and problems to solve that the designers for the want-based market never even touch.

Let’s look at PlayPumps International, for example. This company is based out of South Africa, run by Africans for African countries in need of more water well systems. The general custom throughout Africa is that women and girls are the primary laborers, meaning they are the ones fetching the water. Many times this means more than an hour of walking to the nearest water source. This takes time and energy that could be spent in school, therefore making education less accessible to girls. Bringing the water source closer the people who need it eliminates this issue along with minimizing waterborne illnesses (largest cause of sickness, disease, and death in the world). PlayPumps international solves these problems by digging wells along with a water reserve tower and pump. The coolest part about it is the pump mechanism. It is a Merry-go-round! The laughter and enjoyment of the children pumps the water into the tower, which holds three billboards that are rented for advertisements. The revenue generated by the billboards subsidizes the cost of repairs for years to come, making it a sustainable system within the community. Questions that had to be crossed in making this a successful design are: how will the pumping mechanism work, how will it be made, how will revenue be generated to subsidize the costs (money/affordability is always the issue)? Amongst others, these are essential questions to ask.

Another popular object designed for the “developing world” is the Green Machine laptops given to schools around the world through the “One laptop per child” Program. The idea behind this project came from addressing the UN Millennium Development goal based on making accessible and improving universal primary education. The conceiver of this project believes that computer are a way in which kids can teach themselves and teach each other, and more importantly want to learn and teach.

In both of these cases, designing the actual object was secondary to designing the idea behind the object and implementation of the object. The how is the most crucial. To design for those in need, the need must be identified. This is called funnel thinking. It starts with necessity and the origins of that necessity. It then gets narrowed down to a solution to fill the need, but whose existence does not crate more need in turn.

Industrial design has played its role as the creator of beautiful things, the objects of desire. The definition of industrial design today is long, it has many clauses, and will continue to expand, filling all corners of the world, speaking to all people, not just those who want.

Ive decided to practice ID with social and ecological responsibilities as priorities for design. We have to take more responsibility for what we create, whether it is good or bad. I was walking along one of Providence's industrial sea line settings today. Among the impenetrable piles of plastic items, none did i see that were meant to be kept and reused. None of the flip flop soles that i saw were meant to last, nor the pink pearly tampon applicators meant to ever be seen again. The consumer lives of these products, to me, were not worth their after life there on the coast, floating in the water. Design should impact only in beneficial ways, for humanity and for the environment which directly affects us. I wish to use these simple guidelines in my work for the future. As long as human nature stays the same, design for humanity will always have a place here.

explaining functionalism through chairs

This line is a short breakdown of one approach to the arrival of functionalism in design as a major trend. Through looking at the fads and movements preceding the modern functionalist element we can start to see trends which play off of the preceding movement's aesthetic. Although the first two chairs are not considered "functionalist design" they are examples of the prehistory of functionalism and what functionalism most certainly is not.