Synthesis: Enduring Object Relationships - Preventing Habituation through Dynamic Interaction

Humans adapt expertly — and soon become accustomed to the environments and things that surround us. Objects that at one time were novel transition to mundane. Habituation is this diminishing pleasure obtained upon successive occasions of having a particular experience. There are only two mechanisms to counteract habituation - variety of experiences and time between an experience.

I am investigating ways in which a single dynamic object can create variety and prevent habituation, including: unexpectedness, responsiveness, captivation, and wear.

The Invisible Subject-Object Conflict

I have been primarily approaching this project from the viewpoint of the object. How does it live, age, record, and show wear - essentially how the object receives a mark from the subject. But if I take the opposing viewpoint, in what ways can the subject actively mark the object? The oil, heat, and friction from human hands slowly take their toll on object surfaces, but we often can't see the results in real-time, continuing to believe in the myth of the pristine modern. And things are made to even further conceal those results - coating, hardening, tempering, and fingerprint-proofing.

Surfaces of objects are the imperceptible battlegrounds of a never-ending tepid war between subject and object, matter and entropy. This invisible transactional surface, much like hertzian space, is easily ignored. As Dunne and Raby's work encourages contemplation of the electromagnetic environment, what is the effect of making visual our physical interaction with the objects around us?

The Other End of the Spectrum

It would probably be helpful to read and analyze the 'anti-wear' perspective. What is appealing about disposability, aside from novelty and fashion? Karim Rashid, in an 2003 interview:

I'm a big believer in a disposable society. I think that one day we won't own anything. I think eventually we'll throw out everything all of the time. And I think when we develop a perfectly cyclic system, then we'll be able to do it without guilt.

He is (or at least was) a certifiable technocrat. Let's hope that 'perfectly cyclic system' arrives sooner that it seems like it's going to - because that's a whole lot of guilt.

Thesis Direction - Materially

There seem to be two main paths to explore the concept of wear explicitly:

1) Utilizing existing, patinated materials in a new context. While history and use are already imbued in the new object, a user lacks strong connection to that history. Using existing materials is also a definite advantage. I would need to source these materials immediately.

2) Develop a blank canvas to receive wear. The user is quite possibly more invested in the object, but it probably requires new materials or finishes. In this scenario, I would probably need to amplify or accelerate wear in an obvious or blatant way. If the wear is imposed through touch, in what ways can the human hand leave a mark? Heat and oils of the skin are the first two obvious options. Materially, what type of finishes, coatings, or raw materials respond to touch? Paper could be an interesting material choice since its essential function is already to receive marks.

A Brief History of Patina

According to Grant McCracken's Culture and Consumption, patina was the visual proof of status prior to the 18th century's consumer revolution and the onset of the fashion system. Patina served as an icon of a family's longevity - during the Elizabethan era five generations were required to gain full gentle status. "Patina made certain that those who merely enjoyed wealth but who had not yet qualified for standing could be identified as such." When fashionable objects became more desirable than patinated ones, the waiting period for the gentry evaporated, encouraging "new mobility and the recognition of ability."

McCracken goes on to say patina still represents status today, but on a much smaller scale, only used by the most high-standing groups. Today, "for the mass of society, the notion of patina is itself hopelessly antique, a charming notion that has passed from fashion."

I think an appreciation for patina and wabi-sabi is developing, for some objects, outside of the antique. For example, through the greatly increased use of easily scratched stainless steel in the home, people are learning that objects, when used, shouldn't necessarily remain in their original pristine condition - they can develop an even more interesting, meaningful, and rich surface through normal use.

365 Days of Wear

A photographer put together a video documenting the wear developed on a pair of raw denim jeans over the course of a year.

