Article Response

1) The MacBook I am currently using to respond to this article is a great example of this phenomena. Ever since the new MacBook Pro with touch screen came out, I’ve grown increasingly more careless of my perfectly fine Retina. The sides of my screen have strange black edges that are unable to be removed, my keyboards are always dirty, even my computer charger went missing for a number of times. Come to think of it, the only two things that are able to constantly make me feel this way are clothing and technology.

2) Because my project does not have any upgrade features and is only valuable due to sentimental reasons, I don’t think it encourages  this kind of mentality.

Design Brief Draft

1) Ancestry Diary

2) For this project, I am making a journal that is made of recycled paper and kombucha leather. The initial inspiration for my design came from actually looking for diaries online and not being able to find anything that looks like what I have in my mind (various kinds of colors and page design). Therefore, before I had even begun with this project, I already wanted to make this myself during free time. The reason why I chose this design particularly for this class is because I can source all the materials locally from school using the materials I already have. Another reason is because of my identity. Growing up as a South African born Taiwanese with Hong Kongnese siblings and received international school education all my life, I never felt a sense of belonging one country or one identity. With the rise of interracial marriage and immigration, I feel like my future offsprings might experience this more often. By writing down these messages, hopefully those that have to experience what I’ve experienced will feel less disoriented and more included.

3) If there are no accidents, this diary will not only benefit me for 50 years, but my entire bloodline until the end of time. In terms of the change aspect, this diary will serve me by allowing me to reach to a different conclusion to life every decade and letting myself see that transition overtime.

4) Because of the purpose of this diary, I feel like it might help promote resiliency within my family more than it would among other unrelated people. I can definitely see how sharing this book can help bond my descendants and making sure that different families will still find the time to stay connected despite how far apart and busy they might be from each other. This is especially important to the Taiwanese culture.

5) The use of kombucha leather may be directly addressing to animal extinction and animal cruelty, since most leather comes from animals. The use of recycled paper may be addressing to deforestation.

6) The materials I intend to use for this project include: Coconut oil, beeswax, kombucha leather, recycled paper, food coloring, and sewing kit. If food coloring does not work well, I might be forced to incorporate a small amount of water color paint. Generally, most of these materials can be sourced locally and are both sustainable and healthy to the human body.

7) This design matches nine of the ten criteria, which are 2. Cost, 3. Sales, 4. Manufacturing, 5. Function, 6. Safety, 7. Planned Production, 8. User, 9. Environment, and 10. Design. The only criteria it does not match is 1. Repair. Since this design is a book. I doubt there will be many ways to repair this object. Regardless, I feel like the less “perfect” this design is, the more aesthetically pleasing it becomes.