design & meaning [essay]

Paula Calleja CardielNo: 33428544

DESIGN&MEANING

INDEXTASK ONE:


TASK TWO:

TASK THREE:

“Problem Finding and Problem Solving”

“Creativity and Divergent Thinking”

“Research, Reviewing the Field, and Clear and Persuasive Communication”

TASK ONE1. A zipper getting stuck in clothing or other accessories2. Clamshell packaging and the wrap rage that comes with it3. Obscure size guidance in fashion retailers4. Being talked to while wearing earplugs, and therefore listening to music, or reading5. Running out of toilet paper when already seated on the WC6. People stopping in walkways both in airports and tube stations7. Not finding the keys8. Leaving the keys inside the car9. Ads being louder than the show/film/series/documentary on TV10. Plastic ketchup packets in fast food diners, your fingers end up having more ketchup on than the actual fries

11. Clothing labels: they are itchy, aesthetically unpleasant and not very informative12. Public toilets not being flushed13. Uneven chairs or tables14. Forgetting to turn the lights off15. TV remote controller not working or receiving any signal16. Ads every 15-30 min while watching a film on TV17. The music they play on the phone while waiting for customer services to attend your call18. Awkward lift silence19. Sticky honey dispensers: no matter what you do or how careful you are, they always end up sticky20. Fogged glasses when opening the oven

List of 20 things that bug/annoy people


PROBLEM SELECTED: 11

Most of the issues mentioned before have already found several design solutions or alternatives. However, the fashion industry remains unmoved regarding their uncomfortable clothing labels.

Labels affect our well-being through a product we use all or most of the time.

Their itchiness creates a general state of discomfort and irritability that disturbs our behaviour and even movement. Even if they aren’t itchy, clothing labels also ruin your appearance, they look tacky so you try your best to keep them hidden. Even the less image-conscious find them bothersome in that sense.

Cutting them out isn’t a viable option either because you lose crucial information for laundry and then catastrophes happen. Information that isn’t very well laid out in the first place but is still better than nothing and having to make a wild guess. Materials and instructions are cluttered with no distinct graphical cues and some of the symbols aren’t recognisable nor self-explanatory, therefore lacking their communicative purpose.


Clothing labels contain varied information but the two main things we really look into are the laundry specifications and the fabrics the garment is made of. Fashion brands, especially those characterised as high street retailers (fast fashion), have a wide array of platforms where you can buy their products. This sturdy network of webpages, newsletters and apps could be taken a little bit further.

Example: ZARAApp: ZARA

New section in the app: MY ZARA

The clothing label is replaced by a reference number or QR code you can scan with the app and redirect you to the product “profile”. There you find the name of the garment, a photo, its materials, the laundry specs and the country where it was manufactured. The laundry specs are a new set of friendlier symbols which replace the old ones, also you can still tap on them in case you need further explanation. Other sort of information can be included, depending on the brand’s promotional aims, like the carbon footprint of the product, different social work the brand is currently supporting...etc.

The laundry specs are printed on the inside of the back of the garment but the user still can use the QR code if he so wishes. The brand provides a service that creates an image of responsibility and care towards it’s products that benefits its popularity among the public.


The ends of the spectrum in apps are either online shopping exclusively (fashion brands) or, when it comes to laundry, hiring a dry cleaners or a timer for the washing machine’s cycles. These in themselves aren’t wrong but most of the people can’t afford to hire laundry services every single time and don’t really need that extra alarm in an already too time-conscious lifestyle. It is a matter of knowing how to do laundry and make your clothing last.

The clothing label is more of a nuisance than a necessary aid. The app saves in ink and material, paper or cloth, being cost effective and more helpful. It could also have educational goals by teaching how to save energy and money in your laundry and take care of your clothes.

Some fashion brands like Patagonia, though not having this exact service, are keen on this sort of approach. It is something that is both beneficial to the brand, the industry and the consumers.