All 187 Things I Touched Today

The following list mentions each item only once, not every time it was touched:
alarm
door knob
drinking glass
pill container
pill
coffee mug
sugar jar
sugar spoon
coffee carafe
fridge handle
cream container
cream lid
kitchen sink faucet
dish drainer
coffee machine
bread
bread knife
toaster oven handle
door
laptop
laptop case
frietag bag
books
notebooks
computer mouse
camera
camera case
plate
coffee table
laundry basket
socks
long underwear
jeans
cell phone
light switch
t-shirt
sweatshirt
katrina
water
facewash tube
facewash
self
towel
toilet seat cover
toilet seat
toilet handle
bathroom sink faucet
bar soap
vanity mirror
toothbrush
toothpaste
plastic bag
shoes
coat
gloves
hat
keys
door handle
building door
outside car door handle
inside car door handle
outside car door
subway railing
wallet
subway card
subway turnstile
train railing
subway exit cage turnstile
elevator button
id card
studio door handle
studio chair
laptop power button
studio table
mini-fridge door handle
mini-fridge door
laptop trackpad
laptop keyboard cover/keys
padlock
locker
power adapter
power strip
sigg
sigg cap
water fountain button
doorlock
toilet paper
toilet paper dispenser
toilet flush button
soap dispenser
soap
paper towel
hand lotion tube
hand lotion
rubber stick-on furniture feet
pen
glass container
emergen-c packet
foil
pizza
napkin
corian
denim
headphones
ipod
gum packaging
gum wrapper
gum
newspaper
bank revolving door
atm card
atm buttons
atm screen
cash
receipt
train station swinging door
bus stop button
bus doors
glass coffee shop door
glass coffee shop counter
coins
paper bag of coffee beans
front door knob
coat hook
cat
drawer pull
bag of quarters
laundry basket
laundry detergent container
back door deadbolt
ice
quarters wrapper
quarters
washing machine lid
washing machine buttons
leather boot
vinegar bottle
rag
wooden hanger
dryer door
dryer buttons
coffee maker lid
coffee filter
garbage can foot pedal
cabinet knob
coffee grinder lid
coffee grinder dial
coffee grinder
coffee grinder hopper
brita pitcher
oven temperature dial
baking sheet
tortilla chips bag
tortilla chips
saucepan
stove dial
garlic
chef knife
spatula
bowl
spoon
twist tie
lime
kosher salt container
kosher salt
remote control
remote control buttons
shirts
boxers
sweaters
cabinet pull
mini dust pan
mini dust broom
litter box lid
litter box scoop
litter box
shower curtain
shower faucet handle
washcloth
body wash bottle
body wash
shampoo bottle
shampoo
q-tip
sheets
bed
pillow

You Can Never Do Merely One Thing

Garrett Hardin's first rule of ecology emphasizes the extreme complexity of systems. Every act has consequences and implications - both intended and unintended - or even a result completely opposite to that desired. When applying ecological principles, "the idea is not to slavishly imitate nature, but to model a natural ecosystem in all its diversity and interdependence." Pollan describes the 1960s organic movement's understanding of the connectedness of everything, and "sought to establish not just an alternative mode of production (the chemical-free farms), but an alternative system of distribution (the anti-capitalist food co-ops), and even an alternative mode of consumption (the 'countercuisine')." What are equivalent alternative systems for objects? Local artisans, freecycle, craigslist, and ebay?

Consumers' disconnectedness from the extraction, production, distribution, and disposal of goods (great summary at the Story of Stuff) allows the illusion that consumption is an isolated act, instead of a consequential one in a complex system. A stronger connection to other participants in the system, such as buying produce directly from the farmer at a market, or an object directly from its designer or maker, alters the consumer relationship within the system - revealing, among other things, the political implications of the global industrial vs. the local artisanal modes.

The artisanal competitive strategy is to produce something special rather than a commodity at the lowest cost possible. Although proposed in an agricultural context, Allan Nation theorizes that:

This artisanal model works only so long as it doesn't attempt to imitate the industrial model in any respect. It must not try to replace skilled labor with capital; it must not grow for the sake of growth; it should not strive for uniformity in its products but rather make a virtue of variation and seasonality; it shouldn't invest in capital to reach national markets but rather should focus on local markets, relying on reputation and word of mouth rather than on advertising; and lastly, it should rely as much as possible on free solar energy rather than costly fossil fuels.

Eyeglasses and Identity

I have wanted new glasses for a few years, and probably needed to update my prescription for just as long. Occasionally I would stop into a glasses store and try frames on. A couple of times I found a pair that I liked, but never did one seem exactly right. Choosing a pair of glasses is a commitment. Few objects, if any, communicate more immediately, obviously, or frequently about their owner.

