Journal Entry 6

30 conversations on design: Thirty designers were asked two questions

1. “What single example of design inspires you most?”
2. “What problem should design solve next?”

some responses that I thought were interesting:

Eric Spiekermann
to him, the greatest example of design is the alphabet, Gutenberg and the printing press. The alphabet is the greatest triumph in design.

Chip Kidd
There isn't on specific thing that inspires Chip but a multitude of things: monthly mortgage payments, working and living in NY, looking over the Hudson, buildings and being a spy.

Miguel Vasquez
Lately, for him facebook has been a source of inspiration for design. It allows him to see what a social network really is. It invites people to be proactive, to be involved, to communicate. It has grown as a usability tool.
The problem he thinks design should solve next is to improve the quality of life. It shouldn't just be a marketing tool. it should be used to organize and communicate.

Paula Scher
there isn't a single piece of design that she finds inspirational. She only finds design interesting in its time in relation to something else. Design doesn't solve problems...problems emerge and people think of ways to do things better. There no specific thing design should talk, but a multitude of things: they involve the way we life, the way we use things, the way we deal with our environment and society and sometimes, design isn't even the answer to these problems.

Ric Grefe
inspirations: Epiphanies. Michelangelo's staircase,Swiss railway systems, three tine Queen Anne silver forks...there's no way to single out one specific thing. To do so is trivial because every day design is seen that blows him away, things that make me go "I couldn't have done that".
He would like to see designers design their place in the world. It's not what designers make but the way they approach problems that makes them unique. It's this way of thinking that is key to big solutions.



My own response to these questions is this:

I think that inspiration is everywhere. There's no way I would be able to narrow it down to one specific thing. I see things that inspire, that provoke thought, that keep the wheels churning almost every day. Design is every where, whether man-made or natural, and because I think it's impossible for there to be one single source of inpiration.

As to what problem design should solve next, I would agree with Miguel Vasquez: to improve the quality of life. Good design is out there, and I think good desgin can also help solve this problem.