Bachelor of Design Innovation

@dduggandesign

David Duggan Undergraduate Design Blog

139 posts

Reflection

I have thoroughly enjoyed this project, developing and refining my ideas and perspective. Overall I am very happy with the overall outcome, and while there is definitely room for improvement, i’d say the blood and sweat (and nearly tears at times) was worth it. The outcome is representative of something I feel incredibly passionate about, something that I hope to pursue and exemplify in my own career.

The hardest parts of this project included having to peel, piece together and individually glue all 225 letters to the chair (hence the almost-tears). While incredibly helpful, the worker at the hardware store where I sourced the glue laughed when I told him how many letters I had to glue, and told me I better be patient. Unfortunately some of the letters did shift slightly while the glue was curing, but I don’t believe this impacts the ability to read and understand the intent. Any quicker setting glue was unlikely to be strong enough to handle the forces placed upon the letters, so resolving this would probably require something to hold the letters in place while the glue cured.

My biggest concern with the outcome relates to the letters detaching from the chair, and making the intent unreadable. The other main concerns are that viewers will not sit down and experience the full intent of the chair, or that the chair will not be uncomfortable enough to really get my message across.

I did consider at times whether it was hypocritical to be making a chair in critique of others making chairs, and spending so much time on something relatively pointless. But then if this chair, and this time and effort I have put in, can prompt others to change, then, in the long term, I don’t think it is hypocritical. By provoking others to consider their own position and perspective, I have the ability to effect much greater change than purely my own.

Promotional material

My promotional material has been made from the off cuts of the acrylic used to make the words for the chair. These pieces of acrylic are approximately 60mmx140mm, deliberately unwieldy and uncomfortable to carry, a constant reminder and prompt. The box that I have made to contain them has the phrase “Take a spark”, the idea being that these prompts will hopefully spark others to begin examining how they can help to address these issues. On the back of the cards I have a phrase “not another chair”, as a reminder that there is more than enough chair designs in this world, and far better things they as designers can be addressing. I also have contact information if they have questions or want to discuss the idea/s further.

How I expect/intend/hope people will interact with the piece

Focal point of the framed print, generate interest in the piece.

Sitting down to further examine the piece, only to experience the physical discomfort.

Examining what has caused physical discomfort, recognizing they are words.

Interpreting and understanding the words and the intent behind them, reflection on own position within design.

The Uncomfortable Chair

Design is an incredibly powerful tool to shape ourselves and our environments. I personally believe that the true value of design lies in the ability to address complex and difficult issues that a singular discipline alone cannot address. Wicked problems, like Overpopulation and Global Warming, are so complex that there is no easy solution, if there even is a solution at all. What design offers is the ability to innovate and facilitate large and complex changes that have the potential to address these issues. Yet many designers, by choice or otherwise, are left designing for novelty, fashions and fads.

This chair has been designed as an exhibition piece, to critique and provoke response from designers. The intent of the chair is to make the participants uncomfortable, both physically and morally. Hundreds of small acrylic letters jut out from the face of the chair, digging in to the viewer. The letters are the same glossy black as the chair, intended to be relatively hidden, unless you are looking for them. These letters are laid out in words that represent a non-exclusive list of wicked problems. The intent of this being that the physical discomfort prompts the participant to examine the chair, only to be reminded of all the issues that they could be addressing, if they weren’t catering to the latest fad. I chose a chair, as it seems that many designers (especially industrial) seem to find a need to redesign a chair at some point in their careers, despite the innumerable, entirely effective chairs that already exist.

On the wall at seated eye level in front of the chair is a framed print, designed to be the focal point of the piece. This deliberately overstated frame intends to distract the viewer from the chair, falsely suggesting that it is the purpose of the piece, and the chair is merely there to relax while reading. The print itself reads “Are you comfortable? Things designers could be addressing instead of designing another chair” followed by a list of the issues identified on the chair, gradually decreasing in size. The decreasing size again prompts the viewer to sit down, while also suggesting that the list goes on, reflecting the inherently endless potential for wicked problems.

Contact sheet of final images before selection and editing. Exploring different options for displaying and presenting the work digitally.