I had been primarily looking at metal frames, bold colors, and 'designerly' styles. However, last week I walked into a store with a large selection of frames and came across a section of authentic-looking vintage frames. I asked to try one pair on, a subtly variegated dark horn-rim, just for fun, not expecting much. But I was surprised to really like them. I then found out from the salesperson that they were unworn deadstock frames bought from an optometrists's estate that included a cellar of still-boxed glasses that dated from the turn of the century to the 70's.

I went back to the store today to try them on again and get my girlfriend's opinion. They had moved the section, and it took a while to find that frame, even though it was the only one I had tried on last week. While I was considering the possibility that someone else had already bought them in the interim, I realized that I definitely did want them.

Which reminds me of another decision-making concept from Stumbling on Happiness: "we generally do not sit down with a sheet of paper and start logically listing the pros and cons of the future events we are contemplating, but rather, we contemplate them by simulating those events in our imaginations and then noting our emotional reactions to that simulation." Decision-making is far from a purely rational act - as demonstrated in this edition of Radiolab on choice that tells the story of "Elliot", a successful corporate accountant (at the 20:30 mark). Due to brain surgery to remove a tumor in the orbital frontal cortex, he lost the ability to experience emotions. An effect was Elliot's complete paralysis in any type of decision-making, logically analyzing each decision forever - like taking a half hour to decide to sign a contract with a blue pen or a red pen. Eventually he got divorced, lost his job, and moved back in with his parents. Obviously, emotions play an important role in decision-making.

Back to the frames, I immediately knew I had found them from the way the left temple felt on my ear. I again liked them and knew from my emotional reaction I wanted them, so after a little debate, decided to buy them. This purchase is a great opportunity to document the habituation process of an object in my life.

If consumption today is curating an identity, or brand, glasses are quite possibly the logo.

Bias Against the Long-term

An increased emphasis on the long-term, in relation to the effects of current systems of production and consumption, implies sacrifice, or at least significant change, in the now. In James March's A Primer on Decision Making, he writes, "The immediacy and clarity of the present and nearby tend systematically to disadvantage the spatially and temporally distant." Also, "Correcting the bias is, however, complicated by the fact that favoring the clear and the close is sometimes necessary to survive. In that sense, at least, concerns about long-term and global intelligence must always be subordinated to valid concerns about short-term and local intelligence."

I think the key phrase is valid concerns. How is that judgment made, where is the line drawn between need/concern and want/desire, and how can people be persuaded to deem long-term effects 'valid' that will very likely not personally affect them?

Along the same lines, according to Gilbert in Stumbling on Happiness, when people think of distant past or future events they think abstractly about why; when thinking of events in the near past or future, people think concretely about how. For example, in a study, "when volunteers are asked to imagine themselves locking a door the next day, they describe their mental images with detailed phrases such as 'putting a key in the lock,' but when volunteers are asked to imagine themselves locking a door next year, they describe their mental images with vague phrases such as 'securing the house'." If so, even if people intend to change the way they behave for a long-term abstracted purpose, taking the concrete steps toward it each day could be a somewhat separate mental process requiring different motivation, feedback, or incentives.

"A coldly rationalist individualist can deny that he has any obligation to make sacrifices for the future."
-Ecologist Garrett Hardin

An appeal beyond the rational will very likely be necessary.

Becoming Ordinary: A Double-Take on Habituation

One of the reasons we buy new things is that we become bored with what we have. The object that at one time was novel transitions to mundane. On successive occasions of having a particular experience, Gilbert writes, "we quickly begin to adapt to it, and the experience yields less pleasure each time. Psychologists call this habituation, economists call it declining marginal utility." He suggests there are two mechanisms to counteract habituation - variety and time, although variety isn't necessary if there is sufficient time separating experiences.

Although Gilbert doesn't make the connection explicitly, presentism, or the tendency for current experience to influence one's views of the past and the future, also seems to play a role in stimulating purchases. Upon an initial novel experience with an object, we assume we will continue to have the same positive feelings for long after we purchase it - forgetting to take habituation into account. Gilbert does propose that comparisons have a similar effect. When considering the purchase of a new item, we compare it to our current, habituated, mundane possession - rendering the new, novel and/or the current, outdated. However, we fail to consider that after purchase and the discarding of the old, the delight produced by that initial contrast is gone. Styling, and perceived obsolescence, takes advantage of this phenomenon to persuade essentially unnecessary upgrade purchases.

