Street Art and Design Innovation

Designers frequently get pitted against clients who feel ignored. The great exception seems to be the world of high fashion, where anything-goes. (Thanks to Can West for setting the record straight on Haute Couture). Christopher Raeburn has taken advantage of this freedom by designing an entire line using military surplus fabrics.

Outside of fashion Karim Rashid has strived to make design accessible and universal, especially with his publication of Design Your Self. Britain’s NHS illustrated the importance of a collaborative approach by consulting the Design Council to help inhibit the spread of superbugs: new hospital furniture eliminates bacteria harbouring fittings and seat cracks.

Moleskine for years has taken the simple notebook and impregnated it with innovation. Now you can design your own. They have produced an excellent website (MoleskineCity my favourite). For the most part attitude determines aesthetic, fortunately the spectrum’s forever expanding: Britain has officially classified graffiti as street art (unfortunately a Banksy work was painted over by zealous volunteers). Smashing Magazine presents a good selection of graffiti artwork from around the world (expand links to explore individual collections). My favourite is REONE.

Playing For Change has changed attitudes by recording artists throughout the world and producing videos.

They provide resources in impoverished areas to ensure that the power of music continues to foster peace. The BBC helps the world comprehend the devastation of Cyclone Nargis with their interactive map, which shows destruction on an individual scale (for other spectacular maps check out cybercartography, Vanishing Employment, and the Atlas of Canadian Cinema). Big Ant International has created a number of cautionary posters for the Global Coalition for Peace: 

Design

Recently I have come across a number of great designs. MILK is a very innovative desk in which a fish tank, trash can and iPod housing can be incorporated. In the case of this product the website design is just as clever as the product. Check it out. Mobelform has developed a number of lines of very clever convertible furniture; my favourites are the Doc which converts from a couch to bunk beds and the Nuovoliola which is similar to a Murphy bed, but has a couch in front of it when it is closed and a shelf which remains horizontal while the bed is pulled down. The k500d is a table with a built-in leaf. They also have well designed T.V. stands such as the Periscope that allows for remote-controlled height adjustment. The Histoire d'o is a circular rotating bed with a built-in unit on one side that is drool-worthy. I really recommend viewing the Flash animations for these products.

In Vancouver the Danish Way of Living exhibition at 142 Water Street has a number of profound designs: the Yoga chair (with side table and stool) designed by Erik Magnussen is fashioned from a single piece of tubular steel and Arne Jacobsen's egg chair is a whimsical version of the original. The exhibition also features lamps, household accessories, carpets and jewellery.

High-end Design

I just discovered Design Your Self by Karim Rashid; it is really cool. The publisher's description is accurate: "Rashid's philosophies center on quality over quantity, space over clutter, clarity over complexity, and a marriage of form and function in every design. With each page in vibrant color and packed with his charming artwork and sketches..." Unfortunately, his suggestions tend to be as costly (in time or money) as his Lacoste designs. Often, however, it is worthwhile to spend the necessary time in improving one's life, despite the paradox between the time and effort required to earn money and simplicity. Dematerialism creates difficulty in the context of consumer design because designers still want you to purchase items (viewed by them as making life easier). To escape money and clutter is difficult and requires thoughtful choices in the midst of a busy life, so think and ponder. The marketplace, on the other hand, only encourages one to buy or hire (a designer to help out), but it fuels design at the same time, so some say "it can't be all that bad." The main strength of his book is encouraging others to think, albeit within the confines of his designed life, about one's life. Many tips exist out there to simplify life, but few resources encourage contemplation as he does. I intend to write more on philosophy later (I am reading First Things and The Reasons of Love). Overall, buying the book at a "discount" is best. His book would make a killer blog with each subject (roughly a page) forming a post, though given the world of design he would likely charge for access.

Speaking of money, I recently found out that Starbucks (along with an endless list of companies including Kraft, Toblerone, and Altoids) is owned by Philip Morris. This fact coupled with the ridiculous concept of charging for wi-fi has decreased the frequency of my visits there.

Unfortunately, the entire world of blogs, viral videos, etc.. can at times turn into one large high school with scandals rippling through it that make those affected want to hide for the rest of term.