(1)

At the start of the program Industrial Designer Fumikazu Masuda says, “we cannot continue like this, there is no future in mass production and consumption.” Do you agree?

There is no doubt that mass production and consumption isn’t the future for the planet. Nonetheless, in my personal opinion, for those who are already struggling financially or can’t find find jobs, sustainability might be a luxury to think about. This economic method of mass production and consumption has created many jobs for many people and especially so in certain countries. Without the profits that come with this type of model, I wonder if job opportunities will decrease. Although sustainability is important, I don’t think people will actually have time to think about the matter if they are already struggling to feed themselves and their families.

What was the transformative experience that made Matsuda realize he had a responsibility for what he designed?

The Ishinomaki tsunami in 2011 is the incident that made Matsuda aware of how little resources Japan actually has, and therefore how important designing responsibly actually is. I think one of the reasons why countries such as Japan have been able to consistently design creative, sustainable, and innovative things is due to the natural landscapes and resources provided by their countries. In a way, hardships and difficulties do encourage creative problem solving and innovation.

Do you think you would take better care of objects if you had to repair them?

I think this is very circumstantial. I think it depends on what the motivation behind repair was. The object I repair for a school assignment of course will not be as important to me personally as the object I repair because I really want to. Nonetheless, an interesting observation is that if someone else I care about instead of myself repair something, that object will probably mean a great deal to me.

What are examples of materials that you could design with today, that could later return to the “natural cycle” (such as the bamboo that Masuda mentions)?

Adobe, cork, straw, clay, and coconut palm.

What are the two things that Masuda says designers should be mindful of when designing (see timecode 20:00)? Why does he say this is important? Do you agree?

I believe he mentioned three things Masuda said designers should be mindful of. The first thing he mentions is simple design that does not use up a lot of resources. The second thing is the ability for a design to be separated into individual parts. The third thing is the use of natural materials. I think these qualities are important to Masuda because he recognizes how reusing resources can directly save humans from ending up with nothing to use at all in the future, which I agree.

Masuda says, “nobody wants to leave the next generation with nothing but trash.” Do you think designers should consider the ability for their designs to be repaired, as part of their initial design process? What else might help create less waste?

Absolutely. In my opinion, I think every single technology that can be purchased should be able to be repaired. This will not only save customers time but also save the planet. As mentioned above, other initial design processes that can help create less waste include the use of natural resources and the simplification of designs.

What are you overall thoughts on this video? Did you enjoy it?

Not only did I enjoy the video, but I just generally appreciate how the instructor is showing us design and sustainability breakthroughs made by other countries. As an Asian student studying in the United States, watching a video like this can really help make sustainability more relatable and interesting to understand.

(2)

Which bacteria did you use and why?

I used all three (serratia marcescens, sarcina, and chromo violaceum) types of bacteria to paint, because I wanted to experiment with all the colors so the next time I paint with them I’ll have a better understanding.

How does the genotype of the bacteria constrain or expand your ability to “paint” with it?

Due to the genotype, we were only given around 3 shades of red, 1 shade of yellow, and 1 shade of purple, which was quite disappointing, because I was expecting more options.

Did you consider how temperature might influence how your paint would appear?

This was one of the biggest issue when I paint. For the luria broth petri dish, I was unsure whether I can mix serratia marcescens and sarcina with chromo violaceum, because the temperature I am suppose to put them in is different. I also did not attempt to use serrate marcescens due to the confusion in temperature. Nonetheless I followed the table provided on the projector, and hopefully the colors will appear.

Which petri dishes did you use and why?

For this project I used both LB and LB/AMP petri dishes because I wanted to see the variation in red when they came in contact with serratia marcescens. The red on LB is supposed to be lighter, whereas the red on LB/AMP is supposed to be darker.

Which components can be varied and which must remain stable?

Both the petri dish type and bacteria type can be varied. The only thing that should remain station is the temperature.

Which applicator(s) did you use and why?

For 2/3 of the petri dishes, I used paint brush to brush over the background, then used toothpick to paint out the detail, because I thought this was the best combination of applicators to show a difference between the color and detail. The last petri dish was entirely done with toothpick, because I wanted to see the lines clearly.

What effect does the application have?

As I mentioned above about the background and detail, hopefully I will get a background color that fully covers the petri dish and detailed lines in the front that is clearly visible and distinguishable from the background color.

How did you control the amount of paint distributed?

While using the paint brush, I realized how it was incredibly difficult to control the amount of paint distributed. To begin with, the paint is absolutely transparent. Because of the way the light source was distributed, it was quite difficult to see exactly what I was painting. However, I did try to control the amount of paint by using toothpick, which I found to be a lot easier to do using something smaller like this.

Do you think your work can keep growing? What would make the paint “die”?

There are two things that I worry might make my paint die. Firstly, I might have accidentally put alcohol in one of my petri dish. Before I started using one of the paint brush, I forgot to clean the brush with paper towel. This might make a part of my painting disappear. Secondly, I worry that the temperature isn’t right, because it is not a factor that I can control after I leave the lab.

Hypothesize about the results of your choices in the lab. What do you expect to occur?

As I mentioned above, I am able to foresee two ways that my painting can be ruined. However, hopefully there will be at least one piece that works.

Are you enjoying the lab so far? What feedback do you have about the experience? 

This experience definitely was not as interesting as I thought. As a student who enjoys and would like to think is good at fine arts, I find bacteria painting to be very difficult and somewhat boring. One of the biggest reason is that I don’t get to see the painting immediately and make adjustments to it. Secondly, I also thought the “canvas” and color options provided to us are way too limited, which made it difficult to create what I wanted.