Gilbert's theories don't sufficiently explain the existence of favorite, long-standing, frequently used possessions, as he doesn't account for contained memory, attachment, and meaning in objects. However, Michael Pollan, in Omnivore's Dilemma, proposes a framework for eating that transfers well to objects. (One of many concepts in this book that translates smoothly into material culture.) He suggests humans' "innate neophilia - the pleasure of variety, and neophobia - the comfort of the familiar," motivate the contradictory inclinations for the new and the known. We sometimes seek the excitement of novel experiences and stimulations and other times prefer the safe reassurance of the familiar.

A New Material?

Can I create a new material that is recyclable, non-composite, or renewable that shows wear, records use, or develops patina? This Eindhoven student created a new material, a 'yarn' from newsprint, to produce objects.

What is Wear?

A friend just told me about his father's truck. It has over 300,000 miles on it and a couple interesting wear marks on the interior from being used so much. The edge of the driver's side seat is rubbed bare from getting into the tall vehicle. Also, the middle section of the front bucket seat shows wear from the driver's arm resting there. These examples remind me that wear isn't just a recording of the object's life, but often is direct evidence of people's use, behavior, and interaction.

In Search of Authenticity

In the Regina Bendix book, In Search of Authenticity, she writes, "Authenticity is generated not from the bounded classification of an other, but from the probing comparison between self and other, as well as between external and internal states of being."

According to her, authenticity isn't an objective characteristic, but a judgment made by each consumer if a product aligns with their belief system and identity.

Manufacturing Desire and Shaping Identity

I believe brands provide information to consumers and attempt to manufacture desire within them. Consumers choose, through purchase and use, to incorporate the associations, connotations, feelings, and status that they believe is conveyed by a brand within their own identity. Consumers use objects and possessions to communicate who they are to others and form their own self-image.

Personally, I am typically reluctant to own items that loudly advertise themselves, like a t-shirt with a massive Nike swoosh or glasses with a bold D&G on the temple. I sometimes remove labels that are visible even if I like the company, like the Coal winter hat I have. Most of the things I own are quiet self-advertisers, however, there are a few items that I don't mind having their logo showing, probably because I relate strongly to the company and product. For example, my Freitag bag and Sigg bottle both have branding visible, although relatively subtle, on their exterior. I imagine these brands closely align with who I think I am and how I want others to view me.

Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers

This book by Leonard Koren is a fantastic brief overview of the wabi-sabi aesthetic. I found the following excerpts particularly valuable and relevant.

Things wabi-sabi are expressions of time frozen. They are made of materials that are visibly vulnerable to the effects of weathering and human treatment. They record the sun, wind, rain, heat, and cold in a language of discoloration, rust, tarnish, stain, warping, shrinking, shriveling, and cracking. Their nicks, chips, bruises, scars, dents, peeling, and other forms of attrition are a testament to histories of use and misuse.

"Things wabi-sabi are appreciated only during direct contact and use."

And maybe most importantly, things wabi-sabi are simple: "Pare down to the essence, but don't remove the poetry."

Raw Denim Values

The values that I identify with in raw denim:

Durability - These jeans are meant to last years - even with everyday use. The seeking of wear, only acquired through extended, repeated use encourages keeping and using them for a long time.

Conservation - Energy required to wash and sand most jeans isn't wasted. These are processes that attempt to create the illusion of long-term wear, but greatly decrease the lifespan of the product.

Authenticity - The wear marks of raw denim are legitimate, 'earned' evidence of commitment to an object and a process.

Individuality - Because the denim isn't pre-washed or pre-worn, the jeans break in and conform to the owner's body - permanently making them uniquely theirs.

History - The jeans become a record of the events and objects in one's life, with physical evidence of the bike crash, spray paint can explosion, or cell phone.

