There were several concepts that I found to be of particular significance during the lecture on design philosophy and its practice, the first being the concept of designing to empower. It is truly an honorable act to design a product that makes the lives of others easier, especially those in developing countries; however, it is extraordinary when you can design a product that allows others to help themselves. Innovators who design to empower not only take part in making the lives of others easier, but also help give them a sense of personal accomplishment.
To illustrate this point, I’ll provide an example from my own past. Growing up, I would ask my father for a dollar. Being the giving man he was, he gave it to me. Then again, I asked him for another dollar, and he gave it to me. Finally, when I asked him yet again for another dollar, he handed me a lemon squeezer. He said, “Go and learn what it means to earn your own money.” I most likely made the worst lemonade this world has ever tasted, but the feeling of accomplishment I received when it sold was unlike anything I had ever known, and I felt empowered. I felt like anything was possible if I tried hard enough at my little lemonade stand. At that young age, I had no responsibilities, no family to feed, nor bills to pay. I can only imagine the sense of empowerment a man in a developing country feels when he is able to vastly increase the profitability of his own land with the help of a low-cost irrigation system. The fact that there are people in this world like Driptech, who make it their occupation to generate tools that help others and provide them with this sense of accomplishment, completely amazes me.
Another topic that I found intriguing was Dieter Rams’ list of 10 principles of good design, and to be more specific, how they have remained relevant throughout time. It is impressive how he was able to see the importance of the environment long before it became the trend it is today. Another of his influential points was that “good design helps us to understand the product.” The large majority of today’s youth have an apple product influenced by Dieter Rams. Although high-tech, most apple products are designed to be simple to use.
One very important idea addressed in class was of the direction in which the field is moving. “Designing for the other 90%” is quite compelling. It was quite shocking to me that I never realized how many products in today’s market would never find their way into the hands of the general population in a developing country. Even more shocking than that, was the thought that this shift has not happened sooner. While our innovations continue to allow us to perform more tasks at a faster rate, innovations elsewhere allow communities to have safe drinking water.
Finally, one invention that I found thoughtful was an automatic chlorinator built for a Honduras community. This invention controls the chlorine entering a water storage tank. This was significant, in my opinion, because it was made from materials and items that could be easily found within the community. Inspired by a toilet, the model is fairly simple to replicate, and since then the community’s plumber has been able to make adjustments to the original model. Of the designers discussed in class, this design corresponds to the principles of Henry Dreyfuss, Charles and Ray Eames, and Dieter Rams. What these three designers shared in common were the beliefs of efficiency and simplicity.
