Saturday, August 13, 2011

Talk to Me

I went today to see the Talk to Me exhibit at MoMA. There was a lot of interesting content and commentary about the integration of technology into everyday life and how we interact with it. Ranging from concepts and predictions to widely used designs, most of the content of the show seemed to be a direct response to Anthony Dunne's Hertzian Tales. I thought I wrote about Hertzian Tales, but it seems that I didn't. It was about the need for empathy and philosophy in the design of electronics. Its a really interesting book - a bit dry, but you should read it.

Anyway, a lot of the content focused on the ability of electronic objects to alter perspectives, augment reality, and to create emotional responses. The subtitle of the show is "Design and communication between people and objects" which is, I guess, a good way of explaining the theme of the show. The general feeling that I got from it was that people just want to get personal with inanimate objects, whether that means artificial affection from an iPad app or pointing out the coldness of sending an email. We are human and we now expect experiences that are more human.

There were scannable codes on all of the museum tags, which makes me realize how amazingly innovative those guided tour headsets were when they first came out. Now we can scan so many things to get more info, but that idea seems to have originated in a gallery setting. A lot of the displays required headphones, which I don't like, so I only listened to some. Surrounded by so many interactive technologies, headphones hanging on hooks looked even less inviting than they usually do. There was so much to take in that I wouldn't have been able to listen to everything anyway.

The most interesting part of the exhibit was the interactions that people had with the displays.

The first piece in the show was a projection of an app called Talking Carl. There was an iPad where you could interact with the character on the touch screen. A little boy saw someone touching the screen and ran up to try it himself. His mother stopped him. She yelled "don't touch the exhibit." The boy said he saw someone else do it but she still said no. I went up to the screen, gestured the character to do a flip, and said "its interactive."  She let the boy play with the screen and thanked me, I don't know if she was being sincere. I think this experience shows the difference between generations and their reaction to technology. To someone who grew up without touchscreens everywhere, a screen in a museum still means "art, do not touch," but for someone who only knows a back lit rectangle as an icon of interactivity, they know what to do.

Another funny scene was the metro card vending machine, on display for the exhibit to show interface design at its finest. It was fully functional, dispensing cards and everything. People kept going up to it to see what it did. They would touch the screen and look confused when it did what it was expected to do. Some even asked the guard what it was for and whether it was part of the exhibit.  If good design is in fact invisible, congrats to the designer - not even the tourists found it noteworthy.

So, this review is getting really long. I will be going back to see the show again when I can spend more time. I will then write about it again with some more thoughtful and designey comments about the experience. Also next time I will show up with a charged phone for a more complete experience.

Yeah, if you go, charge your phone. And you should go.


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Good design is long lasting

Really interesting little talk tonight in Soho. The subject of Dieter Rams and Braun appliances turned to the topics of craft vs. design, use of materials, and the riots in London.
This is an interesting time in design because the job of industrial designers is no longer what it was when Dieter Rams was designing for Braun. I dont think that there is a future for product designers who try to please everyone in the same way. Universality was the main motivation for the design rules and style of Rams, but people are definitely no longer pleased with a loss of individual identity. Zoe Coombes brought up that this is one of the reasons that the craft movement has gained such a following. And I agree, nobody prefers to have a homogenized market. 
Another really interesting point came up about the value of objects in relation to their lifespan. There Gary Hustwit mentioned that he purchased a 606 shelving unit which he intends on keeping for the rest of his life. Though his value of the shelving is not entirely tied to its cost, there are objects of low cost which could easily last a lifetime which people do not plan to own because they have a low value. What if people were able to buy less often and to take care of their property and make it last? What if short term purchases were designed out of short term materials? How can the percieved value of plastic parts change to make people keep them for longer and grow more connected to them?

All good things to think about.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

carpet planning...

More carpets are in the works, made using a more precise and less dangerous process (I got tired of felting needle wounds). They are also more water resistant and durable.

If anyone is interested in seeing samples, send me a note.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

I am an angel head

I just finished this sewing project a few nights ago. You may remember the sketch from a while back...


Sunday, July 24, 2011

thirty-six chairs in an hour

I have been working on a pop up book about classic chairs and as part of the process, I sat down for an hour and drew a bit. Then I made a poster from the drawings.
If anyone wants the poster, I put it up for downloading.

There are no names or dates on the image, so it would be fun to see if anyone can identify all 36.

You might also like...