Relationship Cycles

There is a common path that a relationship with an object can take - markedly similar to relationships with people. First, we see, covet, or desire - the crush. Then we research, read reviews, and shop around - flirting and initial dates. Next comes purchase - committed serious dating, but still very much in the honeymoon phase. Adaptation and possibly the onset of mundanity - marriage. As many marriages end in divorce, an object relationship is fairly likely to end with disposal, or at least an extended separation in the closet or basement, while a new object takes its place. Fairly rare is the reconnection or revitalization of the relationship.

Materials, Wear, Beausage, and Wabi-Sabi

Continuing the post about the impact of material choice on an object, the physical material of the object also has the potential to extend and deepen the human-object relationship. It can become a visual and haptic recording of its story and use, literally aging with its user. However, there is a key difference between materials wearing in and wearing out. Natural materials, like leather, denim, and wood, can age with dignity, becoming more beautiful over time. Grant Petersen, founder of Rivendell Bicycles, and designer of the renowned RB-1 Bridgestone, created the portmanteau beausage to describe the beauty that can develop over time through the use of a product. Grant said, "In general, real materials develop beausage, and synthetics look like old junk." These synthetics, instead of developing a patina and a recorded history of its 'life', just look dirty. Even though we might have a plastic computer mouse that still works, we replace it because it looks grimy and stained. But there are ways to design plastics that acknowledge the inevitability of wear. This concept car design understands that bumpers will get scratched and worn.

The Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi accepts the transience and embraces the beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete". The wabi-sabi aesthetic recognizes that time will pass and materials will wear - and designs for it.

The simplicity of wabi-sabi is best described as the state of grace arrived at by a sober, modest, heartfelt intelligence…Usually this implies a limited palette of materials. It also means keeping conspicuous features to a minimum. But it doesn’t mean removing the invisible connective tissue that somehow binds the elements into a meaningful whole. It also doesn’t mean in any way diminishing something’s “interestingness”, the quality that compels us to look at that something over, and over, and over again.

In addition to the source of the above passage, Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, I should look at About Time and Eternally Yours: Design in Time, a collection of writings on product endurance and durability.

How simple is too simple?

Don Norman makes the claim, in this essay, that simplicity is overrated. According to his research, people will often buy products with more features, even if they are more complicated. Consumers feel like they are getting more for their money, even though these features will probably never be used. Fewer features imply less control and less value to many users.

I should also read Don Norman's Emotional Design.

Investigation Possibilities:

Document my own relationship with my raw denim. I can take photos that record the wearing in of my jeans.

Document relationship with a new object. I can find something that I would love to have and document my thoughts and feelings as I research, covet, purchase, unbox, use, and become accustomed to the object.

Compile photos of objects (and the actual objects, when possible) that have gained character, developed a patina, endured over time, depict beausage, and embody wabi-sabi.

Synthesis: Designing for Endurance

After realizing in class today that most of the ideas I've written about so far are very interconnected, I need to try to define, and continue to refine, my project concept:

I intend to investigate the cycle of human-object relationships to enhance, extend, and enrich the experience. A designer can strengthen this relationship through need, attachment, meaningfulness, identification, reliability, usefulness, appreciation, excitement, beauty, unexpectedness, and change.

What is designing for endurance, or anti-obsolescence design? Through material and design choices can we not only design for long life, but also easily reuse (and not downcycle) the object's material should its usefulness expire? Our current economic model relies on planned obsolescence. What kind of business model does anti-obsolescence create? Tony Fry's Redirective Design Manifesto lists several methods for designing for sustainment: eliminating, combining, dematerializing, revitalizing, sharing, and creating smarter longer lasting things. But all of these mean less stuff. We know making less is good for the earth, but how is selling less good for business?

Too Much Information?

In what ways has easy access to so much information, much of it for free (Project Gutenberg, NASA digital elevation maps, baseball statistics, Wikipedia, etc.), changed the way we live, consume, think, communicate, and value? For example, does not knowing matter when it is so easy to know something? I think this has, in a way, killed trivia. Before the internet, Trivial Pursuit was a phenomenon because it was a novel information source - now it is a sad box of mostly expired information. Coudal had a trivia contest a couple of years ago, except they vetted the questions, making sure the information wasn't on the internet - until they posted the answers. How long will it be until every known thing is searchable and knowable?

Can design reject itself?

