Recently I have been giving a lot of thought to the final year of school: my thesis. The subject of this project is extremely important, as I will have to stick with it for a whole year.
When I first got interested in Industrial Design back in 2001, I thought I would be designing furniture and house wares. My dream was to design chairs and clocks. I imagined this as the role of the designer. Looking back it is funny to see how far I have strayed from that idea (you can’t blame me I was 15).
Today I no longer see much value in this kind of design. Now don’t get me wrong I love well-designed furniture as much as the next guy but there comes a point when you realize that the world may have enough chairs. I don’t that these things aren’t “saying” anything; designers are simply using their talents to promote style for style’s sake. A well-designed object has the power to influence and move its owner/viewer, the same way great art does. This is an opportunity that should be respected.
This got me thinking about recent writings on the new age of product design and the concept of intangible design. The world is filled with objects that are just occupying space and harming the planet in the process. A new age of planned obsolescence has been created and consumers are all too willing to participate. So what is the point of another object? If a problem can be solved without physically manufacturing a product aren’t we better off?
This brings me back to my thesis project. I have been toying with the idea of trying to solve problems using virtual means or others that wouldn’t necessitate a product. I still have no clue which subject this will cover but it was just where my mind was.
Listening to: Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary
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