Working as a solo designer has allowed me to evaluate my profession thoroughly, project by project. Here are my conclusions in a nutshell.
We indeed don’t need a lot of the newly designed things that are available. A lot of furniture, gadgets, toys, white goods, packaging and most of the fashion items belong to this group. We could reuse existing designs, and make small tweaks to keep up with quickly changing trends and make small technological improvements.
We should avoid making new things if the purpose is to stay ahead of the competition, or because it is tradition to come up with a new version each year. Innovation that is driven by the need for ever higher profits has led to the overconsumption that is so normalized today. I know I know, businesses need to stay afloat. But this need has turned into a constantly escalating race that industrial design has been enabling for decades. However, this doesn't mean that designers are unnecessary.
Industrial design should be used to drive positive change in society and in the material world.
The following areas of development are worth the effort. They need good design, and they are paving the way for a better world and I can support them with a clean conscience:
Technological advancement often comes from start-ups that are filled by engineers.Their products are essential, but the innovation is often not reflected on the exterior of the devices. Industrial design is here to make them look as innovative as they really are, while providing a good user experience, helping these businesses succeed.
Sometimes you can’t simply swap a harmful material to a sustainable one, the product needs a complete redesign. In other cases, the technology offers completely new possibilities. We can use this opportunity to create attractive designs that steer people towards buying sustainable products.
These product ideas often come from “everyday people” finding unexpected solutions to problems that they and others experience regularly. Developing these products lead to setting up small businesses that allow their founders and families to escape the hamster wheel. (Almost) anything that helps reduce the concentration of wealth is worth making.
Whether it’s about improving existing procedures, or making healthcare more accessible and affordable - there are surprisingly many areas to be improved. Industrial design is probably the most useful in this field, especially when it comes to the ergonomy, maintenance and user experience of these products.
Although most of the time the answer is not adding, but removing stuff, there are tangible things that can make life simpler, healthier, or just.. less. These things help create better habits, set up new routines, the effect of which can last a lifetime or even generations, making it worth the effort of product development.
On the image: the truly timeless Iittala Teema set designed by Kaj Franck in 1952, still sold today in its original form.
