Objectified

8/29/2011

Objectified was essentially a documentary about how designers and their creations affect the world around them and how consumers react to these objects. It expressed the ‘cycle’ of design; as time progresses, things naturally become re-examined and re-designed. It really opened up my eyes to the fact that design actually is very crucial to anybody’s everyday life.  Like the movie said, “nearly everything has been designed in one way or another”, even the simplest of objects that tend to be overlooked as designed. I also like how it focused heavily on the process of design and not just on the final outcome. It made me realize how significant it is to try things from every angle and direction to ensure that the final design is the most efficient it can be. It also made me fully understand the reasoning behind the process notebook that we create for class and why we have to do so many drawings for one project! It is good to know that mistakes do not necessarily mean failure, it is just all part of the process of creating something better. In addition, I liked when the movie stated that the “definition of who you are as a designer comes from the way you look at the world.” It is intriguing to think that each designer is different based on what they think is necessary to improve the world and what their ideas on improving the world really mean. If each designer’s goal was to improve the world for the common good of everyone, this could be one drastically improved world! Something else that stuck out to me was the fact that good design sometimes seems inevitable. It is crazy to think that sometimes the best designs do not get recognition because the objects work so well that nobody even questions it. The last thing that really grabbed my attention was the idea of minimalism usually being the best design. One of the guys said that “if a feature is not indicating something, it shouldn’t be there.” This concept makes sense to me; less is more in the long run and also follows Don Norman’s 10 principles of good design. Overall, I thought that this movie had lots to contribute to my design knowledge.

Don Norman: Three Ways Good Design Makes You Happy

8/29/2011

In this video, Don Norman focuses in on a few things (beauty, fun, pleasure and emotion) to understand what these aspects are all about in relation to design. This was an interesting video because to me, it seemed like it contradicted some of what Dieter Rams said about ‘good’ design. Although aesthetics were important to Rams as well, it seemed like Rams seemed to focus more on functionality. On the other hand, Norman seems to portray the idea that good design does not have to be functional. For instance, Norman describes a fancy juicer that he owns, however, it cannot even produce juice without ruining the object. Yet, Norman seems to think it is a good design because it is fun and pleasing to look at. I do believe, like Norman states, that “good design makes you happy”, however, I do not think that a person could fully be satisfied with an object that does not perform its function. Besides that little bit of confusion about whether or not design should be purely aesthetic or a combination of aesthetics and functionality, I found other points in this video intriguing. He states that “pleasant things work better” because if a person is happy about the object, they tend to be more creative, therefore allowing the object to exceed expectations. He then goes on to explain three types of design: visceral, behavior, and reflective. Visceral is all of the superficiality of design such as fonts and color, behavior is about functionality and the feeling of being in control, and reflective revolves around aesthetics and the feeling of being safe in your image. To me, a combination of these things together is what creates good design.

Dieter Rams: 10 Principles for Good Design

8/23/2011

 This article was refreshing to read for many reasons. First, it recognized the fact that good design cannot necessarily be limited to a list of good design qualities; it merely suggested ten of the most important principles. Also, the way that the article bluntly states the principle followed by a short explanation is a very effective format. He omitted distracting information that could sway the reader away from the main point. Ironically, this concept is actually one of Dieter Rams’s design principles! He states that less is better because it “concentrates on essential aspects.” This strategy definitely worked for him in this article. Lastly, all of his interpretations of good design are easy to follow and are very applicable to my life in design. Nothing that he said seemed intimidating, far-fetched, or confusing in any way.

           

A lot of what Rams said pertains to my well-designed object (tape measure). It is useful, durable, and performs its task without giving any false hope of doing something greater than it actually does. In Rams’s words, it is “honest”. Since the tape measure is designed effectively, it is a very common object. Therefore, it is said to be “understandable”. Most of its noteworthy design features are internal, but the aesthetics are still not disappointing.  It is sleek and pocket-size for essentially any task. It is also innovative; one of the features is the tape measure lock, which conveniently locks the tape onto the desired measurement. This article also relates to my major (interior design) in just about everything Rams says. It was very informative and helpful to me, who has had limited design experience in the past. All ten principles were simple, instructive and easy to remember to ultimately make my future designs more effective.