Mid-term reflection + Regeneration Design

1. How did it go? Are you pleased with your results? What challenges did you face? What would you do differently next time?

The process of natural dye was somewhat time-consuming, but my partner and I had much fun during the process, and we are pleased with our results. Some of the colors were unexpected, which I thought was interesting to look at and was a useful knowledge to have for the future purpose. We followed the instruction carefully and the process went smoothly, so we didn’t have many challenges. What we would do next time is maybe try different plants or fruits to get various results.

2. Write a short mid-term reflection.  What has been the most challenging part of the class so far? What have you enjoyed most?  Do you feel like you are gaining new, useful skills and practices?  Are you doing your best work?  What can I do to best support you in class for our remaining weeks? Additional questions/comments/feedback for me? 

So far, I think the class is great. I really enjoyed different experiments we did in the class including the lab and the natural dye, etc. I definitely think I gained some new skills and get to try different practices.

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?

I completely agree with him. As he said in the video, we are facing tremendous environmental problems on a global scale, and one of the main reasons why these issues happen is because mass production that was done by humans. Mass production produces massive wastes and pollutions.

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

Matsuda as an industrial designer realized that he has been producing countless new designs and products for the use of industry, but they were all decorative designs. He mentioned in the video about his personal experience in the 1990s when he was walking aside a river in Kyoto, he was annoyed why there was trash thrown away at this beautiful spot, and then he realized it was this washing machine that he designed. Matsuda came to the reality that new products being sold means the old ones go away, and as a designer, he thinks he has a huge responsibility for that.

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

I think so. If I repair something which means that I created new memories with the object, and this special relationship would make me take better care of the object.

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

One thing I can think of is the use of paper. A big reason why deforestation happens is we–as human beings–use massive papers every day and we also throw away massive papers every day. Instead of throwing those papers into the trash, maybe as a designer could come up with a way of reusing those papers and make it into daily products.

5) 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?

I definitely agree that a designer should consider the ability for their designs to be repairable because that gives a product a longer life. A repairable design also is a way to save money for consumers. In the initial design process, considering understandable and appearance as part of the design also are ways that might help create fewer wastes.

6) 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?

He said that designers must create something simple which doesn’t use a lot of resources, and it is also important to focus on natural materials which means that the products don’t need extra efforts to go into recycling. He specifically mentioned the disaster happened in 2011, and I think especially with Japan, a country has limited resources, designers should consider how to save resources and design with natural materials. Therefore, I agree with Masuda’s points.

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

Overall, I enjoyed the video. Getting to know a designer from another field and how they see designs, I felt inspired.  The video mainly focused on how to design with less which I thought is unique and educational.