The point where I realised peeling and glueing roughly 200 (Update, 225, I counted) individual letters wasn't such a good idea (too late now haha)

Current Situ 14/6

At this point I have a fairly resolved concept, its just a matter of execution.

My concept is to create an “Uncomfortable Chair”. This chair will aim to both physically and morally make people uncomfortable. To achieve this I am planning to laser cut words out of 3mm acrylic and attach these as to stick out of the surface of the chair. These words will encompass a wide range of wicked problems, things that need to be urgently addressed. My subtitle “Things designers could be doing instead of designing another chair” speaks to the point I am trying to make.

I personally believe that design and designers have the ability to address complex issues far more successfully than other fields, yet often designers (by choice or otherwise) are left creating novelty and luxury consumables. A chair is a stereotypical object that many designers seem to find a need to redesign, when there is often little issue with existing solutions. For designers to have the greatest possible impact, they should lend their abilities to these wicked problems.

I have managed to source a second hand chair for this project, which I have sanded down and spray painted glossy black, to match the acrylic. I want the two to match, as I feel the more obvious the writing is, the less likely people will sit down and experience the physical discomfort. I chose black for the grim mood. After discussions with other students I have also decided to double-stack some of the letters, to make sure that the words are not evenly protruding from the chair, and thus less uncomfortable.

I intend to position the chair in front of a framed print on the wall, with the intent of making this the visual focus of the piece, distracting the viewer from the surface of the chair. Ideally this will be mounted at chair level, as to encourage people to sit down to read it. This suggestion will be reinforced by the title of the print “Are you comfortable?”, which I believe will also encourage viewers to sit down.

Today is laser cutting day!

My promotional material will be the off cuts created by the letters, these will be shaped into large takeaway cards. These cards will be deliberately large and unwieldy, intended to be hard to forget and ignore. Theses cards will also contain a reminder of the intent “not another chair” and contact details.

My submission for the exhibition poster

Getting closer to a final frame idea

Standard chair pressure maps, aka where I need to target for maximum discomfort. Via x

Laser progress. Haven’t used a laser cutter for about 3 years, so slowly getting the hang of the technicalities again. Making sure to have connections to the middle of letters, so that they will remain connected to the outsides like a stencil

Developing manifestation

Potential words inside frame

Ideation of manifestation

Manifesto

This is not a call to action.

This is not a recommendation of change.

This is a blood and sweat stained shout into the void.

No one is listening.

Design must create beginnings, not just solutions

Solutions are expedient. Design has the sublime power to shape this world, to build it or destroy it. And yet it seems many of us choose the latter. Caught up in a vain, self-centred strive for the new, design has fetishized consumerism. Design has become ever more temporary, while the increasing waste created remains permanent (Waskey, 2011). Industrial design’s outputs have been feeding the fire beneath our feet, and we are left dancing in the ashes of our own causation.

Design must grow – in importance and value

Rebel against the planned obsolescence that has condemned many of our existing products to an early grave. Embrace repair, renewal and re-birth. Processes such as Japanese gold joinery or Kintsugi provide valuable precedence for celebrating the poignant beauty inherent within impermanence (Hammill, 2016). The impact of design extends beyond purchase and even eventual disposal, to when it is broken down and recreated into something else, be that organic or manufactured.

Design must connect, not divide

The reality is we are not living in a perfect world. We live in a world where the rich get richer and the poor, poorer (Johnston, 2014). Design can act as a great equaliser, yet often it merely accentuates and accelerates the growth of this divide. We, as designers, as privileged, as consumers in the first world, hold great moral responsibility. We hold in our red hands the power to amend our course, to confront the tragic division we have created.

Design must learn, not teach.

Ears and eyes over voice and hands. Don’t fall into the self-absorbed trap of telling others what they want, what they need. Listen. Observe. People know their own lives better than you do (Innovate Change, 2017). Learn their quirks, their uniqueness. Learn what matters. Discard your assumptions, your biases and most importantly, never, ever, stop learning.

