//Product: Models which comment on lazy/greedy design issues
//Stage: 4th Year (2008/09)
White [Not So] Goods
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Today products come in all different shapes, sizes and colours. When a company offer a product, which is usually quite bland/uniform, in a range of colours this is almost always a gimmick to make some money - a case of form over function. However, what designers must realise is that form and function must go hand in hand.
White goods were designed for a reason. White is a clean colour and most white good appliances are situated in sanitary places, like kitchens. Also white is a nice light colour. I think it is a good idea to have only one colour/variation for a line of products, however, this model shows that it should maybe have been ‘yellow goods’.
While being light, like white, yellow is a happier colour and it also easier to keep clean. Most importantly it gives the product more personality. The main statement that my model conveys is that preconceptions can sometimes blind us from alternative possibilities.
High Fashion
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The high heel has been around for over 500 years and essentially the design has never really changed. Initially used as an aide for horse riding the high heel has evolved into a piece of design that is a true example of form over function.
Countless nights out are ended with women barefoot in the street complaining about how sore their high heels are. However they will still wear them as they are regarded as ‘sexy’. This is the power of tradition and convention.
United Nude have designed the Eamz heal, a tribute to a classic chair design of Charles Eames. This is a brilliant shoe as it challenges preconceptions of the structure of a high heel. However it is still form over function, no matter how good the form is.
This inspired me to try and design a high heel that could marry form and function by being more comfortable while still looking good. The design marries core principals of running shoes and bike suspension with the aesthetic of high heels. The physics behind the suspension of the actual model is unfounded but I believe it to be a step in the right direction.
Well Hung
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The coat hanger is a design born from necessity. A fully functional product with a well defined purpose and it fulfils that purpose. However, it does not fulfill it to the greatest standard. It is not the best design it is not the worst design, it could be classed as an incomplete design.
However, whenever somebody redesigns the coat hangar it is always the aesthetics that are tweaked rather than the ease of use.
My design improves the way a coat hanger functions. The model is not fully functional. However, it does demonstrate a way of improving the function to make it fit problematic garments, such as polo necks, and prevent stretching of clothes.
The spring in the model does not provide enough strength to hold many heavy items of clothing. It may be impossible to get the right strength of spring to hold clothes while also being easily collapsible making this specific design unfeasible. However,≤ a problem has been defined and this is often the hardest part of the design process.
This model shows that design problems may be right under our noses, they just need to be noticed and explicitly defined.
Don't Forget to Brush
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The toothbrush is the foundation of my project, the initial spark that set my brain in motion. So I thought it only polite to repay it by redesigning it.
It has slowly dawned on us that we are killing our planet and now we are, very slowly, trying to put a plan in motion to save our only home. It is for this reason that the ‘toothbrush issue’ is so relevant right now.
By simply changing the design of a toothbrush from using plastic to wood we could prevent 50 million lb of plastic ending up in landfill sites every year. I believe that this is a beautiful example of eco-design as it shows us that we do not always have to make huge changes in our lives to make a difference to the environment. This could be our first step towards the changeover to electric cars.
This model shows that it sometimes only takes a tiny bit of thought to make a big difference. It is a very simple example but it could be used as a template for much bigger problems.
Pappa's Got a Brand New Bag
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A handbag is a woman’s best friend. A bag gracefully slung over the shoulder to carry all the essential, everyday items. It is certainly better than the male equivalent, which is usually just a wallet. However in this time of the ‘metrosexual’ some men have adopted the ‘manbag’: the masculine counterpart of the handbag. There is no reason that men should not carry bags and it is good to see that this preconception is being challenged.
The one fashion masterpiece that is being overlooked, however, is the bum bag (or fanny pack in America). It is set in our minds that handbags are elegant (designed by Louis Vuitton, made of fine leather and worn by Gisele Bundchen) and that bum bags are nasty (made of cheap synthetic material and worn by dirty men who work on market stalls).
This is where we are once again fooled by preconceptions, not only the public, but designers too.
When viewed from a purely functional perspective a bum bag is better than a handbag as it leaves the hands free and prevents theft. So, when form and function are brought together once again it creates a new, complete, product. Now all I have to do I get Kate Moss to be seen in public wearing one.
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