TASK TWO1. Phone speaker amplifier : http://aplus.com/a/5-unexpected-uses-for-your-coffee-mug2. Knife sharpener : http://aplus.com/a/5-unexpected-uses-for-your-coffee-mug3. Holder for towels or toiletries : http://www.homeroad.net/2014/04/enamel-mug-organizer.html4. As pincushion : https://es.pinterest.com/pin/186406872046505583/5. Birdfeeder : http://pimpyourhome.blog.hu/2015/04/19/keszits_madaretetot_gyorsan_szepet6. Wind chime : http://www.craftychica.com/?b2w=http://thecraftychica.blogspot.com.es/2008/04/tea-mug-wind-chime.html7. Flower pot : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-barnes/5-new-uses-coffee-mugs_b_1324295.html8. Candle : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-barnes/5-new-uses-coffee-mugs_b_1324295.html9. Mosaic : https://es.pinterest.com/pin/389631805231856714/10. Lamp : http://www.milideas.net/30-ideas-para-reutilizar-accesorios-de-cocina

Images accessed the 18th of January 2016

List of 20 new design uses for a coffee mug


11. Binoculars12. Rolling stamp13. Portable container: pens and pencils, glasses...etc.14. Toy for pets and/or toddlers15. Voice distorter16. Hamster house17. Cookie dough cutter18. Wine/beer storage: shelf19. Wabi-sabi meditation piece20. Massaging rolling tool


New designs 11 to 20 are mainly for indoor use, they were thought of in a private context. The binoculars and portable container are open to use outside the home environment but their durability will depend on their materials. A ceramic binocular wouldn’t last long in the fast paced city, even inside a bag, or in the most peaceful setting since there is always the possibility of a clumsy accident. The container could work out, however, it would be nice to consider its weight and the feel of the object when held. A leather, rubber or knitted cover would soften its rigidity.


As a rolling stamp it would be great for the DIY fans. It can keep the handle or not, whatever turns out to be morecomfortable, and distributes the ink more evenly than a pressing stamp.

Going along with the rolling motion, we get the toy for pets and/or toddlers and the massaging tool. The first one is just a matter of removing the handle, putting inside some bells and covering the mug in yarn (for example), forming a yarn ball that will keep the principal subjects entertained for a while. For the massaging rolling tool some irregular coats ought to be designed to fit the mug, they could be made of papier mache or silicone if a professional look is desired. On further reflexion the handle should be removed as well, that way there would be a continuous roll and a better massage experience.


The hamster house, cookie dough cutter and wine/beer storage simply use either the mug as it is or a part of it. The mugs is easily recognisable and has no extra additions, this different uses take advantage of its curvature. The voice distorter is similar but includes a second handle on the opposite side for a more stable grip and a microphone at the bottom. It is perfect for pranks, stalking, storytelling and playing with the kids.


Personally, the most original one is the coffee mug as a wabi-sabi object of contemplation and meditation. A new, pristine coffee mug wouldn’t serve, you need a used one where the tea or coffee stains remain. Wash it lightly and keep using it. Those marks act as an organic landscape that reflects our daily routines and habits.

This wabi-sabi experience can be purely of aesthetic value or increasingly conceptual, it depends on the beholder.

Design doesn’t have to remain an acceleration agent, it could allow time for thinking, observing and cherishing. The beauty of imperfection, degradation and use has a warmth industrial purity has not. With the right materials, design and after a number of uses, the coffee mug becomes uniquely ours. It is a witness of our lives, we create the inner pattern with every beverage and over time we contemplate the results.

It is a coffee mug being a coffee mug but with an added layer of narrative and emotional attachment.


WABI SABI

Japanese aesthetic based on the appreciation of imperfection and ephemerality.

Some of its characteristics are:AusterityModestySimplicityAsperityAsymmetryIntimacyUnrefinementAgeWearPatina


TASK THREEANALOGIC KITCHEN CLOCK- Moving hands- Multi-shaped- Numerical- Ticking sound- Light weight- Hanging on the wall- Decoration- Material: plastic, wood, cork, metal, glass.- Organization- Reminder- Indoors- Dynamic- Enslaving- Generational- Witness

CHAIR Seating - Stability -

Multi-shaped -Material: wood, plastic, metal, glass

- Leisure: eating, reading, painting -

Both indoors and outdoors -Foldable -

Malleable (ex: puff) -No legs -

Hanging from the ceiling -Static -

Demonstration of wealth/status -Individual -

Generational -Property (spatial) -

Sedentary -


The qualities selected were individual and malleable from the chair and reminder and numerical from the clock. This is a personal clock, where instead of the time it represents your actual lifetime per decade. You can shape the base in any way you want, the numbers can be deformed as well until they are no longer recognisable.

