Biomimicry

While visitng Goblin Valley, about a year and a half ago, I was enthralled by the rock forms, and the geological history of the site. The rocks were formed over thousands of years of rain fall, and wind which eroded the red sandstone. While hiking through one part, I could just imagine pools of water forming in the indentations, and little rivers running across the formations. And then I just wished it would rain, because it all looked like an elaborate, and incredibly enticing waterpark. Sliding through caves, over the bumpy landscape. If I ever design a waterpark this will be the concept for it. The red rocks of southern utah.

Childhood

I had a very magical childhood with my brother, I cannot count all of the playhouses we had, because we built so many, one in the attic of our garage, one dug out of the empty spot of land next to our house, and one built in a tree in an empty field about 15 minutes away from our house, that once we finished building, we never actually visited again. It's actually a funny story, I found out later that a friend of mine did play in that treehouse, and they never knew who built it, and were always worried that we would come back and kick them out.

I sometimes feel that now that I am grown up my apartment has become my playhouse, but it's not the same, it's just home, and the excitement of visiting in free time is lost. I would love to have an adult playhouse somewhere, where I could read, and enjoy myself, just get out of the house. In the book Walden I think that Henry David Thoreau got to this, and his playhouse, a cabin he built near Walden Pond, gave him the opportunity to inspect life, and escape from the buy more, and work more feelings of everyday life. He wrote the book during the experience and the insights and ideas he has in this playhouse is unbelievable, what could this do for me, or us as a people?

Who is this man?

I love the mystery that I associate with this image. I found it on the dirty, dust covered stairs up the attic of my last apartment building where lines are hung for drying clothes. I love his smile, and his face, his beard, his outfit. I think this picture must be important to someone, and wonder who, and what story lies behind this picture, what kind of personality is locked into the emulsion of the photograph?

Beautiful Map

I found this map at the Cologne Flea Market, I love way the different colors are made out of few inks by cross-hatching, and the hand-lettered names. It's printed on a beautiful thin tissue-like paper, it's an absolutely beautiful piece of paper.

Switzerland

Ideas for Conquering Throwaway Culture

Two main ideas:

Create more value:
-Higher prices create more percieved value, but somehow I don't think this will be the answer, because high-priced objects are not as available to middle and lower class people.
-Smaller runs of products would encourage the owner to value the object as unique, and irreplacable by any substitute, and in this case prices could be reduced to slightly higher than Target prices instead of incredibly high it would require to create a true percieved value from price.
-Objects that are more timeless, or even more difficult to achieve, new but timeless.

Values could be reformed, we currently value convenience at almost the highest level, which is probably, or almost definitely a result of the busy lifestyles we live. And why do we live this lifestyle? to be able to buy more convenient products.
- I once noticed that there are a great amount of old people around the city of Zürich during the day time, they have no job, yet they are not bored, because living their life takes all day, they do little errands, bringing their bottles to recycle, visiting their friends, washing their laundry, and maintaining their homes the old fasion way. The price is lower for doing things the "old fashioned way" and it fills the time that they spare by not having a job. And I suppose the way they use the time is more fulfilling as well, I'd much rather be baking a cake from scratch, and having a spic and span home then working day in day out.

Throwaway Culture

It has recently become clear that that throw-away culture the US (and also germany, but to a lesser degree) currently embraces is damaging the environment, and possibly damaging our opinions on products, and consumption. How to combat this throw-away culture? Factors such as (this list should probably be better, or more scientifically defined, but here's an idea of what I'm thinking) quality, durability, price, popularity, reparability, ease of maintanence, longevity, individuality, trendiness, and nostalgia determine what value we place on a specific object, and the value in turn determines how long we will hold on to specific objects, and how we mentally categorize them on the terms of throw-away product to precious heirloom.

Then one way to conquer throw-away culture would be to put more value back into everyday products.

Dad's Crutch Chair

Dad's Crutch Chair
Originally uploaded by Miss Lou Smith

Who says that creativity doesn't run in the family? Well, nobody acutally but I thought this was adorable.

I occasionally felt a slight disconnect from my dad, he just seems a little wierd. If you ask him how he is, his explanation could go into a long technical explanation of how tubes need to fit correctly when building the fuselage of a home-built airplane (yes these are more common than you think), and how to achieve this tight fit.

You ask him how to do your calculus homework, and he doesn't really tell you how to get to the answer, but more why the answer should be what it is, which is inevitably a much longer story than just the process itself.

But in the past couple years, since I decided to study product design I have been basking in the genes that I have inherited from him, because he thinks about things complexly, and creatively.

When he broke his foot a couple years ago hiking, and then had another foot problem with his heal that kept him in a cast for more than a year straight, he had all sorts of cute inventions to get along with his foot, and crutches. When buying a fountain drink at the gas station he would ask for a bag, put the cup upright in the bag an tie a knot at the top, giving his cup "handles" so he could hold it and the crutches simultaneously without a spill.

At an airshow a couple years ago he concocted this chair from his crutches since he forgot to bring a chair along (and I get the feeling he used this more than once while being dragged around town with my mom, and tired of standing on his cast.)

So dad, I salute you and your creativity, and thanks for the genes!