- Do you agree or disagree with any of the designers’ statements, why?
Most of the designers in the film had similar opinions on what design is. Overall they were very passionate about the thought process involved in design from creation to distribution to disposal of the product. They want items to be worth having and not just create stuff for consumers. I have to agree with all of that as I believe that people have become too material heavy and many companies are just creating more and more items in hopes that people will continue to buy more. Even though I agree that good design can increase the purpose of an item, I don’t think it works for everyone to have one item do everything. Jonathan Ive, Senior Industrial Designer at Apple, talked about how they focus on putting as many functions as possible into one piece. That means that something is designed well when it has multiple functions. I believe there is some worth to this statement but at the same time, I believe that simplicity is sometimes necessary. Different technology companies focus heavily on trying to make the newest gadgets and I think they overcomplicate things sometimes. Apple creates technology is a well designed manner that make them extremely user friendly and make the user feel intelligent or “hi-tech” when using them. But I don’t believe every scenario has to be about limiting the number of items a person needs to achieve a specific task. I do absolutely agree with Jonathan Ive’s statement that there has to be visual hierarchy in the creation of a product. Specifically he talked about the light that shows the computer being powered on it being on versus off. This light signifies something important but it’s not the most important feature, because it’s more something the user can just acknowledge. You as the designer have to determine what it is that the user absolutely needs to see first and visually show them what they should be interacting with.
- Has anything the designers said changed how you thought about design?
I agreed with most of the designers statements and thoughts on design as I also believe design is this ever-changing method of creating that looks to the future and works to improve people’s lives. But I did find Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby’s perspective on design very interesting. They know that there is a huge mass market of items being produced and designed for people but they like to reach people’s mind’s more than a space in their homes. The way they create items simply to inspire thought is something that intrigues me and I believe that the design world and the consumer need more of that. I believe in some ways, design has become too focused on mass manufacturing and I think sometimes the user isn’t challenged to think about anything besides wanting the product. Maybe some designers are ok with that and plan to continue making items for the purpose of selling them but I believe design should be turning towards making the consumer think.
- Each designer interviewed for “Objectified” defined how they see Design, how would you define design and how has that definition changed?
I define design as the method in which things or processes are created to better the lives of the people who use and interact with them. Design takes individual needs, culture, and different academic studies into account. After watching Objectified and thinking about what the designers said, I believe that design is becoming more thought provoking in what ways items and processes effect ourselves and the environment. Or some designers think design should be more about getting in the heads of consumers to understand the full effect of what our designs have on them. So just in general design seems to be moving towards the thought process behind everything than the actual creation of things.