The story of stuff is a short video narrated and written by Annie Leonard. This video is simply about effects of human consumption and it makes us to think how we can make a change for the future of the Earth and next generations by making different ways of design. In this particular film leonard presents how extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal has been effected our environment.
From Extraction of resources, to Production, to Distribution, to Consumption and lastly to Disposal. In this system society is focused by consumerism and consumption. This was the result pioneered after WW2 where consumption & consumer goods was the key focus of US governments. And it has transcended to this day and age.
This cycle has been rooted into our daily life by corporations and industrial designers of the past throughout marketing techniques such as "Planned Obsolescence" and "Perceived Obsolescence". Planned obsolescence is the process where things are designed to be put back and removed in a short period of time, to encourage repeat purchase and thus more consumption due to an outdated and obsolete product. Perceived obsolescence works even faster and more subconsciously, as it convinces the consumer to discard their perfectly good products and upgrade to a newer "better" design, mainly through aesthetic changes. So as a society obsessed with keeping up the newest trends or what is in vogue, our vicious cycle of consumption get bigger and bigger.
As Leonard in the video says “we are running out of resources”, one third of our natural resources are gone and only 20% of the planet original forests left which is the result of many thrown out -products that is not good enough to satisfy consumers anymore. Also, some overwhelming facts from the video are that the US comprises of 5% of the world’s population, yet consumes 30% of the world’s resources. We would necessarily need 3 to 5 Earth’s to sustain that rate of consumption if the rest of the world were to consume at that rate.
Hence, to reduce the wasted products we should consider a much better way to design so that they could be updated, instead of thrown out, and dissemble instead of just sent to the landfill. Also, from start to finish of a products lifecycle we must help improve the sustainability in what we produce and consume for future generations of this Earth
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Task 7: Video Reflection - Emotional Design
It is true to say that the world of design is rapidly going towards the side of beauty and fun rather than function of it. In the past, designing a new product would have meant making things function more efficiently. But nowadays, there are not much things that we are necessarily need to live because the function of the product is at the peak of its existence. Maybe, the high technology is allowing us to create good functional products and this will be the reason why emotional design is necessarily used when designing a product.
Donald Norman in this video discusses how’ the new me’ of design is to understand about beauty and emotion and he also brought us to the insight of wonders of our minds, how these aspects can be applied to everyday products around us. As Norman mentioned, i reckon higher level of positive interaction with the products being designed is depended on understanding of human emotions.
Donald Norman explains the emotional experience by dividing it into three processes which include a Visceral, Behavioral and Reflective process. The first, visceral level is the most basic and is set within us through biology and years of evolution. Our senses our attraction to different smells, textures, sights, noises and etc. Norman gives us an example by showing a visually appeasing water bottle. The user could only use it for decoration because they don’t buy this just for water.
Secondly, behavioural level is feeling in control which includes function and usability of the product. The rondavel tilting teapot is given to us as example. The 3 stages of using this product evokes and emotional response and communicates to people that the pot if out of water when it is lying down.
The last level presented by Donald Norman is reflective and it is the level where that little voice in your head resides. Just like a navigator in the car, the voice that notice you things are going to be fine, or not, etc. for instance, someone buy an environmentaly safe car which shows that you really care about the nature of the world.
In conclusion, I was delight to watch this useful video which made me think about what beauty and emotions are about and making things fun and I think, Evoking an emotional response in our target user is a key to interact with our design.
Donald Norman in this video discusses how’ the new me’ of design is to understand about beauty and emotion and he also brought us to the insight of wonders of our minds, how these aspects can be applied to everyday products around us. As Norman mentioned, i reckon higher level of positive interaction with the products being designed is depended on understanding of human emotions.
Donald Norman explains the emotional experience by dividing it into three processes which include a Visceral, Behavioral and Reflective process. The first, visceral level is the most basic and is set within us through biology and years of evolution. Our senses our attraction to different smells, textures, sights, noises and etc. Norman gives us an example by showing a visually appeasing water bottle. The user could only use it for decoration because they don’t buy this just for water.
Secondly, behavioural level is feeling in control which includes function and usability of the product. The rondavel tilting teapot is given to us as example. The 3 stages of using this product evokes and emotional response and communicates to people that the pot if out of water when it is lying down.
The last level presented by Donald Norman is reflective and it is the level where that little voice in your head resides. Just like a navigator in the car, the voice that notice you things are going to be fine, or not, etc. for instance, someone buy an environmentaly safe car which shows that you really care about the nature of the world.
In conclusion, I was delight to watch this useful video which made me think about what beauty and emotions are about and making things fun and I think, Evoking an emotional response in our target user is a key to interact with our design.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Task 7: Video Reflection - Human Centred Design
David Kelley the founder of the internationally renowned design company IDEO presents a few projects that he thinks are evidence of how design is becoming more “human centred”. Each project shows how each designer including David Kelley, created their project with a focus on human experience and interaction.
While I was watching this video, I particularly liked the design of changing room in shopping mall (Brand: Prada); the new interior has much more space than the current rooms in stores. The liquid crystal glass that changes from opaque to transparent with a simple switch of a button amazed me and made me to think that is a very brilliant idea and why couldn’t I think like that before? Bringing privacy control technology into retail removes lots of factors that hinder the customer from enjoying their shopping experience whether it is walking in and out of the change rooms or questioning if each change room is occupied. The designers definitely took into consideration many factors when designing the new rooms, creating something futuristic that also gave a sense of comfort to customers.
