The Resignation

The quantity of manufactured Stuff has become dominating in our world. In the US alone, there are about 2.6 billion square feet throughout 54,009 public storage facilities filled with unused stuff (Harris). The resources dedicated to the development, manufacturing, marketing and selling of each individual object is far beyond sustainable, and is coming at a large cost to our environment. In 2012, about twice as many IKEA catalogs were distributed as Bibles worldwide (Wallop). We have demonstrated an unwillingness to change and correct our mistakes. Before we reach a breaking point, designers have the opportunity to enact major changes and alter our perception of Stuff.

The Resignation will be led by designers. It will be a large scale action in response to the increasing level of over-consumption faced by many humans living on our planet. The amount of material, energy, and space dedicated to Stuff has far exceeded a sustainable level, and the resources we have dedicated to surplus material goods must be reclaimed in order to insure a healthy future for our species. Resigners will build a faithful following who will live their lives with the essentials. The factory will become a fossil, and the production of new goods will be dependent on the recycling of the old. The materials which have been poorly invested will be reclaimed, and redistributed as Standard Issued items (sleeping pad, light bulb, heater, bowl, broom). Product Reclaimers will lead the consumed from their lives of consumption.

The Resignation Catalog will spark the Reclamation. It will call for the removal of excess from homes for Sorting. It will instill a drastic desire for change, and promote a voluntary participation in the Sorting process by calling attention to the ridiculous objects we have in our homes. Pictured above is a spread of the catalog featuring some of Amazon’s top selling products such as the food dis-organizer and the mechanical broom. The Resignation will be rooted in the acceptance that the problems our species is facing with production cannot be avoided and that action cannot be delayed. The Resigned will see the errors of our ways and view further consumption as a reflection of ignorance. The Resignation will be driven by awareness and frustration, never force.

In order to fully embrace the Resignation, people will have to embody it in every aspect of their lives. Excess in any form will be undesirable, and there will be a push to decrease our species numbers. Jobs which were once allocated to the fabrication of Stuff will be redistributed to the Sorting, Reclaiming, and Revitalizing.

Pieces from the homes of the Consumed will be Sorted. The objects which serve as decoration, comfort, or luxury will be resigned and broken down into raw material. Vases will be ground up for blocks, ice cube trays will be melted down, and clothing will be shredded for insulation. Those objects which function as necessities will remain or be simplified in their state. The home of the Resigned will be neutral and tranquil, and will become a status symbol, as it reflects someone who is comprehending in the face of our global status. As time passes, the Resigners will have to evolve to fill the needs of the community. The movement will break off into separate denominations based on geography and interpretation.

The first sect to appear will be the Gatherers. They will collect items from nature which can be used to modify the standard issue items. Nothing will be killed by the Gathers or moved too far from its original location. In the image above, a standard light bulb has been elevated from the floor with the addition of a stick. Similarly, objects such as the hand broom could have a handle added to make the task of sweeping easier. These simple upgrades will not involve manufacturing of any kind. They are designed based on what is Gathered.

The second sect is a nomadic group called the Supernatives. These are people who will seek to escape the urban centers and dedicate their lives to harvesting man-made materials from the Earth. In the wake of the Resignation, there will be a halt in manufacturing. Materials which were generated from the sorted should go a long way to meet the needs of the Resigned and those who are still Consumed. However, some materials will be in shorter supply. In the Anthropocene, humans will harvest materials in same way we drill for oil, cut down trees, and net fish from the oceans in 2016. In place of natural resources, the Supernatives will harvest the man-made. They float on the waves, roam the deserts, and traverse the arctic in search of recyclables.  Pictured above is a floating home with Sea Vines. These charged cables will collect floating plastic from the Garbage patch to be extruded back into raw material. By seeking these materials, they will help to reverse the human imprint on the planet.

The third sect is the most traditional in the sense that they adapt their standard pieces with new additions to fit their changing needs. This group will be called the Augmenters. Based on many of the practices by the Shakers, they will take pieces which are made custom for specific people and adapt them to follow that person throughout their life. The issued items will be augmented as time and circumstances change. There will only be minimal additions such as adding wheels to the bottom of a chair as someone gets older and has more trouble walking, or adding additional cushions to the seat of a chair as bones and joints get more sore.

