Selfless for Oneself

Introduction:

A son of my mother’s friend contacted me about a week ago. RISD was his dream school and his question for me was regarding his application essay topic. As if it were the only topic one could think of for an application essay, his topic had been very similar with mine; the cause of his ambition and his future goals with a degree from RISD. It reminded me of the time I wrote my RISD essay. What had I written about? Piecing scattered memories together, I faintly remembered. It was something about my goals to differentiate and accentuate the Asian aesthetics from that of the western to broaden the world’s cultural palette. Cheesy as it is, I wondered how I thought about that topic now, especially after having gone through two and a half years of RISD and all its liberal arts greatness. Inspired by this thought is my response.

My Response:

Since the mid 20th century onwards, the world has experienced technology advancements at its maximum speed. Newer technologies allowed affordable goods and services to a wider demographic. The airports in the UK started reaching its full capacity as its passengers grew from 4 million in 1954 to what would be 228 million by the year 2005. As there is no such thing as a ‘happy-ending’ in reality, there were consequences. To name a few are pollution, importation of germs, and national security threats. Similarly, in the mid 19th century was the development of the sewer systems. In 1851, at the England’s Crystal Palace, exhibited and open for use to the public at a price of a penny were the world’s first flush toilets. It was revolutionary; a simple odorless way of discharging human waste. This led to a boom in usage of a vital resource; water. Yet again, consequences such as water contamination and water shortage were brought onto the table. Despite having solved some problems such as the spread of diseases and the inconvenience of disposing human waste, the solution had brought upon new problems. How are we presently dealing, if at all, with such problems? Are there any examples we can look towards? How can industrial design be a part of a solution and not a cause?


Objects are often studied in depth by anthropologists in the process of understanding a certain social group’s mindset. Meanings are imposed onto an object by both the user and the creator. Often times, these objects are used as a reference point to which one’s social acceptance and power are measured. In a westernized culture we know our combo meals from our course meals and dress pants from sweat pants. Identity is built upon one’s consumerist behavior and both the marketers and advertising agencies are very aware of this nature. The westernized society, viewing from the outside, has plainly created badges to show one’s power; a shirt with an alligator embroidered being more superior than the one with an eagle embroidered. Through extensive marketing and product placements wherever possible, these badges come as a lifestyle and not just a brand. Advertising industries impose on the western culture the idea that one has to both look like an elite and quack like an elite to be an elite. Such an ideal can be blamed for the $12.8 billion debt the U.S. consumers newly accumulated in the months of November and December just last year.

Left: Campaign by Ralph Lauren with the product placed in a setting that is both desirable and marketable. Right: Campaign by Brooks Brothers showcasing the 'type' of people who wear their clothing.

So as consumers pour $700 million in candle purchases and send $20 billion worth of gifts and cards to one another through the U.S. Postal Services, other nations are growing economically and starting to feel the desire to join in on the candle burning, badge earning, consumerist role play. Perhaps the current economic downfall is the result of both the outrageous spending culture of the western culture and the ever so growing consumerist culture of China – home to 1.3 billion. An apparent example is the booming market in the window industry in the Republic of Korea. Old styled housing and newly built apartments are utilizing windows that are an infusion of new technology with an aesthetic of the western culture. The rapid growth in sales of none traditional objects such as beds, window curtains, and shower curtains, have also started in the mid 20th century. Such phenomenon is a clear representation of the culture taking the western consumerist culture as its role model.

Left: retail space in a Korean Shopping Center of Who.A.U, a South Korean clothing brand. Right: retail space of American Eagle, an American brand.

The problem isn’t exactly what the consumer use but how many consumers use it. ‘in moderation’ is something we hear in almost everywhere. There definitely is a power in number and that power is never guaranteed to be spent for a good cause. Globalization has narrowed the scope of appreciated aesthetics and created a universal goal built on consumerist ideals. Too much of the world’s population have started to value much of the similar – none life elemental – resources and such scenario is undoubtedly going to bring consequences in equal or larger scale as that of the cause.

