Posted by sabine7
Interview | 01 Jan 08 | Comments (6) | Stumble
Happy New Year!
Got resolutions? Improving oneself is usually high on the list of new year's resolutions. But what about improving design, changing things so many can benefit? We asked 15 designers and design teams about the modern conveniences they cannot live without... now how would they change/improve them?
This is where things got a little more specific and varied, but some designers didn’t ask for any changes at all. The shower as human carwash really sparked our imagination. More after the jump.
Dan Golden: I'd be into seeing an affordable (like $50) computer screen that is an entire wall in one's home - where you could work on designs, check emails, chat, watch movies, all in hi-def. A super-consolidated audio/video system that is super stream-lined and minimal. I envision a 21st Century body-cleaning system. Showers and baths are so outdated. I would love to have a cleaning system where you can walk right into it naked, and it automatically loofahs your back, shampoos and conditions your hair, the works. Sort of like a carwash for people.
Erin Hayne and Nuno Gonçalves Ferreira: Our improvement would allow people to pull a shot of espresso with the click of a mouse and increase their computer speed with a quick shot of espresso.
Josh Urso: reuters.com – I used to get my daily news from another big news source, but found that it was getting a little watered down, so I’ve already found an improvement there.
Coffee – I only wish they’d use a French press at the studio.
Huib Muilwijk: I think it would be nice if all waste was food again for nature. If we could throw away our television and one year later a tree would start to grow out of it, or use it as compost.
Rafael Morgan: I just can´t think of a way to improve it [the Internet] right now. I would just keep it the way it is, free and anarchic.
Tithi Kutchamuch: We already have a million people try to improve it [the Internet] every second. I only miss how sweet it is to see my loved one’s handwriting.
Dominic Wilcox: Maybe we should have National Internet Holidays, where the internet is turned off, and we all write letters and read newspapers and do real life stuff, like we used to.
Brodie Neill: I just wish it [the Blackberry] were more robust to keep up with my non-stop lifestyle. If I could improve digital 3D design I would make it faster, not so much in the calculation of algorithms but certainly with the input devices that feed it. By breaking down the translation between creator and computer we could form a more fluid-like interaction of creative feedback, like that of a sculptor with clay.
Supermandolini: We wish we had more time and not that many obligations designing and running an online boutique so we could visit and explore more beautiful and exciting places.
Tim Parsons: I would like to see better interface design [on mobile phones] that allows access to the 'etiquette' controls such as 'silent' more easily! … I'm hoping that wearable computing might allow us to be more active during times we now spend glued to the screen.
Vivi Masturah Lim and Aaron Kao: I don't really need the gimmicky functions that they throw into it [the mobile phone] these days.
Merrill Lyons: On my hitlist for bad interface; Motorola and Blackberry. Sometimes I see people talking on their Blackberry and it looks to me like they are speaking to a little notebook or holding an order pad like a waitress, it makes me want to redesign it all together.
Ulrika E. Engberg and Kasper Medin: It would be nice if they [the laptop and the mobile phone] didn't have such "digital" characteristics to them. It's a problem to adjust your eyes every time you look up from the display or the screen. In the future they will probably have a more analogue feeling and a more intuitive interaction.
i think more than one person has thought about all these ideas. i always wanted a garbage bin integrated in the interior of a car where you can put all your trash so you don't have bottles and gum wraps all over, and it would probably avoid the fact that people through their trash out of their moving cars. duh! who wants trash inside their cars?
Oh, my head. The size of this font was a cruel morning after effect.
Hmm, it is kinda loud. :)
this is how designers would improve on their most cherished objects; make my monitor big and cheap, and a robot to wash my ass for me?
I'd like a self-cleaning house, please!
the mere thought of a "human car wash" makes me weak in the knees.
maybe we could throw in a few extra features like - massage and sauna....
i need one.