1) Please post documentation of your experiment with either kombucha leather or natural dyeing. How did it go? Are you pleased with your results? What challenges did you face? What would you do differently next time?
Yes, I am pleased with my results. My partner and I used purple broccolis, and I was surprised how the color came out so differently because I was expecting to get purple color schemes. Next time I would try dying on different natural dye fabrics.
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?
I enjoyed natural dye and natural water color making. I think those are the most useful / practical skills that I could use in the future. I think I am doing my best but I would like to know more about the general information/explanation when we are learning new concepts because I am interested in getting more background knowledge of what we are doing.
3) Please watch the following design talks video on Regeneration Design and answer the following questions on your LP.
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?
Yes, I agree because I see most of my friends (my generation) consuming so much on buying new and trendy items. Also in stores I see so many products under sales/ cleaning up, which I think is because there were too much production than consumption.
2) What was the transformative experience that made Matsuda realize he had a responsibility for what he designed?
When he was walking along the river in Kyoto, he saw some trash there and he realized it was the washing machine that he had designed. Since then, he thought that designers have responsibility for their design.
3) Do you think you would take better care of objects if you had to repair them?
Yes I think so because it takes time to repair and I think it is best to maintain products long without repairing if I can.
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)?
Straws, because straw is an agricultural byproducts that could easily return to the natural cycle later. In Korea, there is a traditional craft method using straws to make shoes called “Jipsin”. I think this method could be used to make other products as well.
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 think designers should definitely consider the ability for their designs to be repaired because it is designer’s responsibility to make products last longer. Designing products with excellent quality is a way of extending the life of a design. Therefore I think it is important to make products easily repaired in the initial design process.
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?
I agree with what he said about creating something that is simple and don’t use a lot of resources because a lot of resources and materials being used nowadays are hazardous to the environments (such as chemicals used to dye clothes). Another thing that he said is using natural materials, which I also agree. Practicing using environmentally friendly materials are especially important for young designers who will lead the future design industries. Using natural materials will let thrown out materials to be easily recycled.
7) What are you overall thoughts on this video? Did you enjoy it?
Yes I enjoyed the video. There were many ways to practice “regeneration” that I could not imagine. Masuda’s designs were very creative and I thought I should also learn his philosophy as a student designer.