Your 20s and 30s can be stretched and your 60s become a messy blur, you decide how your clock should be. This responds to our psychological reactions towards time and the possibility of bending it to our wishes. If frustrated or simply bored the clock can be turned into a ball and kill some time with it.


I chose four qualities, two belonging to the clock and the other two to the chair. They were: moving hands, ticking sound, static and seating. Moving hands and static are meant to counteract each other so I decided to negate static in favour of dynamism. Since chairs generally only allow one position and are related to a sedentary lifestyle, it would be interesting to have a chair whose perceived seating position is constantly changing. The hands would be moving, in opposite directions and at different paces, and eventually cross each other. You can sit on the chair but sooner or later, because of the position of the hand-seat, you would be discouraged to continue there and either stand up or change position. The soft, ticking sound would accentuate this sense of restlessness.

This chair isn’t really uncomfortable but prevents you from becoming a couch potato by discouraging continued seating.

On the other hand, it serves as a beacon of exploration for other methods of seating; demanding them from the user’s creativity.


BIBLIOGRAPHYAdams, J. (1986). Conceptual Blockbusting (Fourth ed.). Perseus Books.Barnes, C. (2nd of October of 2012). 5 New Uses For A Coffee Mug. Accessed the 18th of January of 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-barnes/5-new-uses-coffee-mugs_b_1324295.htmlBeigelman, V. (18th of August of 2015). 5 Life Hacks Using Your Coffee Mug You Never Would Have Thought Of. Accessed the 18th of January of 2016, from http://aplus.com/a/5-unexpected-uses-for-your-coffee-mugCano-Murillo, K. (April of 2008). Crafty Chica. Accessed the 18th of January of 2016, from http://www.craftychica.com/?b2w=http://thecraftychica.blogspot.com.es/2008/04/tea-mug-wind-chime.htmlCarelman, J. (1969). Catalogue d’objets introuvables. Le Cherche Midi.Chapman, J. (2005). Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences & Empathy (Third edition ed.). London: Earthscan.de Bono, E. (1977). Lateral Thinking. London: Penguin.

Harisnyás, P. (19th of April of 2015). Pimp Your Home. Accessed the 18th of January of 2016, from http://pimpyourhome.blog.hu/2015/04/19/keszits_madaretetot_gyor-san_szepetHomeroad, S. (n.d.). Enamel Mug Organizer. Accessed the 18th of January of 2016, from http://www.homeroad.net/2014/04/enamel-mug-organizer.htmlHurlburt, A. (1981). The Design Concept. New York: Watson-Guptill.L.Perry, D. (2012). What Makes Learning Fun? New York: AltaMira Press.Lawrence Griggs, R. (October of 2001). Wabi-Sabi: The Art of Imperfection. Acces-sed the 18th of January of 2016, from http://www.utne.com/mind-and-body/wabi-sabi.aspxLehrer, J. (2012). Imagine: How Creativity Works. Houghton Mifflin.Mil Ideas Decoración. (6th of August of 2013). 30 Ideas Para Reutilizar Acceso-rios De Cocina. Accessed the 18th of January of 2016, from http://www.milideas.net/30-ideas-para-reutilizar-accesorios-de-cocinaNorman, D. A. (1988). The Design of Everyday Things. Mit University Press Group.Vanhemert, K. (4th of March of 2014). 15 Hilariously Bad Designs For Everyday Objects. Accessed the 15th of February of 2016, from http://www.wired.com/2014/04/perfect-terrible-redesigns/Wachtmeister, J. (Directing). (2013). Microtopia [Film].

APPENDIX

Blue Note, (2012), Robert Glasper Experiment Black Radio [ONLINE]. Avai-lable at: http://garitocafe.com/es/articulo/robert_glasper_experiment_black_radio_blue_note [Accessed 17 February 16].

Marcie Concepcion, (2015), Gifting [ONLINE]. Available at: https://es.pinterest.com/marcieartist/gifting/ [Accessed 17 February 16].

Kako, (2009), Blossom Princess [ONLINE]. Available at: http://pouploff.o.p.f.un-blog.fr/files/2009/04/20080117070342005p000007ga.jpg [Accessed 17 February 16].

Zara, (2016), Zara [ONLINE]. Available at: http://stylecaster.com/shop-ping-apps/#slide-6 [Accessed 17 February 16].


design & meaning [essay]

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