[Nettime-bold] RE: <nettime> Learning from Prada?

[Curt Hagenlocher <curth@motek.com>]

> Design moves product so successfully that the product can't catch up and
> design becomes the driving force. Foster called this the "political
> economy of design". This is the late-Modernist equivalent of putting the
> cart before the horse, doing the packaging before there's something to be
> wrapped up.

This is a problem not of design, but of packaging.  When packaging
is emphasized over content, it's not the product that's at fault.

Unless, of course, the packaging *is* the product (eg Britney Spears,
Coca-Cola).

Design must have goals.  The enlightened point of view is that
design should serve the needs of the users.  Those who hire designers
tend to see things differently, believing that design must serve the
needs of the manufacturer or seller, bringing the user into the
picture only to the extent required in order to compete with other
manufacturers or sellers.

In a value-neutral sense, the quality of the design can only be
judged in terms of how well the design goals are met -- without
regard to whether those goals are set by the user or by the seller.

> Design doesn't need to be the devil's work. It clarifies and clears the
> cluttered space of so much of our world. The problem is, we're left
> wanting something more. Something we can't quite reduce to stylistic
> flourishes.

Design is about much more than stylistic flourishes, especially
with respect to human interfaces.

--
Curt Hagenlocher
curth@motek.com

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