Video Reflections

Space/Materiality:Culture

Assignment #15:Ted Talks

1. William McDonough

William McDonough is an architect and a designer that studies and works to create a greener and more sustainable life for us to follow in the near future. His prime goal is to help us change the very infrastructures of cities. As he had said in the closing of his speech in his design, “We’ve lifted the earth up onto the roofs.” McDonough’s talk was centered around the point and mistakes that have lead us to endanger ourselves and future generations of children and all species that thrive on this planet. While watching this video I realized that most of us including myself don’t know who designed many of the everyday objects that we use today such as the rubber duck, McDonough has made it clear in this presentation that the design of the past needs to change. Some of the things that we live off of today actually cause us more harm than we may think and I believe that realizing this so late is the biggest problem.

2. Alex Steffen

Alex Steffen is an activist. His goal is to inspire us to create better opportunities in creating a more sustainable future. This is exactly what he did during this Ted Talk. Steffen tells stories about the problems and issues that populations are facing around the planet. However to counter this and show us that we have a future that can be better than what we are facing right now he tells us about the exploration and progress that is already going on. As well as helping us understand that that the ecological footprint that that are leaving on the planet right now can be easy reduced if we put of minds to it. My favorite part of Steffen’s presentation was when he spoke about landmine-detecting flowers. This process which many people are already aware of is used by farmers to know where landmines are planted along their grounds so that they can avoid them safely. I found this to be one of the most interesting inventions I have yet heard of.

3. Suzanne Lee

Out of the three Ted Talks that I have watched about sustainable design and products Suzanne Lee’s presentation was the most impactful. As a fashion designer there is a wast verity of materials that can be used to create the clothes we wear but what I already know is that today fast fashion is one of the planets greatest consumers and waste producers. Therefore the discoveries that dissenters like Suzanne make always seem unique and very out there and creative when it comes to creative sustainable wear. Lee’s study of micro-organisms and organic materials has stemmed into creating the basis of her project and study of these bacteria creating our clothes. Not only is Lee’s form of fashions sustainable in which it creates 0% waste and 0 emissions but it is a type of process that if not adapted by fashion it has a the possibility of being adapted into a different area of our world’s System’s. Suzanne’s projects have made it far but they still have some way to go seeing that they are yet water and sweat resistant. And even thought her studies are definitely unique and interesting I don’t think I could see myself wearing these type of organic clothes anytime in the future.

Class Videos

1. Haas Brothers’ Accretion Vase Production Process

The Hass Brothers Vase Production video was the most interesting that I viewed. In this short film the Hass Brothers took us through a simple and quick documentary as to how they made their vases, one of which is currently on display at the Cooper Hewitt Museum. I found their process of creating textures very creative especially since I had just recently seen the pice myself at the Cooper Hewitt. Seeing the “behind the scenes” work and the final product together really put the construction and design of the vase into perspective.

2. The Campana Brothers

The Campana Brothers have shown to have a very unique approach to their products and designs. They look at minimalist culture to produce a verity of different and creative piece all of which transform some of our daily products such as furniture and clothes. Some of their projects that the video and their interview gave us an inside look into were their redesigned chairs. What I found more fascinating was they they adapted a verity of materials to create these chairs and where able to make them functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. In the third video we see a close up of a chair made of rope and layers upon layers of loops and knots, this has so far been my favorite piece presented in their videos.

3. Vivienne Westwood: Ethical Fashion Africa Project

In this video fashion is taken into a new spotlight. It focuses on fashion being the foundation of helping people develop experience, skill and understanding in producing and manufacturing their own products. For countries and people who need extra help, this video explains that, these countries don’t need charity they need help gaining the skills to start their own business and trade. The African Project for me has shed light on helping under developed countries create jobs and economies. For people to focus on interaction and communication not only with themselves but with the outside world as well. The African Project is also influenced but sustainability and climate change which makes it even more important because it helps people by not further damaging this planet.

Assignment #15B

1. Tim Brown: Design thinking

Design Thinking refers to the different and many creative strategies that designers use during their process of designing. Tim Browns lecture is about using design thinking and ways to use it. As Brown said at the beginning of his lecture, ” what design thinking does is it encourages us to think divergently” and “create new choices that haven’t existed before.” It’s there analytically to push us to pull apart any given problem and solve for it in a sequence and in various pieces and if you are lucky about your solution will be able to put everything back together. Design thinking in a way is a process in which we are supposed to allow ourselves got gain time management and efficiency in producing products. Browns’ lecture was definitely informative as he spoke about the different ways and situations in which design thinking could produce results in creating solutions. Our design process needs us to be creative however we need to be able to connect out ideas to one another, form pattern and present them. Design thinking pushes us to push out designs into the world whether they are completely ready or not. To get feed back a reaction, to improve our concepts and make them even better then they original were. Design thinking is a strategy that shouldn’t be turned down by designers but adapted and used to help them in their works.

2. Janine Benyus: When solving a design problem, look to nature first

Janine Benyus’ talk about biomimicry was the most interesting video that I watched out of the three. As Benyus had mentioned at the very beginning of her speech, “biomimicry is a new discipline”. This is a type of design that focuses on us looking back to our roots to the organisms that had managed to achieve design for their survival without the use of materials that hurt the environment. I found it fascinated and eye opening when Benyus pointed out that before us there were other organisms that had figured out how to live their life just like we had. Biomimicry is now in action and a form of design that many designers and companies are adapting. Benyus gave some examples of this the wasps that built the home on her house, the beetle which made itself waterproof and even the shark that had made it’s skin repel bacteria. Designers are interpreting animals and organisms into their designs just like engineers of J.R. West, the people who made the bullet train and used the studies of king fishers to make their train quiet when in motion. Janine Benyus’ talk made me see that the study of the environment and it’s organisms could in many cases be very influential and helpful to design.

3. Design for the Other 90%

Design for the 90% focuses on the people in the world who live in underdeveloped and developing countries. They are places where design makes a huge difference to the lifestyles and everyday actions of the people who live there. Projects for the 90% are simple yet life changing. The most important traits they have are that they’re cheap and accessible but at the same time can be beautiful, sustainable and integrated into a community. I found this video interesting because if focuses on making design according to the needs of the people. For example the water barrel that was designed for women and girls to use for them to be able to travel easier to get water from wells and rivers. Or another example is the filter straw designed for the drinking water in countries who get their supplies straight from the streams. What I find very important about these designs is that they focus on not only sustainability for a number of years but they are made to be easy and understandable to build, handle and transport.

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