Aesthetics may be scoffed at by many industrial designers and is often left as a job for the ‘product designers’. But have they dismissed aesthetics as part of a function as well? Is coloring a medical device blue the only visual solution to calm a panicked patient? Aesthetics as a function can serve so much more than to help people create self-identity. It can create communal identity, which can eventually enrich the cultural palette and prevent everyone sprinting for the same resources, which otherwise would lead to depletion. It is time that designers take ancient designs as role models in their use of local materials and respect for communal identity.

Left: newly replaced french styled window in South Korea. Right: Korean traditional style frosted glass slide window.

The Indifferent Design

No matter how indefinable the definition of ‘art’ is, there can be no sensible counterargument to the claim that any music that makes it on the top 40s charts are molded by marketers and businessmen to a great amount. There is no doubt Warner Brothers and Columbia Records are constantly studying the unspoken demands of their target market to either fund or abolish artistic production. Similar but taken as given is the world of industrial design where design is for the people – no dial locks for the arthritic. From what’s given, then, can we build a conclusion that the world of art and the world of design cannot coexist on the same canvas? Is Joseph Kahn, the director of Britney Spears’ new music video a designer and not an artist? Can the dial lock at least have frills around the dial?

'Voice of Fire' by Barnett Newman and the iTouch

In the era of functionalism, George Marcus has defined functionalism as “the notion that objects made to be used should be simple, honest, and direct; well adapted to their purpose; bare of ornament; standardized; machine-made, and reasonably priced …” (Functionalism, 1995, p.9.) Approximately parallel in time was the birth of the term minimalism in the world of fine arts. The idea of minimalism was that art should be stripped down to its bare elements. The results: visitors to the Moma admiring a giant canvas painted in navy and red stripes and people scratching their heads at a black slab with an apple engraved on the back.

If art and design are what represents our generation, what do stripes of navy and red on a canvas and a black slab say about our era? Many arguments surrounding the iPhone and the Voice of Fire is brought up in various discussions. Some arguments including whether or not the iPhone was a successful design or whether or not Barnett Newman is an attention wanting lazy artist had risen. But in between all the arguments, where went – prepare for a sickly cheesy line – our emotions and feelings? The quest for our mental stability and/or stimulant? Despite my admiration for those who can construct substantiated criticisms based on historically logical contexts of the stripes and the black slab, my interest on an instinctive level tends to lean towards the slightly more detailed side of the fence.

From left to right: Tokyo, Seoul, Chicago

The problem the design world is facing, in my opinion, is internationalization. A synonym of internationalization, for me, is generalization. Besides the post modern architects of Brazil putting their efforts to differentiate their modern architecture from others, I have not seen much other effort. Walking down the streets of Tokyo, Seoul, or Chicago, the only thing indicating to me that I am in another country seems to be the street signs in according languages. Mercedes in Korea, Samsung in New York, glass paneled buildings. Have we all, internationally, come to the decision that if your yearly income is $100,000+, you are a Mercedes and if your income is $10,000+, you are a Mitsubishi? What about our race, nationality, sex, and age? Are we too scared to be different because we do not want to risk being racist, sexist, or ageist?

Shop Green

Hermann Miller:

Herman Miller, in efforts to both increase the level of happiness and productivity of the employees, had set a guideline to its buildings. The guideline stated that the occupant should not have to move more than 75 feet to get to a window. The guideline led to numerous benefits. The company had saved a significant amount on their electricity bills and, although subjective, had increased the level of happiness and productivity of their employees – Daylight is a source of vitamin D.

REI:

REI, as an outdoor gear retailer, brought some sense into the design of their retail stores when they provided dressing rooms for the customers that used daylight instead of fluorescent. Besides the fact that the dressing room mimicked the real environment better than fluorescent bulbs, the retailer saved great electricity expenses. Also, the retail stores of REI floored their spaces with carpeting made from recycled tires and shoe soles. The retail stores also offered a shower booth for their employees in order to encourage them to bike to work instead of driving.

