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)?
I think it is challenging yet rewarding to create something meaningful and long-lasting.
2) Watch the following video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88pGtW6oio
and post answers to the following seven questions on your LP.
1) How would you describe Nagaoka’s “non-designing” design practices?
Nagaoka’s “non-designing” design practices refer to the regeneration design. That is to say, designers reproduce new products from original designed products and working on the recreation process.
2) How do your opinions of “good” design compare with Nagaoka’s? Would you define good design differently, how so?
Personally, I also tend to define good design as something new and original, which is quite different from Nagaoka’s “non-designing” design practice or long life design. After watching the video, I might tend to define good design differently by rethinking about the significance of designs.
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 think these ideas are applicable to other countries too. The evidence is that people tend to get attracted by products that have profound and unique meanings to themselves, such as special gifts and souvenirs.
4) What kind of design do you think appeals to young people today?
As for the young people today, I think most of them will be attracted by new and technology-based designs, especially some things that have never been created before.
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?
Yes, I totally agree with such a claim. The reason is that when designers stay devoted and show their care for customers in personal designs, their final works will long-lasting and the customers are very likely to get touched and use those objects with care. As a result, the willingness to create better designs and respect good designs can contribute to the new form of prosperity.
6) What do you think of the student projects shown at the end of the program?
The student projects shown at the end of the program is enlightening and helpful to promote the new design concept of long life design and to motivate the younger generation to attach more importance to recreation of existing designs. Nevertheless, it may hold back those who wish to create new and original designs.
7) Do you consider yourself a long-life designer? Would you like to become one?
It depends. I may not stick to social trends or popular elements during the design process. Nevertheless, I do not consider myself as a long-life designer as I may not restrict myself to recreation of the existing and fabulous works.
8) How might the concept of Long Life design be useful to designers working within the constraints of the Anthropocene?
Designers working within the constraints of the Anthropocene can gain a new insight and inspirations from the concept of long life design and relevant research.
Reference:
You Tube. (2014). Design Talks Long Life Design. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88pGtW6oio.
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.
One of the most impressive design that I admire from my home country is the Bronze Tree of Sanxingdui. This object is 3.95 meters in height, rising almost 3.65 meters from its circular base to the top of its branches. Therefore, it is a life-size fruit tree. Each branch terminates in one piece of fruit that is cloaked in ornate and cast-bronze leaves. However, the bronze melting technique and the profound meanings it convey have long been stirring up public interest.
4) Read the following article on kintsugi 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?
Yes. In fact, such a technique has been created and used in China for thousands of years. The cultural and design values that enable such a process of repair like kintsugi to be practiced and refined over hundreds of years is the cherish for the original works and the passion for recreation.
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?
My question is how the creator comes up with such an innovative idea. It feels so challenging yet accomplishing to try and grow my own material from tea and sugar, and the biggest challenge may lies in the fear of uncertainty and failure.
