Bright Minds, Beautiful Ideas Essay

The Universal Designer

                Design is a complex and abstract idea. Design has no concrete definition. Design is constantly being reevaluated, restructured, and reinvented. However, design does have some fundamental characteristics and processes that can be applied to almost any design problem. Ed Annink and Ineke Schwartz’s book, Bright Minds, Beautiful Ideas, explores some of these universal characteristics by analyzing the life and works of four influential designers from different times and places. Personally, I identified most with the last two designers mentioned in this book.

All of these designers share a common compulsion to explore and analyze the world they live in. Through this analysis they seek insight into the inner workings of our world and in so doing strive to make it a better place. All four of these designers draw their inspiration from a wide range of sources. Through cross-disciplinary thinking and collaboration these designers are able to connect dots and fix problems that were considered unsolvable.  The level on which these designers think and operate is a lofty one. Most of their projects and studies involve very abstract and highly conceptual ideas. More often than not, it seems that their work’s goal is not necessarily an attempt to create something useful, but instead to illustrate a new way of thinking about and approaching a problem. A way of thinking that can be applied to other scenarios in a very useful way. Through the exploration of their respective works and their answers to similar interviews we can see how these certain fundamental principles are universally tied to “good design.”

The first designer discussed in this book was Bruno Munari (1907-1998), a designer from Italy. Munari focuses on fantasy and the exploration of the unexpected. He takes things we already have and know about and transforms them into imaginary and useful new objects and inventions. The work of Bruno Munari varied greatly, covering a wide spectrum of fields. In the text Munari is described as being “the first critic to see design as a coherent whole of demand, process, and thinking, with which it became totally separate from the product.” This separation from the product is an interesting idea. Design is a universal concept. It does not apply to a specific product or object. Munari’s philosophy defines design as something that can be applied to any situation and any object. It is not about the problem it is about the way that problem is approached, thought about, and solved. One thing that is tossed around a lot by all of the designers is the issue of fashion or trend. Munari believed that fashionable items were derived from what the “original” or “real product. He alleged that in order to avoid something that would be a fad and fade away as the years went by, an object must be designed to fill a new purpose or produce a new solution to a pressing problem. Munari believed in making truly timeless products.

The Eameses were the next designers that Ed Annink and Ineke Schwartz focused on in this book. Charles and Ray Eames (1907-1978 and 1912-1988) are an extremely influential, American, design super-couple. The Eameses worked largely in product design that related to furniture. The Eames’ philosophy towards was design was that it should “improve the world.” On fundamental characteristic of design that pervades throughout this book is that design is a problem solving reaction to the world and environment. In the case of the Eameses this is particularly true. A designer must keep in mind the demand of the time in order to create a product that will be successful. The Eameses worked through the Depression and World War Two. Both of these periods greatly affected their careers. During the depression designers were expected to help support consumerism and try to bolster the economy. When the Second World War started, Charles Eames was hired to design plywood apparatuses such as leg splints for the war effort. This response to a demand is what allows designers to be versatile and successful. I found the Eames idea of “democratized” design very interesting. Often times design is considered to be elitist and for only those who can afford such a “luxury.” The Eameses believed in making design affordable and helpful to everyone, an idea that is still relevant and important today. I also appreciated Eames’ question of “who says pleasure is not useful?” I value entertainment and so does our culture. It is a useful and important part of our world and it is nice to hear such a prodigious designer agree.

The third person “designer” this book discusses does not classify himself as a designer, or even an artist. Martí Guixé ( considers himself an “ex-designer.” He felt his work was outside the conventions of both art and design fields. In order to rectify this, he de-labeled himself. I identified with Martí Guixé more than the first two designers because he is a more contemporary figure whose work I can relate to better. I particularly liked his illustrations and his quirky sense of humor and playful nature. I also admire his decision to disassociate himself with a specific field scene whether it be art or design. I find the squabbling amongst artists and designers about what is what to be very pointless. Part of being cross disciplinary and subjective means that things shouldn’t have to have a label. Although I might not be able to directly relate, I understand and respect Martí Guixé’s philosophy of designing systems and ideas instead of designing products. The systems and ideas that are behind everything are where the true genius lies. Although I do agree with some of his points, I don’t share his complete dislike of products. He seems very anti-society and anti-consumerism. I particularly like some of his design work. I think that the ruler and subway map tattoos are an ingenious reinvention of a common part of our world. I also found his branded advertising food idea to be amazing. Coming up with a win-win design scenario is rare. I hope that sponsored food actually finds a place in our world. I enjoyed perusing his sketches and designs. The Plant-Me Pet were simple and playful but innovative. I feel that I could apply many of the ideas that Martí Guixé uses when I work on my assorted design projects this semester. Using humor and more out of the box thinking could open my eyes to new ideas and directions. I need to evaluate problems with an open mind and a variety of different perspectives in order to see as many solutions as possible.

The final designer of Bright Minds, Beautiful Ideas is a man named Jergen Bey (1965). I found Bey to be the most relatable of the four designers in this book.  Bey comes across as a much more down to earth individual than the others. I dislike hoity-toity designers/artists who speak in an over the top and overly abstract manner. Jergen Bey is humble and admits that even he has his own limitations. I relate well to his outlook of design as a re-creation or reevaluation of existing conventions. He considers “wanting to think or create something new [as] bizarre, for every… solution we can possibly dream of… already exist in the world around us.” He humbly accepts that the solutions to all of our problems already exist, waiting to be found and implemented. While Jergen Bey was being interviewed by Ineke Schwartz he was asked about beauty and its relationship with design. He asked the interviewer what is beauty? I liked this question because personally I have always believed that beauty is relative. Something that is ugly may be beautiful in its design and purpose if not its looks. One idea that Bey makes is that design is a response to something, because of this design should fit that which it is responding to. The circumstances and environment that a project is being made for must be kept in mind at all times. If a design does not meet the demands and parameters of its situation then it cannot be successful. This mindfulness of the context in which Bey designs is recognizable in his work. I admittedly don’t relate to Bey’s work as much as Martí Guixé’s but I prefer his personality, approach, and philosophy concerning design. His work reflects the idea of taking found objects and turning them into something new and useful. Bey forces the viewer to look at objects in a new light. Some of these processes can be applied to projects this semester, particularly my current chair project. The “Healing” series of furniture made me reconsider the way I am approaching my chair designing process. Seeing a functional part, like the leg of the chair, being used for a different purpose, really opens up my eyes.

Through exploring the life and works of these four designers has helped me concretely define the fundamental characteristics of design-oriented thinking. By combining open-minded and cross-disciplinary thinking with a questioning and creative outlook I will be able to solve new problems. Martí Guixé and Jergen Bey have both offered me inspiration and insight that I will be able to apply to the rest of my semester in Thinking and Making.