Wilson 1 Nate Wilson ENG 367 Tues./Thurs.

3-8-11 Essay 1

Redesigning History: Blurring the Lines Between Design and Culture

Glancing down the timeline of technological advancement, it is easy to see that people of today are experiencing a true scientific Golden Age. Globalization has taken siege of minds and intellect, and, as the recent Dow commercials try to convey, there is a new element on the periodic table: the Human Element (Dow). Its an idea that seems to draw people of the world closer together. Industrial design in particular can no longer be about me or I in this new era. Information is everywhere and not taking the time to correctly integrate with society can cost companies millions. Even the common person, wielding the informational prowess of the Internet, stands a chance to get their ideas heard amongst the corporate juggernauts like never before. In the past, design was more about cost effectiveness. The idea was that society would adapt itself to any new design implementations that may be brought about. However, with technology and culture intermingling in new ways, the notion that they are mutually exclusive has never been more wrong. Designing a product shapes culture as much as culture shapes a product. As mankind has advanced culturally and scientifically there has been a construed theory that the design and implementation of technology shapes the social structures humans grow to live in. Take for example the Internet. Society was moving along just

Wilson 2 fine without it, but as soon as it was introduced it substantially altered the landscape of just about every single aspect of day to day life. Other inventions like the automobile have also dramatically changed the way mankind lives their lives, but the way the technology had evolved was not entirely free from cultural influence. This exact theory is the topic of discussion in an interview with Robert Pool, author of Beyond Engineering: How Society Shapes Technology, conducted by David Gergen. During their discussion Pool mentions that in the early stages of automobile manufacturing there were really no technological advantages between the steam and the internal combustion engine. However, society played a hand in the internal combustion engine emerging as the main form of engine today. [...T]he steam-powered car was originally built with an open boiler so that the water would boil off and create steam. Well, that was not a problem in New England because there were all these public horse troughs around, so you drive for twenty or thirty miles, stop, and fill up your water tank at a horse trough. But with [the] outbreak of hoof and mouth disease they closed the public horse troughs in New England, and all of a sudden you couldn't drive wherever you wanted because you would run out of water for your steam engine (Pool). In almost every case, an argument can be made that society has to choose to accept a technological advancement before it can even begin to have an effect. This alone means that culture plays a pivotal role in the design and development of all products. If hoof and mouth disease hadnt been around at that time, steam engines may very well be the model that cars were designed upon. Industrial designers cannot ignore the impact that

Wilson 3 society will ultimately make upon their products, especially in large corporations and companies where millions of dollars could be at stake. When designing a product, functionality is pivotal. It is the key ingredient for success. However, it is not the whole story. The documentary Objectified explores the design process of common things in everyday life. The film emphasizes that the way things are designed is incredibly important to how society reacts to that object. At the outset of the movie the narrator explains when you see an object, you make so many assumptions about that object in seconds. What it does, how well its going to do it, how heavy it is, how much you think it should cost (Objectified). The message a company tries to convey with their products very much depends on what the culture deems is acceptable. Initial impressions carry a lot of weight, with many different connotations that have to be taken into account. In this way, culture provides a strong bearing for the way that the design of a product ultimately turns out to be. Many companies, though, are able to bridge the gap between their technologys influence on culture and cultures impact on them. Apple for example, a company that Objectified focuses on for a segment, develops their products in sleek and elegant ways such that their merchandise implies top performance and functionality. People want something that isnt too complex and will also work at a high level. The implementation of Apples design gives an allure to their product before even picking it up or using the device because todays culture demands those things of their electronic gadgets. Apples business strategy is based upon providing the cutting edge technology that society demands in the first place, effectively merging the sway of technology with the influence of society.

Wilson 4 Other companies in Objectified like Smart Design, develop merchandise for the extremes as the middle will work itself out (Objectified). Smart Design noticed that a peeler is very hard to grip for someone with arthritis, an extreme example in this case. By developing a handle that could be more easily gripped by an arthritic hand, they in turn made it more readily useable for everyone, or the middle. On one hand Smart Design is crafting a new technology purely to a single type of person within society. On the other though, Smart Design has then created a better product overall for everyone, thus changing the makeup for the design of similar products in the future. Smart Designs approach requires that they let themselves be influenced by an extreme example in society and then in turn they can revolutionize that same product for everyone else. In any case, knowing what the customer wants means that the creative planning process can be better executed. Globalization and interconnectivity have made this assessment much easier in the past few years, and has even opened the gates to other smaller players in the design game. Outside the large corporations and companies of the world, small time designers and thinkers are starting to have some success in carrying out their ideas thanks to the expansive nature of technology. The blog The Russians Used a Pencil, written by Dan Provost, gives valuable insight into a young designers thoughts and ambitions. One article in particular really captures the cultural climate of today when it comes to the creative development process. Idea to Market in 5 Months: Making the Glif chronicles the conception of his product the Glif, an iPhone/iPod Touch stand. From the design phase, to manufacturing prototypes, to marketing and self promotion on a site called Kickstarter, to finally producing and selling the product, Dans story is one that is very unique outside this time period in history. He writes that [t]his turnaround, from idea

Wilson 5 to market in five months by two guys with no retail or manufacturing experience, signifies a shift in the way products are made and sold a shift only made possible in the last couple years (Provost). Further adding to this incredible story is that because global accessibility has reached unparalleled heights, Dan and his friend were able to have their prototypes built and shipped back to them from the Netherlands in merely 10 days. The Internet provides tools with which small, talented entrepreneurs like Dan can manage to bring to life their concepts without the help of a large company; and quickly too. As society moves forward, becoming more and more globalized and interconnected, tales like these will shift toward commonplace (Provost). Emerging trends in design have changed the face of technological advancement. Gone are the days when something is thrown into the foray solely because it works. No longer do corporations have monopolies on ideas and the manufacturing process because interconnectivity has put an end to it. The system by which humans have changed and adapted to the environment throughout history does not fit within the same constraints anymore. There is a new definition of progress that does not deem that mankind is required to fully adapt to the outside influence of technology. Instead, the cultural shaping of the design and implementation process has become a common theme. If the last few years have shown anything, progress can be achieved when design bends to the will of society; creating functional tools that not only work best, but also can be seamlessly integrated into culture.

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Works Cited
The Human Element/Dow Chemical Company. Advertisement. YouTube. 20 June 2006. Web. 7 Feb. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3byt7xMSCA>. Objectified. Dir. Gary Hustwit. Swiss Dots, 2009. Netflix. Muze Inc. Web. 7 Feb. 2011. Pool, Robert. "Beyond Engineering." Interview by David Gergen. Online NewsHour. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, 13 Feb. 1998. Web. 7 Feb. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/gergen/february98/pool_2-13.html>. Provost, Dan. "Idea to Market in 5 Months: Making the Glif." Web log post. The Russians Used a Pencil. 17 Jan. 2011. Web. 7 Feb. 2011. <http://www.therussiansusedapencil.com/>.