Post 1

This week's class meeting involved the discussion of design and redesign, considering key concepts of meaning, form, and function in design through such mediums as material, tactility, and haptics, as well as the interrelated impacts that sociocultural trends and aesthetic design have on each other.  In an effort to better understand these concepts, we researched leading designers and their work, including Kenya Hara, Hella Jongerius, and Li Edlekoort.

 Kenya Hara (right) is a Japanese designer, focusing on the interplay between emptiness and meaning and possibilities, and its impact on the spirit and emotion, utilizing visual and philosophical Japanese traditions in his design (Knowles et al. 2010).  

("Exit/Entry Stamps". Hara 2007). 

These exit/entry immigration stamps (left) commissioned by Kenya Hara and designed by Masahiko Sato were specifically meant to "warm people's hearts" (Andrea et al. 2012).  This design demonstrates the evocative potential of design.  Perhaps the recognizable form of the airplane may serve to excite and stir people for their upcoming journey, or welcome people with an appreciation of where they've come from and a celebration for their arrival, as opposed to cold and lifeless stamps of uninteresting form.  The design itself further functions very well in its context.

("Wall-clock".  Hara 2007)

This design (right), by Jasper Morrison, is of a simple wall-clock made from a product called "wavy-wavy," an extremely elastic and flexible paper material.  The material used to create the clock gives off the message that ones time should be treated with equal flexibility and elasticity.  The choice to leave off the numbers also adds to the idea that time should not be constricting or controlling.  The design also seems to reflect Hara's use of the concept of "emptiness," leaving room for interpretation and meaning.

 Hella Jongerius (left) is a Dutch designer, fusing cultures, influences, technology, and tradition to help form her design.  Her work ranges from carpentry, to furniture, to clothing, to pottery, among other areas (Design Museum, n.d.). 

("Gullspira," Jongerius 2009)

This wall-hanging (right) here was designed by Jongerius.  This design, created for IKEA Sweden, takes into account its target consumer culture, as it is based off of animals from Swedish fairy tales.  It is a prime example of the fusion of cultures Jongerius plays with, as well as of culture's influence on design, art, and creativity.  It also brings to light design's recipricol affect on life and culture--the wall-hangings were crafted by women in India, providing them with a living.

("Office Pets" Jongerius 2007)

The picture to the left is of Jongerius' whimsical Office Pets.  They are the results of the collision of the world of the office and the realm of fantasy.  For me, t is definitely pushing the edges on what can be considered "design."  Lacking any real function, its great contribution is its emphasis on freedom of imagination and conception.








Li Edlekoort is a world-renowned trend guru and forecaster, stating that "there is no creation without advance knowledge, and without design a product cannot exist."  Li's success as a trend guru points to the essential contribution that consumer society and culture have on future design, as well as the potency of premeditated design and conception.