Means of Innovation and Change

There were so many people who inspired and influenced me to become an Industrial Designer. Whether, they were from songs, products, movements, or images, they made me the man I am today. However, recently I have taken a close look into Tokujin Yoshioka’s designs and they inspired me with innovative thoughts. What captured my eyes in Yoshioka’s designs were his style and innovative ways to explore material. He explores new opportunities in materials and creates a design with his style. Of all the artist and designers I have viewed, he was the most creative designer I have ever seen. For an Industrial Designer I think it is crucial to learn many materials and it capabilities because in the future we will never know what we might design.

This year I am taking a studio called, Reactive Matter. It is a studio which studies
nanotechnology materials that change color or shape and produce light or even electricity. As a designer, our class has to figure out how we can incorporate these materials into products. Our current project is creating a compact dwelling for two people and incorporating nanotechnology materials in it. Our class has to think about how we can reduce the size of essential household needs. The honey comb chair, I thought, was a perfect example of showing how to reduce space. It was aesthetically beautiful and compact that it was perfect for a compact dwelling house. The honey comb chair was an innovative design because Tokujin Yoshioka experiment a new material and found a new purpose for it. His creativity and dedication showed me why designs have to change.

I have always wondered why every month cell phone designs would always change. Why is there a life expectancy for products? Why do we have to make the same product look different? Why do we have to waste more material to make it look different? These were the questions I asked myself whenever I saw a new cell phone. However, after viewing the honey comb chair and taking the Reactive Matter studio, I realized that every design is a hint of the future. When we look at the first cell phone, its only function was to call and receive. However, after several years of experimenting, cell phones started to add new features: text messaging, camera, internet and so forth. Every time a new feature came out new designs were developed and created. Every design became a history and from that design it creates a better and new design from it.
The honey comb chair was not created for compact dwelling, but it can be used because it is a new way to save space. We never know what is going to happen in the future, so people experiment new designs and materials to find out a new purpose. New designs give new ideas and possibilities, which is why there are many designs and life expectancies for all products. As a designer, we must think ahead when we design a product. We should not focus on it will work, but what it might be created from it.