Forget trends and fads. Good design enhances quality of life.
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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Forget trends and fads. Good design enhances quality of life.
Gerard McGuickin
Image: Cover of "Wegner: Just one good chair" © Hatje Cantz.
Good design and quality of life.
Integrity and fairness.
Emotion and reflection.
Image: Untitled, Grand Bahama 2014 © Zoltán Tombor.
What is good design?
Innovative.
Aesthetic.
Unobtrusive.
Honest.
Long-lasting.
As little design as possible...
Image: Dieter Rams. Via Vitsœ.
What do you think about trends and fads?
Image: Bernadette blanket & cushion by Røros Tweed.
There must be something even better out there...
Image: Early Morning, 2009. Photo © Dongwook Lee.
I dislike:
trends; trendsetting; trend forecasting; trend analysis.
Image: The Hole Measuring Tape. Via Design Fetish.
Irresponsible consumerism.
Throwawayism.
Image via Elephant Journal.
A beautiful design alone serves no adequate purpose...
Image: The Shell Chair © Carl Hansen & Søn.
How do we valuably critique design?
Image: The Optimist and the Pessimist by Hans Bølling © ARCHITECTMADE.
Design is often PR-led.
We need to engage less with PR-spin.
Image: Eileen Gray's E1027 table and Bibendum armchair © Aram Designs Ltd.
What are some of the questions we should ponder when we consider how design can affect people and impact upon well-being?
Image: 1950’s Hong Kong Inspires New Photography Series by Fan Ho 何藩. Photo © Fan Ho 何藩. Via Yatzer.
How does the person connect with design?
Image: Squish studio interior. Photo © Bent René Synnevåg. Via Yatzer.
How do we define the usefulness of design?
Image: Kartio glasses & pitcher by Kaj Kranck for Iittala. Via Really Well Made.
What is design's relationship with the everyday?
Image: The Vipp mini table is a multi-functional piece of furniture © 2014 VIPP.
What is design's relationship with the environment?
Image: Casa AL by Studio Arthur Casas sits between a mountain and the ocean in Rio de Janeiro. Via Dezeen.
What are the social aspects and consequences of any design?
Image: Life on a New High. Mumbai skyscrapers photographed by Alicja Dobrucka. Via Dezeen.
Each of these properties contribute to a design’s overall aesthetic and each plays a part in negating the popular superficiality that plagues much design discourse.
Image: Papilio Ulysses Telegonus © hagedornhagen aps.
“The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use every day affect our person and our well-being. But only well-executed objects can be beautiful.” (Dieter Rams)
Image: RT 20 tischsuper radio, 1961, by Dieter Rams for Braun. Via 88bik.
We should be active and open in our evaluation, criticism and debate about good design and how it can enhance quality of life.
Image: Drop by Arne Jacobsen in stone grey © REPUBLIC OF FRITZ HANSEN 2014.
