There are lots of little gems of knowledge that could be of interest to either a designer of any specialism or someone who’s interested in design. However, because of this generalization, it doesn’t go into things in too much depth. An assortment of things get a mention, for example, one page covers topics such as Ray-Bans (1937), Routemaster bus (1950), Nylons (1938), condoms (the 1930s) and the ballpoint pen (1930) apparently all these things though very different, have one thing in common. The concepts and the technologies owed much to the technological developments made during wartime. The Routemaster bus owes much to the technologies developed in aircraft production.
It started more or less with William Morris and ended up full circle, which shows (a) design beginning a cylindrical process (b) reinforcing design values telling a more complete story. I thought it was fairly honest in mentioning, Morris had done designs for very wealthy clients at times as to maintain running a successful business, struggling with his own ideologies. The book quotes:
His commitment to the tenets of ‘truth to materials’ and ‘fitness to purpose’ offered a modern approach to design that was to find its ultimate expression in the twentieth century modern movement.In the 21st century designers still struggle with those key issues, with clients whose budgets won’t always consider the vulnerability of the world’s natural resources and financially support applications for using sustainable materials. But rather select the designers based on their competence and style.
The programme worked most inspirationally with featuring designers, such as Dieter Rams, Peter Saville, Michael Graves, Philippe Starck, Jonathan Ives.
The thing about the book that made me smile was glancing through the pages at how many chairs there were featured. From tubular steel, plywood, plastic to the far-fetched inflatable things, some iconic examples. Amazingly titled: Air chair, Dolly chair, Mr Impossible, the S chair, Tulip chair, Ant chair. In the programme, Dieter Rams sums up perfectly by saying:
I'm still thinking about a chair that can go on a soft floor, hard floor and has wheels. And, there isn't a chair yet, designed that can do all those three things. (He laughs) I know he says, I'm still thinking about it.
This dilemma made me think too! If the chair is still under consideration as a design problem after, so many have been designed. Then, what about everything else? When it seems like there’s no such thing as an original idea, clearly this book and the BBC programme: The Genius of Design illustrates that it’s just not the case at all. Dieter Rams wise, experienced and very thoughtful insight proves this point utterly and conclusively—design enlightens, inspires and entertains new possibilities!
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