Caterpillar:

Caterpillar has been remanufacturing engines and its components in their effort to be eco-friendly. The heavy equipment giant takes back broken components and filters the components down to its minimal element which is then sold to other manufactures as raw material. The components they do save require newly manufactured parts in order to function, but the recycled part alone saves up a significant amount resources. The giant’s effort can be seen in result; a 50% reduction in their liquid waste from 9 million pounds per year to 4.5 million pounds per year. The giant also joins local 4th graders on earth day, as well as a day they created called “amnesty day.” On this day the locals can bring hazardous materials such as paint thinners that they do not need anymore and Caterpillar helps dispose of such chemicals safely.

Amazon:

When shopping on Amazon.com, products come in oversized plastic bag packaging that is further protected inside a box of high gloss and fancy prints. Amazon saw a potential in marketing towards the now growing green consumer demographics and has reintroduced the plain brown box with a simple logo printed on it. The company believed that a single box was enough of a protection for various contents sold through their website, as well as a less of an annoyance for the consumer to open. The box is made of 100% recycled material which also is a plus. So far, the company only carries nine different products in their new eco-friendly packaging, but results come, the company intends to widen the use of their new package design internationally.

Whole Foods:

Besides banning plastic bags and bringing back paper bags and motivating users to use reusable bags by providing them with cheap bags made out of recycled bottles, Whole Foods has been making other efforts to become eco friendly. The grocery chain has set strict requirements for products to be carried in their stores, such as environmental practices, and the treatment of their labor workers. In trade, the company offers higher pay for the products. As the green conscious demographic keeps growing, the CEO of Whole Foods found it an opportunity to give the shoppers the opportunity to pitch in to the green movement. The company charges premium price for the consumer, in exchange for their effort to better the practices of the land and business owners responsible for the products being carried in Whole Foods.

New Relationships

Transportation technology advancement in the mid 18th century was the birth of the term and the idea of “tourism.” Primarily, such term was associated exclusively with the elite class, but later developments led to a solution that would open up the industry to a much wider audience; DELAG Airlines. Founded on the 16th of November 1909, the Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft is the world’s first passenger service airline. Despite the introduction of such a convenient transportation method, it was not until the 1950s that the airline services were seen not as a supplement to rail but as an effective method of transportation in itself. As technology in general is advancing, costs are being reduced and now the world is becoming an option in vacation planning for more and more people. In combination to the transportation advancement is the communications technology. It was only since 1988 that the internet was open for commercial use. As both technology in transportation and communications is advancing, we are able to see cross borders with less chances of the intake information being tainted. Within a short time frame of 6 decades, the world transitioned from mine to ours.

So what is the point to this story? Globalization, as we know it today, is just a young, new term. Topics dealing with whether we are destroying cultures by "helping" or imposing our laws and views on others are only a recent trend. It has only been covered by many media sources ever since the late 90s (e.g. banning of the Shaking Tent rituals of the aboriginals in Canada).




The growth of a nation or a mass institution can be compared to the growth of a single person. Just like a maturing teenager, different nations are just now opening their eyes to the world. Even the often hated giant corporations such as Starbucks or McDonald’s, as ahead as they are in their game, only recently went global. McDonald’s introduced localized menus and interior designs to be more culturally friendly and accepted in more recent years. Carried in the 2007 January New York Times paper is an article that quotes Denis Hennequin, the president of McDonald’s Europe, stating “To make McDonald’s and a Big Mac work in the country of slow food, we felt we had to pay more attention to space and showcasing." Menu wise, McDonald’s introduced McCurry Pan in India, rice based sandwich in Hong Kong, McArabia in the Middle East.

It can, therefore, be said that our nation has just met other nations and are now in the beginning stages of figuring out what each of them like or dislike.

Redundant to say, it is normally the giant corporations that have the capital to spend on research and development of products that would cater to each different countries and nowadays even cities. Corporations are on their tiptoes, living in the future, and acting as headlights to the possible problems and solutions that nations or institutions will have to face. They have shunned the light and brought about the problems of having to be more localized in order to be successful. We know some problems but we still should be learning more problems.


So, “should you do nothing because it might be wrong?” “Is it possible to ever come up with a successful design for another culture?” I can’t help but doubt the existence of UNHCR had the creators asked those questions in their development stage. “Should we not even try because we might offend someone? Should we not find out what works because we don’t want to find out what doesn’t? Before we judge and dismiss any knowledge we have as being cynical, we need to realize that we as nations are at a similar stage as that of a young child - still learning, unaware, and easy to judge. We need to realize that we need failure to know success, that to that one starfish "it matters."