The fourth sect can be read as a critical statement by many, but for those who live in this lifestyle, the objects are intended as status symbols. The Living highlights the severity of the social inequity seen within product design. The Living will still adhere to the avoidance of buying manufactured items, but they will supplement this void with pieces such as the Living Alarm Clock, the Living Paper Towel Holder, and the Living Light. Once manufacturing has been stopped, the value attributed to quality and material will be placed instead on the person who can represent the object. The middle men have been removed and the person who “makes” your object is placed directly in your home.

The last sect is called the Sorted. This is an extremist sect that has come about after generations of people thoroughly Reclaiming and Sorting. The Sorted will have a complete aversion to creation. Nothing (material, ideas, etc.) within this sect could be generated and its followers will be celibate. Pieces in the Sorted community will be constructed from pieces from the homes of the Resigned looking to join this sect. The standard issue objects will be repurposed to serve even more dramatically fundamental roles within the community. In the rendering above, the different bed mats, stools and heaters, which may be brought to the community by those who wish to join, have been rearranged in an open field to create a loosely formed structure for the Sorters to inhabit.

The Resigned will be optimistic and dedicated. Their drastic measures will reverse the fate of our species and of our planet, and further confirm that their lifestyle is valuable. They will increasingly gain followers who willingly abandoned the notion of consumerism in favor of a environment void of stuff. This absence and priority shift will further allow the Resigned to devote their resources (materials, time, money, talent, etc.) towards goals which benefit their community as a whole over many generations.

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Project completed with Skye Ray

All images rendered in Rhino

Harris, Alexander. “Self-storage Industry Statistics.” The SpareFoot Storage Beat. May 26, 2015. Accessed May 21, 2016. https://www.sparefoot.com/self-storage/news/1432-self-storage-industry-statistics/.

Wallop, Harry. “Ikea: 25 Facts.” The Telegraph. October 31, 2012. Accessed May 21, 2016. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9643122/Ikea-25-facts.html.

Utility of Speculative Design

Product design aims to improve efficiency, comfort, and experience, and it surrounds us in our anthropocentric world. Within the past few decades, a relatively new approach to design has emerged, allowing designers to consider beyond the wants of the present day and design critically about the future. Dubbed “Speculative design,” this area of work considers the problems which product design, until this point, has not been able to effectively address. It promotes a fictitious approach, and it invites designers to create without the constraints of present-day problems in order to conceptualize the problems we may face in the future.

Speculative work does not seek a market, but instead relies on form and function to communicate a concept and explore a possible future. These designs can be shocking, dark, and unnerving in order to communicate radical ideas about the future landscape of design. Conflicting images such as Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby’s Huggable Atomic Mushrooms are designed to make people more comfortable with nuclear annihilation. This project quickly instills a sense of distress about a future in which nuclear weapons are instead literally embraced by people to put them at ease with their reality (Dunne & Raby, 42). Similarly, Mybio Dolls by Elio Caccalvale explore the ethical questions of a world in which hybrid animals are more common.  Caccalvale illustrates this theory through a collection of children’s toys which are intended to make people more comfortable with the idea of new animal hybrids (MoMA). The project features images of children playing with the toys that depict the honest reality of our evolving relationship with animal products. The project provides striking, even disturbing visuals to bring into question a possible future like this.

Elio Caccalvale Mybio Dolls

 

“Dark design is not pessimistic, cynical, or misanthropic; it is a counterpoint to a form of design that through denial does more harm than good. Dark design is driven by idealism and optimism, by a belief that is possible to think our way out of a mess and that design can play an active role.” – Dunne & Raby, 43

Even given the growing popularity of speculative design within the design community, speculative or critical products are rarely (if ever) found on shelves. Speculative works often exist only in a gallery setting, and are viewed by a select, academic group. Dunne & Raby attempt to address this fact through projects such as their 2001 Placebo Project in which they gave their pieces to volunteers for testing and then gathered feedback on the effectiveness of their designs. Taking projects out of the gallery to live as they would in the real world leads to more information throughout the design process, culminating in a more tangible result (Dunne & Raby). Short run projects such as the Placebo pieces will only be interacted with by a very small number of people. Nonetheless, Dunne & Raby help to illustrate that for Speculative design to have an influence on human behavior, it needs to reach beyond a gallery.

