Design for the Other 90%
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Ryan Jahn sent me a review of an exhibit that is currently at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.
Photo from Core 77
The exhibit is called: Design for the Other 90%
I think it's a pretty awesome idea and I think there is a lot of potential for design being used to help people in need.
I'm just afraid this will become another fad (think Cradle to Cradle) and we're doing this work more for ourselves than for the people who need help.
It's just hard for me to think that people really need a stylish cardboard box, but who am I to judge. Go test it, give it to somebody who could use it. See what they think after a week using it. (This seems to be another problem with these projects. We want to help, but we're not willing to literally put ourselves in their shoes.)
I also think it's easier to create a better box than to understand why they need boxes at all.
Photo from Core 77
The exhibit is called: Design for the Other 90%
“The majority of the world’s designers focus all their efforts on developing products and services exclusively for the richest 10% of the world’s customers. Nothing less than a revolution in design is needed to reach the other 90%.”
—Dr. Paul Polak, International Development Enterprises
I think it's a pretty awesome idea and I think there is a lot of potential for design being used to help people in need.
I'm just afraid this will become another fad (think Cradle to Cradle) and we're doing this work more for ourselves than for the people who need help.
It's just hard for me to think that people really need a stylish cardboard box, but who am I to judge. Go test it, give it to somebody who could use it. See what they think after a week using it. (This seems to be another problem with these projects. We want to help, but we're not willing to literally put ourselves in their shoes.)
I also think it's easier to create a better box than to understand why they need boxes at all.
2 Comments:
It sounds like the "Designing for the other 90%" is addressing some real classism issues within the designing community.
The show was a failure, and a success at allowing the opportunity to reflect and think about various approaches to the problem of houselessness.
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