Simplicity |
16/04/19
Turning to my 16-year-old self for inspiration, I look at how my views on design have changed. It seems the cliché is true; the simplest designs are often the best.
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Back in Glossop for Easter I turned to my bookcase for inspiration. It’s home to a collection of books on design that never made the journey to Glasgow. Many of them are books I collected when my interest in design first began. They were my inspiration, some of my first sources on what good design is and how it can be achieved. My book collection has since grown, and I haven’t looked through some of these books in at least 5 years. I noticed post-its and note paper peaking from some of the pages – the thoughts of my 16-year-old self. Since writing those notes, I’ve done my a-levels, moved to Glasgow and studied design for almost 4-years. I decided it the perfect opportunity to think about how my views have evolved. Would I pick out the same things if I were reading them today? |
Book: ‘Fabricated: The new world of 3D printing, the promise and peril of a machine that can make (almost anything)’ , Hod Lipson and Melba Kurman
I completed a research project on the future of 3D printing so my notes mainly relate to that. I did, however, highlight an interesting section on “Earl Grey Tea Syndrome”. The names comes from the authors frustration at characters in Star Trek, who when faced with the Replicator, a machine capable of making anything, would ask for a cup of Earl Grey. They completely lacked imagination. But its just not a trait of ‘non-creatives’, professional designers often forgo the freedom of creation afforded to them. Despite the noted warning, I’ve definitely displayed the behaviours of Earl Grey Tea Syndrome at times over the past 5 years. It can be hard to think outside the box. Clearly great design will never come from a mind plagued by Earl Grey Tea Syndrome. It results in solutions copied from those which already exist, and limited to the rules of what is already done. Perhaps a great designer would ask if the Replicator could create life, rather than tea. Book: ‘Physics of the future, the inventions that will transform our lives’ , Michio Kaku
Published in 2011, it’s incredible to see how some of Michio Kaku’s predictions on topics such as driverless cars, AI and 3D printing are coming into fruition. Interestingly I had highlighted a section on ‘Internet Glasses and Contact Lenses’. I remember being particularly interested in Google Glass (released 2014) – which of course wasn’t the success myself of Michio Kaku thought it might be. A reminder that innovative tech still needs the right marketing to be successful. There is a piece of paper slipped in the back cover with perhaps my most insightful finding. Michio Kaku has an immense knowledge of science and technology. He’s aware of the top scientists and latest innovations; it is this that enables him to predict the future. If we want to design the future (or create great design perhaps) we need the same knowledge and awareness of technology. Book: ‘The Design Book’, Phaidon
This is essentially a collection of the designs that have shaped our society. It documents the history of design, taste and culture. This was the most interesting to look back on and suggests that my thoughts on design haven’t changed as much as I might of thought. I was impressed by my younger self not really knowing who the Eames’s were but realising their significance by their sheer number of entries compared to other designers in the index. The pages are littered with post-it notes. I can’t remember what they signify – my favourite things? Great design? Things that I was interested in clearly. Some of them seem to weirdly predict the future. I had picked out Mackintosh’s Hill House Ladder Back Chair long before I chose the study at Glasgow School of Art. It also appears I had some blog posts in mind 5 years in advance – I had picked out the Moka Pot and a Tom Dixon light which have both featured in great design blogs. There are a few other picks including the Brompton folding bike and Anglepoise lamp which leave me questioning why I hadn’t written posts on them already. |
The rest of the chosen products seem to have a theme – simplicity. I had picked out various low-tech inventions. It can’t be denied that often the simplest ideas are the best. Products such as the safety pin, paper clip and post-it note impressed me then, as they do now because I can’t imagine ever coming up with something so simple but genius. I’m definitely guilty of over complicating things and find such uncomplicated design almost intimidating. I feel like it’s harder to achieve than something more complex. On one post-it note I’ve written “obvious but forgettable”, I’m not entirely sure what this means, but it reminds me of my post on Margaret Calvert road signs. We almost forget that these objects have been designed. No one knows who designed them. They’re completely forgettable yet we use them all the time. Again, I wonder if great design well is design that we don’t notice at all. But then another part of me wonders whether these are just boring everyday objects. Should great design be exciting? Because these certainly aren't... But they are quietly brilliant. |