I am starting this blog post confronting the initial perception I felt in class when I proposed this topic. There was an air of question, confusion, and even bewilderment at my idea of researching and discussing the field of the philosophy of design, and why it is important.
To begin exploring the philosophy of design, it runs into many practices such as science, engineering, mathematics, art, and aesthetics. The short of my search for meaning in creating I have found is design. I associate design into my inclination for pragmatism and utilitarianism. Great design is almost invisible because it does not stop you from doing what you wanted to but helps you achieve it. As a designer, the goal is to create an experience that is non-obstructive to the user.
The way that philosophers are ever pondering questions of old and new, it is in a desire to look at problems anew, to contemplate how a modern view offers a different approach to everything from better traffic patterns to prevent deaths to how to care for those facing evil and oppression. The ever evolving pursuit of better design is not only to aim for more productivity and simplicity to be used as buzz words to sell things; the philosophy of design is a pursuit to understand why it is worth to create, and understand what design does in everyday life by the masses.
I love this mindset and field of study because I have experienced design in a way that I struggle to put into words, a way that something visually beautiful and functional can exist and be iterated upon skillfully rather than to just do something new. I find my mind at ease when creating something intended to last, not made to have an expiration but the understanding as time goes on that I can update and tweak my ideas, but being willing to accept the laws of nature when it comes to something not being broken don't fix it. If it can be improved then by all means improve for humanities sake, but don't dilute the universe with ridiculous pursuits of self interest but taking into consideration all you do in value to how it impacts others, whether they notice or not.
All of this being said, it can boil down to two principles.
* Innovate when it improves the quality of life
* Focus on longevity
Design is all about service to time and space.
Discussion Questions:
1. What can you recall that was designed well enough that you didn’t notice its effectiveness in delivering the information that it didn’t slow you down?
2. What was the last interaction you had with anything that you were frustrated with how it was made/designed that it made the task harder to accomplish because of its lack of thought?
Quiz:
1. Function over Form, or Form over Function?
2. Build to last, or Build to maximize profit?
https://kadk.dk/en/cephad/philosophy-design-introduction
Links to comments
Section 13
ReplyDeleteWhat was the last interaction you had with anything that you were frustrated with how it was made/designed that it made the task harder to accomplish because of its lack of thought?
It was last semester when I had to take chemistry lab. It was difficult to understand how to use Vernier Calipers because it had a twist to find out the measurement. Since it had two sets of number lines.
So much in the culture of market capitalism seemed deliberately designed NOT to last, but merely to build an appetite for the next new thing and "maximize profit." How can designers who aspire to integrity and "longevity" hope to succeed, in that environment?
ReplyDelete*seems"
DeleteThat is something that my mind, when confronted with, gets stuck on in sadness and a feeling of hopelessness. I think that designers have to start taking a stand, and or banding together to maybe create small companies that create in that way, so that lots of people would see and latch on to the products because of their appeals. I know when I shop that has become increasingly important to me. If I can not find a product like clothing that I can afford, I will acquire cheap used clothes to not feed into the capitalist market of creation then throwing away.
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