This article on Design Observer is about the state of graphic design and illustration, but mentions a book by John Carey called What Good are the Arts? In it, the author contends that literature is the pre-eminent art form because:

it can criticize itself. Pieces of music can parody other pieces, and paintings can caricature paintings. But this does not amount to a total rejection of music and painting. Literature, however, can totally reject literature, and in this it shows itself more powerful and self-aware than any other art.

I have no desire to jump into the 'art or design' fray, but I think it does provoke an interesting question: Can a designed object "totally reject" design? I'm not sure what rejecting design would entail (maybe reading the self-rejection of literature would be helpful?), but it could be a compelling investigation.

Human-Object Relations

Objects play signficant roles in our lives. But there are two ends of the spectrum of human-object relations: the extreme and the mundane. At the extreme, there exists the super-collectors, addicts, and brandwhores that actively consume, use, and collect. As mentioned in the brand allegiance post, user forums are a great source of information about these relationships. At the mundane, the relationship is so passive, the objects are so much a part of our world, that we do not acknowledge them. Fukasawa and Morrison call these objects Supernormal and Bruno Munari called them anonymous. But by any name these "quietly extraordinary" objects are so essential and pure that they are invisible. However, these are the most enduring objects because they are timeless and never go out of fashion.

Revitalizing the Lost, Forgotten, and Discarded

While writing a short bio for the Industry Projects class with Danese, I was reflecting on past projects to find common threads in my work. I realized that my best projects have involved revitalizing lost, forgotten, or discarded objects, crafts, and practices via new contexts. I think this continues the ideas in the previous post about retro. What is the appeal of the archaic and obsolete? How can we utilize objects that already exist and make them interesting again? The current rate of obsolescence means we have a massive supply of materials that are no longer wanted. However, the recently out of fashion, by definition, can't be cool. Objects seem to need to fade away before they have a chance to be appreciated again. How long does that take, and can a designer shorten the time needed by placing it in the right context?

Originals and Reproduced 'Retro'

Deadstock (and some used) Nike waffle trainers from the early 80s had been selling for $100-200 dollars for years on Ebay. I bid on a few pairs but never was willing to spend what the auctions eventually reached. I'm sure there was some aspect of their rarity that made them appealing, but when Nike started released a whole line of vintage trainers a couple years ago, I had little interest in either. Since one couldn't differentiate the originals from the nearly identical and common repros, the originals lost any cachet they had. And the repros weren't cool because they seemed like such a blatant marketing campaign - they came with pre-stained laces (that were actually dyed), yellowed rubber, and purposefully inconsistent sewing. Although some of the marketing materials were humorous, it felt like Nike didn't get why people liked the originals. I must not speak for the public though, because I think they sold fairly well.

Part of the reason people like things that aren't made anymore is because they aren't made anymore.

Value of Things

Christine Atha, in her design historian candidate talk, mentioned the difference in the value of things (goods or materials) in the West vs. the developing world. Because of the abundance of objects, we often don't conserve, respect, or appreciate the things that surround us. In the U.S. we had to learn, especially since World War II, how to use (throw away) all the new disposable items, like paper towels and food packaging. Things and material lost value. I should read the rest of Waste and Want, by Susan Strasser, if I decide to go this direction. Chapter Seven quotes historian John A. Kouwenhoven from 1959:

A commitment to democracy - and a certain indifference to waste and untidiness - are prerequisite to abundance ... waste is as much a result of democracy as abundance.

How can Americans relearn not to take material (and natural capital) for granted?

Multifunctionality vs. Particularity

While working on the Danese project this semester, we've been thinking a lot about combining functions and breaking out of typologies by focusing on behavior. However, targeting one very specific behavior and function is also intriguing. The philosophy of Unix software development is "Do one thing, and do it well." A great example of this in objects is Tomas Gabzdil Libertiny's Writing Table No. 3.

The top of the large wood frame table is made of thousands of strips of paper that form a forgiving surface designed solely for writing. Other behaviors, like eating, are implicitly discouraged because of the pristine, white, uncleanable material. Another interesting aspect of this project is the way in which objects can communicate their intended use.

Particularity is a refreshing approach compared to today's ubiquity of feature creep and multifunction.

