Don Norman’s Video Response and Dieter Rams Reading Response

 In Don Norman’s video, he talks about making things visually appealing. Although in my goal of becoming successful in the field of industrial design, I personally want to focus first on the functionality then bring in the visual aspect does, does fall short at first; I feel that when all things are said and done, every aspect of the design field is about making things visually appealing.

When looking at my object (a colored Goldfish box) it is hard to find a correlation between good design and the development of this box. When looking a little deeper at the assumed reasons for designing the this product the way is has been made, it can be assumed it is to directly to appeal to their target market; children. Children are apt to choose large and colorful objects rather than plain dull and small objects. When thinking about the target market of children, it is easy to understand why the designers chose the design that they did. It appeals to the masses and it is easy to mass-produce efficiently.

From a designers perspective, this Goldfish box is not the slightest bit appealing other then the graphic work and even that is in shambles in my opinion; but understanding the target market is what ultimately makes a product successful and in that case I do believe this product has succeeded. In the Dieter Ram’s 10 Principals of Design, the first commandment is that design is always innovative. This relates heavily to the design film entitled Design of the Future. In both pieces it strives to achieve the goal of communication that design has no boundaries. When innovating technology, most of the time only size will chance; but why?

When Cannon begins to develop a new camera design, why do the buttons and lens always remain in the same place.. why can’t design increase at the same rate as technology, why has no one pushed the boundaries?

         This first point in the Dieter Rams reading really got me thinking about truly innovative design and I don’t necessarily think the world has even come close to the possibilities that the future of design can hold, it just has to be discovered.

Video Response

The movie Objectified, is a film that is in all cheesiness, very close to my heart. The chance to watch this film during BDS: Studio lecture in no laughing matter changed my life. This film, was able to put into words what I have been struggling with my entire life. In this film, Karim Rashid- now one of my personal idles, describes how differently that of a designers mind sees the world differently than that of everyone else. In my portfolio for the school of design, I attempt to explain how I have always felt a major difference in the way that I view the world as compared to others; and when viewing this film and the words that Karim Rashid spoke, he unknowingly gave me the validation that I had longed for in hoping that I was not alone. The words that he spoke, gave me the assurance I needed to gain the confidence in my place in the design world. Although I have a long, long way to go, I believe that the unique way I view the world will give me the tools I need to carry my talent to make the world a better environment to live in.

         One of the concepts introduced in this film as well, has given me a  very confident outlook on my current plans for the future in my industrial design career. The concept of making products that not only applies to one person with a particular need but in- fact Appeal to the Masses. This concept makes an incredible amount of sense to me when thinking about my future plans to make special furniture designed specifically for children with physical disabilities. Although my concept is quite narrowed, it makes sense. In the film, designers are developing garden sheers to specifically meet the needs of those who have succumb to the pains that the disease of arthritis introduces. By making this specific product not only comfortable, but usable for those struggling- it inadvertently helps/ is more comfortable for the rest buyers shopping for that very same object. When aiding the needs of a specific problem/or set of problems, while also making the specific product visually appealing- designers are able to appeal to the masses, ultimately makes their product successful.