W/C 28.01.19

4. Less But Better

Weekly Event: 
'Rams' - a documentary film about German industrial designer Dieter Rams, directed by Gary Hustwit
Dieter Rams set the rules for industrial design - his ten principles are the holy grail for many designers to this day. His practice is to famously use clean lines to make products easy to understand and use; to minimise visual pollution. Any it clearly works - most of his work is three to five decades old at this point, but it still feels very much current.
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This film is also noticeably minimal, embodying his "Less But Better" ethos.
The only place where I think they missed the mark is one sequence where Dieter’s ten principles are introduced alongside a rather overwhelmingly animated set of videos of Braun objects in use. That sequence lost the ‘as little film-making as possible’ mantra that told the rest of the film. The animations got in the way of the storytelling
What struck me most is the changes than Rams has observed in the world. Post-World-War-II Germany was a time of rebuilding. People had lost nearly everything during the war, and at the time Rams joined Braun’s design department, there was a genuine need for stuff—stuff to fill a kitchen and home; basic stuff to get life back on track. Cut to footage of Rams in a busy Apple store in London, looking entirely baffled by todays consumerist society. He notes that people are no longer interested in repairing things - just constantly coming up with new things. We have an appetite for shiny, new things is leading us down a gluttonous path of destruction. Disapproval against companies changing designs for marketing purposes is marked. Rams’s influence on the products of Apple, a company he has never worked with, is discussed; less discussed is Apple’s aggressiveness in pushing new iterations of its products, which indicates that the company is merely cherry-picking Rams’s principles.

We also see that “Less but better” is applied not just applied to his designs, but strictly adhered to throughout his life. I like it, the ideas all make sense, but I begin to feel like it’s lacking some fun. His office is functional but lacking personality – masculine and clinical. Would the world be a happy place if it matched this lack of colour and frivolity? Rams lives in a bubble. He’s remained in the same house for 50 years, and it’s essentially a time capsule. Everything is in amazing condition, but also there isn't any technology beyond the objects he's created. No iPhones, no laptops, no TVs.

He clearly needs simplicity. He gains satisfaction through functionality and will never understand the “confusing and unnecessary” creations of Frank Gehry. I begin to wonder whether it’s all just a bit dull and if he ever has any fun, but then jazz starts playing from his pristine Braun SK4 record player and his plain white office fills with colour as he dances around it .

Social Medias Alternative to Orthognathics

Does traditional orthodontics ruin faces?

This week I fell down the strange hole of “Mewing”. It’s a technique that’s starting to gain a lot of popularity online and it’s all to do with tongue posture. “Mewing” traces back to controversial orthodontist Dr John Mew, and his son Mike Mew who was expelled from the British Orthodontics Society due to the online claims he is making.  
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It’s dubbed orthotropics or natural orthodontics. Mew’s point is that orthodontist don’t currently know the cause of malocclusion. He says that environmental change has caused narrower palates and crocked teeth. The basics of mewing involve resting the tongue on the roof of the mouth, closing the teeth and lips, and breathing through the nose. It’s suggested to tape the mouth shut whilst sleeping to aid with this. Children with an open mouth posture and lowered mandibular motor tone tend to have longer faces. As the body of the mandible, the length of which is under tight genetic control, angles downwards then the horizontal or tooth bearing section shortens. The expected result is crowding at the extremities, the wisdom teeth and the incisors. Fixed appliances increase the vertical growth which is the very problem. He’s very critical of what he described as ‘traditional’ orthodontic practice and specifically warns patients about the dangers of undergoing conventional orthodontic treatment. 

Acolytes, including a minority of clinicians, the lay public, and social media influencers claim that “Mewing” can reliably enhance facial aesthetics in both children and adults. Other purported uses include resolving sleep apnea, miscellaneous problems related to breathing and swallowing, speech pathology, temporomandibular joint dysfunction/pain, and even sinusitis. 

Mew has a YouTube channel and seemingly lots of supporters who provide testimonials on how his method of practicing proper tongue posture has chiselled their jawline. A Google Trends search for “mewing” revealed an astounding growth in popularity and interest since January 2019 worldwide. According to YouTube, "We've seen views of 'mewing' videos spike from December, 2018 to February. 2019, which saw an 84 percent rise in the UK, and a 255 percent increase of videos uploaded globally to YouTube about mewing since December." 

I’m fascinated by the power of social media to promote an alternative medical technique, but I’m still not sure about Orthotropics because I‘ve not seen any real evidence. Social media is a powerful tool for informing the public in many subject areas, but it is not regulated by experts; many members of the public quickly fall prey to accept theories that have not been scientifically tested. To me it is odd that his support is from social media influencers rather than professionals. But I can’t see how he could have any negative motive – it's not a scam, he’s giving out advice and techniques for free. Dr Mew clearly believes in and is passionate about his method, and while I’m not really on board with his anti-orthodontics message, I don’t think mewing can do any harm. If my malocclusion could have been fixed by putting my tongue on the roof of my mouth, preventing the years of pain from braces and surgery, I’d be very annoyed that no one told me sooner!  ​

​See some mewing advocates below: