1) How do you as a designer want to skillfully and creatively meet the realities of the Anthropocene? (What kind of projects and actions do you think might be needed)?
Thinking as an artist, the way I meet the realities of the Anthropocene is knowing the materials I’m using, where they come from and the durability of them. As well as trying to produce the least amount of waste on the process of making my pieces. What I also already do is recycling pieces of metal that were found in trash or junk yards, and using them for my pieces.
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LONG LIFE DESIGN VIDEO
- How would you describe Nagaoka’s “non-designing” design practices?
I would say they’re really clever and thoughtful.
2) How do your opinions of “good” design compare with Nagaoka’s?
Would you define good design differently, how so?
I don’t think I would define good design differently. Taking in consideration simplicity and a combination of form and function, I feel like I have the same opinion on what “good” design is.
3) Nagaoka says that we have entered a new era where people want to buy things that mean something to them, that truly matters, and that we have entered a new era. Do you feel these ideas are specific to Japan or are applicable to other countries too? What evidence do you have of your opinion (what makes you say yes or no)?
I feel like this idea is only applicable to Japan. From what I see it’s still the world of mass production and mass consumption. I can tell that by simply looking around and noticing that every person has a phone that was released within at least two years ago.
4) What kind of design do you think appeals to young people today?
Minimal, yet modern, functional, practical and specially accessible.
5) Near the end of the program, the host of the program says the future of design could be, “people who make things with care and people who use them with care” and that this could be a new form of prosperity. Do you agree? Why?
I do agree with this statement. I believe that people, including designers and consumers should be more thoughtful when making decisions such as “why am I making this” and “why do I need this”.
6) What do you think of the student projects shown at the end of the program?
They seem to be very well done. I found them really interesting
7) Do you consider yourself a long-life designer? Would you like to become one?
I don’t consider myself a long-life designer because I’m not a designer and I don’t plan on becoming one at all. But I do think a lot about the materials and durability of the pieces I create as an artist.
8) How might the concept of Long Life design be useful to designers working within the constraints of the Anthropocene?
Long life design goes against the idea of mass production and mass consumption and therefor it has last production of waste, which relates to the idea of sustainability that designers working within the constraints of the Anthropocene should take in consideration.
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3) What is a beautiful object/design that you admire from your home country that has been in production for longer than fifty years? Write a brief description (around a paragraph) about this object’s history on your Learning Portfolio and explain what you think makes it so resilient (able to still be in production for over 50 years). Include an image on your LP and please bring the object with you to class next week (if possible) for presentations.
I got this specific leather wallet around two years ago, even though mine is new and has a specific print in it, I know that it is a type of product that has been in production for more than 50 years. The design I have now got popular right after the World War II ended, with the resurgence of fashion and economic growth.
4) Read the following article on K. Lacquer, the base of kintsugi, has been used for repair for nearly 1000 years in Japan. Are there similar practices of repair in your home country? What kinds of design and cultural values do you think enables a process of repair such as kintsugi to be practiced and refined over hundreds of years?
I don’t think there are similar practices in my home country. I think that what helps a design process to be practiced and refined over hundreds of year is its success on function and appearance. The Kintsugi technique is not just practical because it repairs a broken object, but the result is really pretty and aesthetically pleasing.
5) Read through the kombucha leather protocol carefully. What questions do you have? Then, start growing this natural material. Answer on your LP. How does it feel to try and grow your own material from tea and sugar? What do you think will be the biggest challenges for this project?
It feels right, knowing that materials such as leather can be manufactured at home and simply like this is very inspiring. I think the biggest challenge for this project would be making the final piece using the leather.