Impact of Materials

This might be more of an investigation, but producing a set of objects in a single material, or one object in multiple materials could be interesting. It has the advantage of reducing complexity, as in either project, there is a significant constant. The form of many objects is determined by the material, so substituting another material can make for compelling, awkward, or surprising results. A good example of this is Maarten Baas's Plastic Chair in Wood. The same object in several materials could be another method of showing how much the material can change the nature of the object.

The Futile Pursuit of Happiness

Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert's book, Stumbling on Happiness, discusses the circumstances and conditions in which people incorrectly predict their future emotional states. Although our ability to imagine the future - which guides us in our decision making between multiple possibilities - is what defines our humanness, we are actually very poor forecasters. Our imagination fails us in three ways: it fills in and leaves out details without telling us, it projects the present onto the future, and it fails to recognize that things will look different once they happen.

I will describe the most compelling ideas in this book in future posts.

Human Adaptability

Human beings, as a species, have a remarkable ability to adapt: to environments, to conditions, to circumstances, to conveniences, and to technologies. With relation to products, what is the rate at which the things we buy become ordinary (or necessary)? And then, once we have lost our innocence, is it possible to retrieve? Can something stay fresh and new? If so, how? Today, because of fashion, trends, and technological advancements, products become outdated practically instantly. This system of production and consumption that industrial design (and styling) has driven is obviously unsustainable.

In Bruce Sterling's Shaping Things, he calls on designers to guide the next, dematerialized, technocultural revolution (after Artifacts, Machines, Products, and Gizmos) of Spimes. Sterling defines a technocultural revolution as when that technoculture cannot voluntarily return to the previous technocultural condition. Can the networked set of sensors and data that define Spimes be a key to 'living objects' to which we can't adapt and therefore don't need replacing?

Brand Allegiance

Why do people have allegiances to brands? How are these loyalties cultivated, developed, and maintained? Is allegiance to anti-brands, like American Apparel and the Black Spot shoe, the same as allegiance to branded products? I still need to read No Logo (it's on our bookshelf) and should look at Adbusters and brand forums like mynudies.com. Consumer organized web forums on brands and products are fascinating, here is a quote from the front page of mynudies:

What is Nudie Jeans?
Nudie is the "naked truth about denim". Indigo is the living color that fades and together with your lifestyle gives denim its character. The longer they live the more character they get. Besides leather, only denim has the ability to age so beautifully - formed by its user into a second skin. Jeans are a lot more than just a piece of clothing; a pair of jeans is like a second skin, naked and personal = Nudie.

The provenance and movement of goods in the modern (and, yes, flat) world.

Goods have traversed the globe for centuries, but never at the pace, volume, and complexity that they do today - much of the reason why it is so difficult (impossible?) to accurately calculate carbon footprint. I should read The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, if I want to proceed with this idea.

I am very interested in the 'life' of products - not only trying to design for long life (endurance or anti-obsolescence), but also the extraordinary tale of history, knowledge, and capability that each product tells. Getting an item from the thrift store, for example, is always interesting because often there is some evidence of where or when it was made. But the mystery of how it got to that place, where it has been, and how it has affected the people it's come into contact with is largely unknown. Each thing has a unique story, and more often than not, little of that story is known. When more is known, like some of the items on "Antiques Roadshow," it often makes for a very compelling narrative.

What is mainstream, or mass market, product design today?

From the IDSA portfolio review of 3/8/08 at UIC. A couple of reviewers, young professionals in ID, mentioned my portfolio pieces should be more mainstream. In today's Long Tail world, what defines mainstream anymore? Ralph Gilles, VP of Design at Chrysler, in a talk at SAIC said they produce some of their models expecting them to sell less than 20000 units per year. The trend seems to favor more targeted and specialized products.

Update 11/10/2008: Or maybe not.

Intentions and Goals

This blog is intended to document the process of my Master's Thesis in Designed Objects at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I think the exercise of writing, analyzing, compiling, distilling, and recording will be valuable throughout this process.

The first series of posts will describe the ideas for thesis projects I think have the most potential from the list I have compiled since March of 2008.

The next set will delve into the research and investigations for this project.

And the final section will record my work and progress to the ultimate outcome of the thesis.