A whimsical tale about design
Allison Arieff’s blog on design on nytimes.com is always insightful, and her take on the current whimsy of Philippe Starck is challenging and thought-provoking.
“In the future, promises Starck, ‘there will be no more designers.’ And by extension, no more stuff! Now, that’s a surefire way to reduce one’s carbon footprint. (Will Starck now join the Designers Accord?) As is Starck’s prediction that the designer of the future is ‘a personal coach, the gym trainer, the diet consultant.’ So not only will we consume less stuff (because no one is designing it), we’ll consume less food, too. Brilliant!
“And that’s when I began to get suspicious.”
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I found Arieff’s blog very interesting. Mark. I’m not that familiar with Starck’s work, but for the most part, I’ve always had an inherent distaste for totally useless and impractical design. I think in a culture more and more concerned with environmental responsibility, there will be less tolerance–and less opportunity–for the type of “whimsy” for which Starck has become famous. Perhaps he is merely setting the stage for his comeback?
Essentially, I think it’s time for designers to take responsibility for the ideas we put out there; we have a huge opportunity to positively impact the environment through the promotion of sustainable design.
Posted by Anne Cassity on 04.16.08.