Celebrating holidays like Halloween and Day of the Dead this weekend got me to thinking about the afterlife and its relation to the durability of things we produce. What if we had to design for multiple lifetimes? Design would become so much more function driven. All of a sudden we would be less worried about the way our stuff looked and much more concerned with the physical integrity of the item. Clothing for example would have to become almost completely utilitarian. Most likely made from polyester or some other indestructible material. Our homes would have to be totally sustainable. Agriculture would become soiled with hearty grains that could stand the test of time. I think that so much of our design depends on the finite nature of what ever the subject were designing happens to be. Along with the deterioration, comes disposal. We throw away stuff that might still be useful but we don't need because of the rule of upgrade. upgrade. upgrade.
Then there is the sudden obsolescence of the things we thought were top of the line when really they were lower middle to bottom of that same line. As designers we should always look at the ways to make durability and sustainability a goal. However I think we owe a debt of gratitude to the ephemeral nature of "things" and "thing design". After all it might be that planned obsolescence is a big reason why we still have jobs.
No comments:
Post a Comment