30 Conversations on Design

Print, web and interactive…these are the three categories that come to mind when I think about design, maybe because I’ve been studying these are in graduate school.  However, since watching the short interviews in Thirty Conversations on Design, I’ve started paying more attention to the design of objects, like the stuff I use every day. Pondering these things makes me think of all the work, time, and creativity it took to design some of the things I own.  A lot of work and thought went into the look and design of some of my favorite luxury gadgets such as my Wii and Toshiba laptop.  There was thought behind the sleek design and the single round button at the bottom of my iPod Touch.  Thirty Conversations on Design taught me that it’s not only about functionality of some of the things that accompany us through life, but it’s about the design too.

The first interview I watched asked the question “What problem should design solve next?” One area was the problem of transportation.  The interview went on to talk about the design of transportation systems such as subways, trains, and airplanes.  Georgia Christensen, who spoke on the design of trains, mentioned how lighting, interior, exterior, and energy efficiency should be thought of when designing modern day transportation systems.  Another interviewee Kit Hinrichs spoke on the mundane design and process of going through security at the airport, from the bins people put there items into, to the conveyor belt the items scroll on.  Listening to them speak on these things unlocked the lock holding my creative design imagination in bondage.  There are so many things in the world that need to be designed, not just web and interactive design, but for some reason I just never thought about other avenues.  I could be the next great designer of a sleek subway or bus system. The possibilities are unlimited.