Dunne & Raby Placebo Project

In academic settings, critical design has become a necessity for a well-rounded design education. It introduces a radical new way of thinking, and allows students to generate and understand their values as designers. Imagining futures and visualizing how your products can play a role in those futures is a responsible and sustainable approach to design. In the article Design Futuring, Tony Fry calls attention to this pivotal moment in time, our overwhelming effects of our species on the environment, and the general lack of ethics in design (Fry, 2-4).  He suggests that a common approach to product design is “human centered,”  and it is not about thinking at a large scale or over a long timeframe, but is about immediate impact in the consumer world (Fry, 2).

Giving students of design a tool to think about the ethics of their work at the very start of their career leads to more sustainable practices and understandings of the sacrifices made for the present. Such potential within education coupled with a hollow market facing this type of discursive work pulls designers such as Dunne & Raby to colleges. Until recently, both Dunne & Raby were associated with The Royal College of Art (RCA), which was the major hub of speculative work. Here, they lead the Design Interactions department, imagining how things could be, instead of how things are. (Antonelli).

“RCA Design Interactions curriculum: amplify human rituals and habits using contemporary technology, high production values (the works are usually presented not only as objects, but also as perfectly crafted short films, performances and/or visuals), and a strong philosophical stance about possible and preferable futures.” – Paola Antonelli

Their RCA program emphasized theoretical approaches, alternative futures, and encouraged the connection with scientists and advocates in order to better spark discussion, to produce projects informed by advances in technology and biotechnology (Dunne & Raby, 57). Projects such as Dunne & Raby’s All the Robots, Chanel Four’s series Black Mirror, and Emily Hayes’ Manufacturing Monroe all depict futures which have reached the goals held by many technology companies today. In these imagined worlds robots live with us, we ride stationary bikes to harness energy and live in screen-rooms, and we are able to recreate our favorite stars bit by bit.

Dunne & Raby All the Robots

Many schools, including RISD, approach critical work from different angles. Within RISD ID, the term speculative design is not introduced until about 3 years into the program, and even then is used generally. “Speculative work” is used in many ways to classify all future-oriented design projects regardless of its purpose or concept. The common question of “what problem are you trying to solve with this project” from professors makes conceptual or critical thinking within RISD ID very limited.

Speculative work is not attempting to provide answers to design problems, but instead is asking questions about the future. It uses concepts and means of execution which at times can be more similar to “art,” but it places the pieces in “believable everyday situations so that we can explore possible consequences before they happen” (Dunne & Raby, 57).

Philips Microbial Home

A similar strategy of speculation and imagining possible futures is also evident in innovation labs with a a friendly and strictly “optimistic” spin. Small divisions of companies such as IKEA and Phillips are imagining the way their companies may look in the future. Products such as the Philip’s Microbial Home imagined the look of a “perfect,” sustainable, domestic kitchen (Dunne & Raby, 28). Features such as their algae, bioluminescent light and their outdoor urban beehive present striking visuals, but will doubtfully ever be put into production. These projects introduce new values into the production and design of domesticities, and serve as a valuable marketing tools which demonstrate the consideration for the company’s future (DesignBoom). Whether or not the products are intended for production, the strange and futuristic aesthetic coupled with the radical function suggests that companies like Philips are leaders in innovation.