Design must facilitate

The real value of design lies in its ability to bridge the gap between the hard (Material/Technology) and the soft (Non Material/Culture) (Berman, 1988). By facilitating the development of connections between people and their environment, design offers great potential to significantly improve people’s lives. This is only possible through engaging people in the design process, helping them to access and utilise their own potential to create change. Co-design is a vital tool to create, and more importantly sustain, improvement in people’s lives.

Design practice must be re-aligned

Create and exemplify an epitomical design practice that seeks to drastically improve the lives of the majority, rather than indulge in the ever changing whims of the few. A design practice that is not consumer driven, but rather human driven.

This is a blood and sweat stained shout into the void.

No one is listening.

Are You listening?

References

Berman, M. (1988). All that is solid melts into air: The experience of modernity. New York, N.Y., U.S.A: Penguin Books.

Hammill, S. (2016). Technical: Kintsugi. The Journal of Australian Ceramics, 55(3): 70-73. Retrieved from: search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=473406344982684;res=IELHSS

Innovate Change. (2017). People are the Experts. Retrieved from: innovatechange.co.nz/news/people-are-the-experts

Johnston, D. (2014). Divided: The perils of our growing inequality. New York, N.Y., U.S.A: The New Press.

Waskey, A. (2011). Ecological Footprint. Green Consumerism: An A-to-Z Guide. 113-117. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412973809.n44

RAP 9

Design and nature

I enjoyed the discussion of the flux inherent within natural systems this week, and the idea that we are incapable of maintaining steady or constant environments, that to exist inherently involves change. This theme was particularly evident in the documentary All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace by Adam Curtis. This is important for design as it forces us to design not only with the existing environment in mind, but also with awareness of what might come. It forces us to design not for permanence, but rather the exact opposite. Design for impermanence, for change.

Personally I place high value on the ideas discussed in the book Cradle to Cradle by McDonough and Braungart. The idea that you design with acknowledgement and intent of how the materials can and will be used in the future. Designing with intent to pull apart and make new objects from the pieces. This can be limited, in that in assumes the materials will still be in a reasonable condition for re-use, or that it will take less energy and waste to reuse rather than simply starting anew. However it is a valuable mind-set, to consider the effects of time and use on a product, rather than just ensuring it works initially.

I also enjoyed the articles around the decrease in cost of solar generation in India. I find it fascinating that theoretically the peak efficiency of solar cells is only 29% (Boyd, 2017)! But for renewable energy to become more affordable is fantastic news not only for consumers, but also for the fluctuating cycles of the world environment. Although, as mentioned before, we cannot maintain a constant environment, I believe that it is important that we limit our own influence on the fluctuations. I would suggest that one albeit small way to do so is through reducing use of greenhouse gas emitting energy generation.

Boyd, J. (2017). Efficiency of Silicon Solar Cells Climbs. Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/renewables/efficiency-of-solar-cells-continues-to-climb

Curtis, A. (2011). All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace. London: BBC.

McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2009). Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. London: Vintage.

Draft Manifesto

This is not a call to action.

This is not a recommendation of change.

This is a blood and sweat stained shout into the void.

No one is listening.

Design has the sublime power to shape this world, to build it or destroy it. And yet it seems many of us choose the latter. Caught up in a vain, self-centred strive for the new, design has fetishized consumerism. Design has become ever more temporary, while the increasing waste created remains permanent. Industrial design’s outputs have been feeding the fire beneath our feet, and we are left dancing in the ashes of our own causation.

Design must seize the reins of development and steer back onto the course of progress. To ignore and delay addressing these issues is to regress to a less conscious society, one that is more self-absorbed than self-aware.

The reality is we are not living in a perfect world. We live in a world where the rich get richer and the poor, poorer. We, as designers, as privileged, as consumers in the first world, hold great responsibility. We hold in our red hands the ability alter our course, to address the tragic destiny we have created.

This manifesto is a call for a re-alignment of design practice. An epitomical design practice that seeks to drastically improve the lives of the majority, rather than indulge in the ever changing whims of the few. A design practice that is not consumer driven, but rather human driven.

This is a blood and sweat stained shout into the void.

No one is listening.

Are You listening?

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