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

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.

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.