The Unsexed Design

Entering the new millennium, the world saw a growth in a variety of different industries, and consequently a change in the way we behave. For example, as Starbucks’ goal in outnumbering the population of street trees of Manhattan was being accomplished, coffee became the world’s second most traded commodity next to oil. Coffee was soon perceived as a must have on any hard working businessman’s desk. Arguably, coffee was given a dual function similar to that of a Rolex watch. Besides telling time, the gold plated and diamond engraved watches are, redundant to say, status symbols to one’s elitism. Similarly, the gradation of different brand logos printed on disposable coffee cups hints at the approximation of one’s bank account or level of education. On that account, how does the design of any product dictate, target, or influence a certain demographic?



Scarcity and demand is partially what the study of microeconomics is about. Scarcity is the reason why diamonds, essentially rocks, are more valued than water – an element of life. It creates a hunger within us to be respected, valued, and in power. Elitism is the behaviors associated with those who are fortunate enough to enjoy what’s scarce. Often times, marketers target this small demographic labeled as the ‘Elites’ as their early adapters, for the reason that much of the other demographics’ goals are to become true or knockoff elites themselves. Therefore, the goals of many marketers are to convince their targets that their products will be of aid in the accomplishment of the lifestyle of a true elite.

The level of social acceptance and demand is also put into the equation in the creation of many products. As the line between each gender’s stereotypes became more faint, the men’s grooming industry introduced new men’s beauty product lines. It is obvious that mascara and lipstick for men are still raising eyebrows, but the men’s grooming/beauty industry has seen a 43% growth between the years of 1998 and 2003, and a stable increase of an annual 25% in the preceeding years. In 2005, it was estimated that the men’s cosmetic industry was a $18 billion dollar industry.

Left: Men's grooming/beauty products, by ZIRH, packaged in containers resembling automobile upkeep product containers. Right: Not specified "for females only" but the package design speaks for itself.

In the case of the men’s cosmetic industry, it seems that the designer and the marketer had lead and created a market and not vice versa. At any local pharmacy, one can find many of the same ingredients inside any two different body washes, whether it be targeted for males or females. The only difference, it seemed, was the packaging. Take a look at the two packaging design examples shown above.

Far Left: Men's skin care products by Anthony Logistics, resembling chemistry lab containers. Middle: Skin care products by Origins contained in packages that aren't gender specific. Far Right: Skin care products by Estee Lauder, the less geekier design than that of the Anthony Logistics', but at a similar level of sex designed into the bottles as that of Anthony Logistics'.

Marketers soon realized the complexity of measuring the men’s grooming industry. They had realized that men had already been using cosmetic products even before the ‘men’s only’ stickers were put onto products. They soon realized the benefits of having genderless products that targeted both genders indiscriminately. The packaging designs above are some of those examples.

Men’s cosmetic line can be argued to be a creation of both the marketer and the designer. It can be argued that the supply had brought demand, unlike the usual ritual of demand being supplied. A certain number of demand was already there, but it was the marketers and designers that gave an 'okay' sign to the men on using such stereotypically feminine products. As seen through the examples of the packaging designs, the designs had targeted the masculine demographic and pulled the demographic through the eye of the needle, bringing growth and acceptance to the term ‘men’s cosmetic products’. As the demographic is being pulled, we can clearly see in the aisles of CVS and Nordstrom, the packaging designs losing their genders and opening themselves to a wider demographic.

So, do designers put meaning into the products they design or does the society put meaning into the product? I think the answer is both. As we have seen above, designers often provide and aid an easier pathway for the consumer to reach the destination they want. In order to do so, designers have to analyze the demand of the people and breakdown the obstacles that stand between the people and the solution - the obstacle often being gender, racial, or class specific stereotypes. In the process of doing so, we start building or rebuilding meanings into products.

Left: Jean Paul Gaultier's Brow Groomer (a.k.a. mascara) for men. Right: Dior's Black Out Mascara for women.