Herman Miller Collection

This article brought up a few points which genuinely surprised me. I thought it was a type when I read that Herman Miller does no market research. Consumers are becoming more and more intelligent and picky about the products we purchase. And the more money spent on a product the more cautious we become. But how does Herman Miller remain a market leader without knowing what consumers want? Well, actually HM does know what consumers want, good design. If HM's mission is to provide authentic, innovative design then that is all they have to do. Good design will sell because today's consumers are so intelligent about the purchases we make. And because HM provides "true" furniture which pushes the boundaries of production, then there will always be a market of intelligent consumers to purchase their furniture.

Loos and Foster

Loos seems to be ranting in this article. He views ornament as something which is unnecessary, and that because nobody will even design any new ornamental patterns that we should stop ornamenting things. I am going to straddle the fence a bit on this article as I agree with his point of view in some aspects and disagree in others. It would be ridiculous to just stop ornamenting, the world would be a cold, bland, hospital hallway if there were no ornament. Decoration brings a sense of vitality to both products and spaces. On the other hand, I find over-decorating something is more of a foul than under-decorating. There should be deep thought put into ornamentation. How does the ornament describe function? Does it compliment the form? Is it necessary? I would rather see an object with a few well thought out ornaments, than an object that was just ornamented for ornaments sake.

Seeing is Forgetting

I really enjoyed this reading. I was particularly interested in how we perceive our environment. I have never been in anechoic chamber but I am pretty sure I have experienced something similar. A few years ago I visited the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, which go somewhere around 120 feet into solid rock. While in the cave the tour guide wanted to show the visitors how true pitch black was like, as now light can penetrate 120 feet below ground. We said that he would turn the lights out for 15 minutes and that everyone should be as quiet as possible. We sat on complete silence in pitch black for 15 minutes. I recall being able to sense things I didn't perceive before the lights went out. My senses of smell and taste began to be used more. I could hear my heart beating in my chest, I could feel my pulse in my wrists and neck. I could smell and taste the dank cold of the cave. Without being able to see I was forced to perceive my surroundings in a different manner, thus forcing me to notice new things about my surroundings. When I left the cave and returned to the surface my sense were much more keen. I could see more clearly and hear things I had perviously been blocking out, the rustle of leaves, the smell of the trees, etc.

I was also interested in how, during one of the exhibitions, the designers were able to dictate the manner in which visitors moved about an environment. For example, one of the rooms was lit very brightly, causing visitors to get a headache unless looking at their peers. Or the room with poor acoustics which forced the visitors to move closer and closer together to be able to hear. I found it shocking that these so called experts didn't even realize how their actions were being dictated by the design of the rooms they were in. I have very acute senses and get bothered very easily so I am always noticing small things about my surroundings. It also made me think about how everything in my world has been thought about and designed to some extent. When I walk through a lobby there are small cue that I read without knowing that dictate my actions.

I am going to try something this week. I am going to spend fifteen minutes in a quite place with my eyes closed and force myself to be completely aware of myself. I am curious as to how this will affect me when I am out and about. My guess is that I will be more aware and my sense a bit sharper, but I will have to find out.