How I discovered design.
I'm a scientist and therefore, by nature and training, someone who thinks about the 'how' of things. The 'why' I left to others.
But some years ago, in Germany, I visited the city of Essen. I've been there a few times before, and have done the obvious things, so my host almost ran out of ideas of things to suggest for me to do. On the internet we found the Red Dot design museum, and it was determined that that was what I would visit the next day.
It was a mind-bending experience. I've always thought of design as a thing done by engineers or architects. Here I found a wide array of everyday objects which had won design awards. A ring that acted as a bottle-opener. A board that could be either a toboggan or a surfboard. The steel foundation of a bus. The public telephone that I had used. Knee pads that didn't cut off blood circulation.
None of these were inventions. Often engineering was involved, but it wasn't just engineering. It wasn't just styling, either. It was an intersection of engineering, invention and aesthetics. I was full of wonder.
In the words of Paola Antonelli of MOMA:
But some years ago, in Germany, I visited the city of Essen. I've been there a few times before, and have done the obvious things, so my host almost ran out of ideas of things to suggest for me to do. On the internet we found the Red Dot design museum, and it was determined that that was what I would visit the next day.
It was a mind-bending experience. I've always thought of design as a thing done by engineers or architects. Here I found a wide array of everyday objects which had won design awards. A ring that acted as a bottle-opener. A board that could be either a toboggan or a surfboard. The steel foundation of a bus. The public telephone that I had used. Knee pads that didn't cut off blood circulation.
None of these were inventions. Often engineering was involved, but it wasn't just engineering. It wasn't just styling, either. It was an intersection of engineering, invention and aesthetics. I was full of wonder.
In the words of Paola Antonelli of MOMA:
Design is truly everywhere, and design is as important as anything, and I'm so glad that because of its diversity and because of its centrality to our life many more people are coming to it, as profession, as a passion, and as very simply, part of their own culture.
I am one of these people.
Design Inspiration
"The function of what I call design science is to solve problems by introducing into the environment new artifacts, the availability of which will induce their spontaneous employment by humans and thus, coincidentally, cause humans to abandon their previous problem-producing behaviors and devices. For example, when humans have a vital need to cross the roaring rapids of a river, as a design scientist I would design them a bridge, causing them, I am sure, to abandon spontaneously and forever the risking of their lives by trying to swim to the other shore."
- R. Buckminster Fuller, from Cosmography
- R. Buckminster Fuller, from Cosmography