more than just tech
Above: A mezzaluna knife
Sometimes people ask me why industrial design? To which I usually respond, “I love to create. I Love form and function’s marriage. I love how its an art form you can use and break and rebuild and get dirty with.” My goals have been pretty straightforward these days, to end up designing technology. Technology mainly because I use it everyday and love the strict relationship between physio-pleasure (pleasure of 5 senses), socio-pleasure (social pleasure derived from enjoyment of interaction with others, psycho-pleasure (people’s reactions) and idea-pleasure (reflection on the experience). (Lionel Tiger’s four kinds of pleasure study). With this, I feel like that not only does technology help us get more out of life (pleasure) but also interms of how it connects the world and culture. Point being, to me, it’s one of the most important aspects of human life that one can design. Which I why it has been my goal. But recently, I read that you can get pleasure from objects, other than technology.
To be honest, I’ve really only considered the joy I get using my mac and never before have I openly decided how much I love to use non- technological objects. Like when I’m making an omelette, I use two different kinds of knives, one being a normal steak knife to make food smaller and the mezzaluna knife to make these pieces smaller, into perfect morning omelette flipping ingredients. Only thing is I can only make the pieces small enough to put into my omelette when I use the mezzaliuna. So theres a self gratifying feeling when it’s used to it’s full design potential. Same goes for when I use my nike+ when running. The shoes feel/look great, and seeing/tracking how far I ran on my iPhone is just as rewarding. So for once I’m beginning to realize the joy in design outside the realm of technology. I just realized good design, whether it be tech or kitchen-ware or anything else in-between, pleasures the user. It seduces you. Makes you want more. That’s what I want to become, someone who’s designs can make you happy not only visually like a good painting but physically, like driving a really fast car (once again the balance of form and function). Good design allows you to feel what the artist felt.
