Projects such as Utility Pets (above left) by Ellio Caccavale,
take us to new territories for products to happen. When "utility
pets replace normal domestic pets", one can raise his own animal
for a future organ transplant.
Aurance, by Tom Beestone, is a wearable device
that emits film-like atmospheric sounds. As the person speaks,
it enables the manipulating of one's sound "aura".
"How would a person convey or distort their public identity?"
he asks.
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As the summer weather crawls out of from behind the clouds, the
yearly harvest of design students ripens across the capital.
Eyes wet with nostalgia, Human Beans took a stroll around
the degree shows and made a stop at the world famous Royal
College of Art.
"You will love us and admire us and want to be our friends..."
the banner outside announces. "...We will inspire you
because we are the future..." Is that true? Hang on,
are we being hypnotized here? "...You will learn from
us and believe in us..." Well, most of the prominent
designers in the city seem to have stopped off at the RCA
at some point."... Come, take our hand, we are going
to show you our world..." Keeping a cool head, we stepped
inside the "Design Products" show.
The 30 or so graduating students offered up a wide range
of projects for our (non) consumption. From market ready products
to pure intellectual statement, it was all a bit heavier on
the questions than the answers. We've become used to seeing
design as a stylish way to solve problems, sometimes addressing
the right needs in real contexts. Here however, design is
not so much of an end but an ongoing research, an attempt
to question and provoke reactions.
The majority of projects are from a world where experience
and meaning have taken over the simple notion of need. Ron
Arad, course leader, hits the (gold plated) nail on the head
when he says they are 'props for a non-existent script'. Inspired
by embryonic trends or cultural factoids, the designers have
imagined new contexts for products to happen. Their concepts
leapfrog the commercial and cultural contexts of today's reality,
preferring to challenge issues of a fictional world. The outcome
is thought-provoking, even sometimes inspirational. However,
the products designed here are narrations; they are observations
and comments in themselves.
The most meaningful products in the show are built from small
ideas: they are quick, powerful and simple. One shot ideas
with a strong conceptual value. Their only purpose can be
to challenge ideas and values. Of course, products we don't
need don't make useless products. Further than material necessities,
they might improve our lives by reflecting it for
consideration.
"The overall image and the capacity of design to communicate
is far more important than the designs themselves." writes
Marloesten Bhömer, one of this year's Design Products
graduates. It's a fact that products are carriers of values
and ideologies, they communicate to us, and the graduating
students made full use of this opportunity. The result: challenging
products designed as communication media, potentially usable
sculpture...
Statements can be so easy to swallow when given a tangible
shape. But if products are only conceptually fulfilling, is
it still worth clogging our cupboards with them? Is the image
worth the purchase? In bypassing the idea of consumer demand
and jumping straight to hypothetic product typologies, the
context and the user got left behind. The products here seem
to be developed as lonely pieces of ephemera. If these guys
are for inspiration only, then who will do the real design?
Who creates props for our existing script and, more to the
point, who's writing it?
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In Two degrees out (above right), Dominic McCausland
set all his square tools to 88º instead of 90º, questioning
perceptions of square-ness and normality--apparently.
Weather tile reveals a pattern to indicate environmental conditions.
- Noahiro Seki.
Gold nails, a way to hide your precious metals-
Khashaya Naimanan.
Sticky barcodes - now you can afford what you
want - Robin Fulham
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