Monday, January 26, 2009

Alexis vs Klinker

A fascinating article contrasting the ID "sellout" viewpoint of design with the Cranbook "artsy-fartsy" viewpoint: http://www.cranbrookdesign.com/index.php/topics/more/design_versus_innovation_the_cranbrook_iit_debate/

I'm pleased and surprised how little Apple came up in this discussion, but I find it amusing that Jobs and Ivy have purposefully kept their methods and viewpoint about design hidden (of course, other than that it's important - which we can all agree on). I can't imagine Apple doesn't do extensive user research, but they obviously cultivate a certain flair or spirit. This opacity is probably just another strategic move to keep us all buying their products.
While Alexis, Owen, and our other professors are successfully infusing method, clarity, and rigor into our thinking here at ID, they also - subtly and implicitly - call upon us to follow our intuition and let a strong viewpoint show itself in our work.
As a student of the humanities, I like to think that not only does a designer need both the spirit and the method, but that we won't be human at all if we give up either the form or the function of our work.

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