Space10 Tomorrow’s Meatball 

Similarly, IKEA recently opened a new innovation lab in Copenhagen, Denmark. Here, a group of designers and artists are exploring the potential future of IKEA and their market dominance by recreating iconic IKEA products such as their meatballs with a priority placed on sustainability. Every day, approximately 2.2 million meatballs are sold every day at IKEA stores around the world (Sweden). To propose a new approach to making and marketing this product, Space 10 collaborated with chefs to visual the meatball of the near-future. These included meatballs made of plants, artificial meat, waste-food, mighty-powered (food supplements), and rapidly growing algae (Space 10). These products are all shown in beautiful photos with lovely colors and textures, but the balls have an underlying gross factor. One of the most iconic balls from this project is made from insects which contain less fat and more protein than most meat options. Despite these advantages, the image of food covered with bugs is still far from edible for most.

The meatballs were circulated throughout the design departments of IKEA in hopes of sparking new approaches to projects. The project and even the studio of Space10 became very popular on many design blogs. With white walls, modular furniture, and groups of very hip looking people, the entire lab gave off a great future feel. IKEA’s attempts (even if just for internal-circulation) to produce more sustainable options in the face of accumulating global waste, helps to reaffirm their position as a leader within their market.

“As change has to be by design rather than chance, design has to be in the front-line of transformative action. But for design to be able to perform this role, the sum of all design practices, including architecture, themselves have to be redesigned.” – Tony Fry, 6

Unfortunately, even these more accessible, large scale, and popular projects like the Space10 hacks are still relatively near-future and often watered down to appeal to a broader market. They  may not seek an immediate return, but they undergo a beautification process and are rendered less extreme to afford possible mass-production. An emphasis on marketability and comfort is also evident in such work as Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House. This futuristic spaceship-home has a dramatic exterior which challenged traditional conventions of what a domestic home should be. It asked people to reconsider their priorities within this personal space, and what design and engineering’s roles should be. Despite the speculative, future-thinking exterior, the interior was decorated with comfortable, familiar home pieces.

 

Buckminster Fuller Dymaxion House

Design futuring has the potential to lead us out of our anthropocentric world. It challenges us to think about the future and our responsibilities as designers as we strive for sustainability. We are moving into an age in which product design may be seen as a symbol of our over consumption. In preparation, product designers must be able to anticipate scenarios to ensure the creation of sustainable goods and services. Designers must be present as creative leads at the beginning of a project, rather than as an aesthetic consultant at the tail end of a venture. Radical ideas and speculation have the capability to inform the strategy of businesses from the start, and to create a positive economic, environmental, and social impacts as a result.

 

Works Cited

Antonelli, Paola. “States of Design 04: Critical Design.” Domusweb.it. N.p., 31 Aug. 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

Dunne, Anthony, and Fiona Raby. “Dunne & Raby.” Dunne & Raby. N.p., 2001. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

Dunne, Anthony, and Fiona Raby. Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2013. Print.

“Elio Caccavale, Richard Ashcroft, Queen Mary, University of London, Michael Reiss, Institute of Education, University of London. Xenotransplant, from the Hybrids: Towards a New Typology of Beings And, Animal Products ProjectMyBio Xenotransplant (Prototype). 2005 | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

Fry, Tony. Design Futuring. N.p.: Berg, 2009. Print.

“Philips Eco Friendly Microbial Home.” Designboom Architecture Design Magazine Philips Eco Friendly Microbial Home Comments. N.p., 02 Nov. 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

“Quick Fact: IKEA | Sweden.se.” Sweden.se. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

“Tomorrow’s Meatball: A Visual Exploration of Future Food.” Space10. N.p., 9 Dec. 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.

 

Sites of Utopia: Lecture Response

In this world that is increasingly designed, we need to be open to political experimentation in order to design responsibly. Here at RISD, particularly in our first few years, I’ve found that many people view our liberal arts education as unrelated to our studio work. The great priority placed on the creation of enticing visuals often excludes consideration for the social ramifications of a design. This sacrifice of long term sustainability in order to create short term appeal or comfort is also evident in larger scale topics such as the difference of our defense R&D budget to that of our environmental R&D. It is a complicated discussion, and as mentioned in the lecture, it is not one that is necessarily binary. In this age approaching the theoretical Anthropocene, our opportunity as designers to start a discourse and change thought is great, and it should be embedded in our design educations.