The Objectified

Every object speaks for itself, the moment we look at the product, we make a lot of assumptions about the product, like how heavy it is, how strong it is…etc. A product shows how it’s developed, manufactured. Considering the form, the material, how it connects to you, how you’ll be using it.

The aim of industrial design was to mass produce products. People tend to think a lot of mass produced products that are popular were not designed, like the Post-it notes. But almost everything that is around us is designed. Every object tells a story, I realize the Japanese toothpick was actually thought of and designed before it was being manufactured. How it was designed to actually break the back of the toothpick and use as a rest for the toothpick.

When we were given information about what we need to design, we usually get information about a targeted market, a targeted user. But when designing, what we should know are the extremes of that kind of user, designing the product for the extremes and allowing middle ones to adapt to it. Designing a more pleasurable ergonomic is important. For example, designing a product with a grip, it is better to do analysis on hands at where the grip and the hand come into contact. Using CAD and rapid prototyping to create different prototypes so that designers can actually try and feel if the design gives the pleasurable ergonomic grip needed.

I like how when the Macbook Pro design was being introduced, the designer was saying how some functions should only be there when it’s performing he showed an example on the Macbook, the indicator only appears when it needs to indicate the user. And when it’s not in use it cannot be seen on the product.

When we ask why a certain product is like that instead of something else, this will lead us to think towards improving the product, when we do mind maps, it leads us to a new part of the product that our minds never thought of, and that’s where the new design comes in.

The object should show what it does. Form following function was used to be the way of thinking when designing products and products are usually designed so that when it is made, a person who never used a product like that before will know what it is used for. But now it has slowly changed. Forms and functions don’t always work together.