The focus on human experience is also clearly evident in the project of the spy fish which is quite the upgrade for customers who like to spend time on the water. The spy fish is a small camera that goes underwater which is controlled by a wireless remote. The idea behind the project is to give the user an experience of the view of the underwater without actually scuba driving. The amazing shape and size allow it to roam freely underwater while also blending in with the inhabitants of the sea. i think, This design is so amazingly well-made technology but it would be more suited towards research purposes rather than retail.
Lastly, there was a company/project called Approtec. This manufacture very basic products that allow Kenyans to grow crops in the off-season and by doing this, tens of thousands of them gets new jobs, crops to grow and sell and most of all, the best options of the approtec is a fact that they are a non profit oraganisatin. It is really happy to see how designers creating basic tools can be beneficial to poor country like Kenya
This particular video of David Kelley provides the idea of where and how the world’s design is moving towards. I would recommend this to anyone as it presents a different perspective on the importance of industrial design and it clearly shows how Human centred design has a large part to play in the near future.
While I was watching this video, I particularly liked the design of changing room in shopping mall (Brand: Prada); the new interior has much more space than the current rooms in stores. The liquid crystal glass that changes from opaque to transparent with a simple switch of a button amazed me and made me to think that is a very brilliant idea and why couldn’t I think like that before? Bringing privacy control technology into retail removes lots of factors that hinder the customer from enjoying their shopping experience whether it is walking in and out of the change rooms or questioning if each change room is occupied. The designers definitely took into consideration many factors when designing the new rooms, creating something futuristic that also gave a sense of comfort to customers.
The focus on human experience is also clearly evident in the project of the spy fish which is quite the upgrade for customers who like to spend time on the water. The spy fish is a small camera that goes underwater which is controlled by a wireless remote. The idea behind the project is to give the user an experience of the view of the underwater without actually scuba driving. The amazing shape and size allow it to roam freely underwater while also blending in with the inhabitants of the sea. i think, This design is so amazingly well-made technology but it would be more suited towards research purposes rather than retail.
Lastly, there was a company/project called Approtec. This manufacture very basic products that allow Kenyans to grow crops in the off-season and by doing this, tens of thousands of them gets new jobs, crops to grow and sell and most of all, the best options of the approtec is a fact that they are a non profit oraganisatin. It is really happy to see how designers creating basic tools can be beneficial to poor country like Kenya
This particular video of David Kelley provides the idea of where and how the world’s design is moving towards. I would recommend this to anyone as it presents a different perspective on the importance of industrial design and it clearly shows how Human centred design has a large part to play in the near future.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Task 2: My Design Career
‘Design is to design a design to produce a design’, this phrase is what I learned from the lecture in semester 1. What the... this was my first reaction when I first looked at this particular phrase... because i didn’t really understand the actual meaning towards it and I had no idea of what the design is about... and of course, it will be a disaster if someone ask me to define a design… however, It became my first time to think about being a designer and consider of ‘ the definition of my own design ‘ after I realised the fact that there are step- by- step progresses to actually produce a design.
To be honest, I was more interested in doing fine art rather than designing since my dream was to be an artist when I was young. But, there was a period of time being confused about what I’m really going to be and what I’m really preferred to do in the future, because I thought that there were not much things to do as an artist to earn the money…
therefore, I just chose my way to get in the course of industrial design as I thought it will be a constant job to have and most of all, it was something got to do with drawing. From the both side of financial and interest of mine, industrial design was something that could satisfy my lifestyle.
So, I got into UNSW industrial design course and I learned a bit about design which was amazing for the fact that I can produce or create something that I design just like what I said before. I don’t know if I’m going to be an INDUSTRIAL designer in the future, but as long as I can’t find my own definition of design, I wouldn’t be able to do other things.
So, I’d like to experience a lot about design whatever that is something to do with theory of it or technical skills and so on. Also, if I have a good opportunity to go to other country (especially UK), I want to go there as an exchange student to see how other world’s dealing with the definition of a design. I haven’t really got a plan for my future yet, but one thing I can surely say is that I will be doing something related to my own design.
To be honest, I was more interested in doing fine art rather than designing since my dream was to be an artist when I was young. But, there was a period of time being confused about what I’m really going to be and what I’m really preferred to do in the future, because I thought that there were not much things to do as an artist to earn the money…
therefore, I just chose my way to get in the course of industrial design as I thought it will be a constant job to have and most of all, it was something got to do with drawing. From the both side of financial and interest of mine, industrial design was something that could satisfy my lifestyle.
So, I got into UNSW industrial design course and I learned a bit about design which was amazing for the fact that I can produce or create something that I design just like what I said before. I don’t know if I’m going to be an INDUSTRIAL designer in the future, but as long as I can’t find my own definition of design, I wouldn’t be able to do other things.
So, I’d like to experience a lot about design whatever that is something to do with theory of it or technical skills and so on. Also, if I have a good opportunity to go to other country (especially UK), I want to go there as an exchange student to see how other world’s dealing with the definition of a design. I haven’t really got a plan for my future yet, but one thing I can surely say is that I will be doing something related to my own design.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
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