Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Struggling with the Archetype/ In search of Novelty


As a designer you are constantly in a battle against the archetype. You don’t even really realize it is there until you tackle on a problem. Any problem actually. When you are a designer the goal is to be creative. Being creative has become synonymous with the term - individuality. How do you prove your creativity? By doing something that no one else has done. 
Archetype: A very typical example of a person or thing
Is design just the medium for the designer’s whim?
I am currently trying to design a chair out of foam. Now chairs are an archetype. When I say chair, certain images come to mind. Expected images, a seat, a back, some legs. As a designer you try to defy these notions of chair. In order to seat someone you don’t necessarily need to produce a chair. I’ve sat on window ledges, steps, the floor, But the term implies a form in order to solve the function. The possibility that my chair will revolutionize the world is very unlikely. Outside of the designer posse, general people could not identify a chair that has changed the world. So why do we design chairs?
Towers are archetypes, courtyards are archetypes. The issue is that they are not the only solution to house the function. So in attempt to defy form, do we create something for the sake of creating something? It’s like when arguing with a pubescent brat who’s only response is “you don’t know me”. You know what I’m talking about, they don’t listen, they don’t have a purpose other for than the sake of defiance. Does my young enthusiasm and stubbornness transfer into my design practices? If I am willing to accept status quo as the ultimate, then I might as well retire my designing hat. 
The technology sector can be an example of design and marketing taken to extreme possibly unnecessary levels. There’s so much of it and it just keeps on coming out faster and faster, greater and greater. Blue tooth, wi-fi, 3G, 4G,,, smart phones, iphones, androids. I’m re-iterating an accepted and to an extent boring statement, we all think it. Technology is fast, and it’s being produced faster. It’s all in the attempt to produce something that people will purchase, something necessary for our lives. Novelty as status symbols, nothing new, displaying our riches as justification of our existence. How do you as a designer interpret this?
I think ultimately what I need is a design counsellor, to answer these questions. Someone to guide me in my quest for design. Cause ultimately there’s no correct answer, you either embrace and continually strive for something new or attempt to defy these natural tendencies. The people want it, I want to make it for them, I could be an imbecile for thinking new is better. 

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