Economic Prosperity by Design

John Berry believes West Michigan has what it takes to bounce back from its current economic woes: great designers and design resources. “Design is an integral part of our economy. And it’s time for all designers—interior, industrial, graphic, architectural, engineering, and so on—to join together to demonstrate our value and bring new work to regional companies,” says Berry, Executive Director of Design West Michigan, a collective group of professionals whose goal is to do just that.

A lot of other people agree with Berry and have partnered with the organization to help make it happen; its nearly 50 regional and national members and supporters include Herman Miller, Kendall College of Art and Design, the Upjohn Institute, and several economic development organizations.

As Peter Lawrence, founder of the Corporate Design Foundation, said recently, “West Michigan has all the right ingredients to make an impact. You have the design community, the in-house corporate designers and companies with an interest in design, and the design schools. And remember, the industrial design profession really began in the depression, when companies saw design as a way out of the abyss.”

Berry is excited about the possibilities. “This is the first time all the design disciplines have come together to solve a common problem: how to tap into that valuable, but intangible asset, design, to create innovative new opportunities for growth in our region.”

And he may be on to something. After all, isn’t solving problems what good design is all about?

In His Own Words: Charles Eames

A compact little book called 100 Quotes by Charles Eames is full of insights from the designer that apply not only to life behind the drawing board, but beyond it as well. Some examples:

#2: Eventually everything connects—people, ideas, objects…the quality of the connections is the key to quality per se.”

#20: “We’ve always been aware of not…attempting to solve the problem of how people should sit, but rather accepting the way people do sit …and operating within that framework.”

#40: “We worked very hard at…enjoying ourselves. We didn’t let anything interfere with what we were doing—our hard work. That in itself was a great pleasure.”

#53: “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.”

#69: “Among the great and elegant design exceptions is a toy produced this year that has swept the country. What is it? A small bouncing ball—the Superball.”

#91: “Art resides in the quality of doing; process is not magic.”

Each quote is in seven languages: English, Complex Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Brazilian, Portuguese, and Spanish. The book, published by Eames Office, includes some of Eames’ favorite quotes from others, too. Might make a nice gift for yourself or someone you know who’s an Eames’ devotee.

Herman Miller Case Study Library: Learning How the World Works Today

Did you know that a huge problem for hospitals right now is in med dispensing rooms–nurses giving the wrong drugs to patients, often as a result of poor working conditions, such as cramped, inefficiently designed spaces?

Or that college classrooms are being looked at in entirely new ways because of how technology influences learning in high school these days?

I learned about both of those issues–and a lot of other interesting things, too–by working on Herman Miller case studies. Case studies are short summaries about a particular challenge a customer was having and how furniture and/or design solved the problem.

I find these solutions to be quite fascinating. For example, there is a company in Vermont that turns giant truck trailers into fully-equipped, high-tech mobile health care units, where doctors perform everything from surgeries to eye exams. They’re shipped all over the world to meet a variety of needs–from hospitals requiring temporary operating rooms to war zones and disaster areas.

If you’re a designer, you should check it out. It will help you keep up with what’s going on in the world – and keep learning. After all, isn’t that what libraries are for?

Sustainable Solutions: What Inspires You?

Poking around Metropolis Magazine’s website, reading about past winners of their Next Generation® Design Competition is not only interesting, it’s downright inspirational. Perhaps one of their stories will motivate you to enter the contest yourself. Better hurry, though. Entries are due January 29, 2010.

The 2008 victor, for example, San Francisco architect and teacher, Eric Olsen, based his prize-winning concept–a means of carrying and purifying water at the same time–on the saguaro cactus he observed as a boy growing up in the Nevada desert. Taking his cue from the cacti’s “pleats,” which is where they store water, he devised a lightweight, portable water tote that can be worn almost like a shawl by individuals, say, working in fields, while solar heat and ultraviolet radiation purify the water.

Called the Solar Water Disinfecting Tarpaulin, it’s quite an incredible invention and a potentially important one, too, considering that the lack of access to clean water is a major health problem for more than a billion people on our planet.

As one of the contest judges, architect Lance Hosey of William McDonough + Partners, said about Olsen’s project, “What’s brilliant…is that instead of making a better bucket, he reduced the challenge to its essence: how to get safe water.”

The Next Generation annual contest focuses on finding sustainable solutions that address today’s energy or environmental challenges, a cause that parallels Herman Miller’s environmental advocacy.

What do the winners get? A prize of $10,000, which they can put toward the development of their idea. What a great way to reward (and fund) people to stretch their minds, use their imaginations, and create innovative solutions for the real environmental problems we’re facing around the world. Good idea, no? Next year at this time you could be one of them.

From Worry Beads to Pathogens: An Interview with Florabella Designer Martin Linder

I love talking to designers. They’re such problem-solvers. For example, the other day, I had a really interesting conversation with Martin Linder, designer of the Florabella Lounge Collection by Brandrud (a Herman Miller company), which recently won a Nightingale Award at the Healthcare Design 09 conference. Our discussion ranged from worry beads to hugs to pathogens to machines for detecting explosives in airports (which he also designs, but that’s a whole other story.)

Linder, a tenured professor at San Francisco State University and partner in MSL Design, believes good design starts with good research, so he spent many hours in hospital waiting rooms observing how people interact with the furniture there. Some, he discovered, found comfort using armrest seams as “worry beads;” others took the concept of “lounge” to new heights – or depths, actually. These and other factors (did we mention those pesky pathogens?) were all taken into consideration before he ever picked up a drawing tool.

In addition to his observations, Linder also talked with hospital personnel, including nurses and maintenance crews.
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Learning Lessons from Kids

I had the coolest experience the other day – talking to a 6th grade class about writing. After I gave my spiel about what a great career it is and how many opportunities there are, I gave them an assignment: Create an ad for a soccer ball that has two distinct characteristics: It glows in the dark and it’s made out of an indestructible material called Toughcoat.

I couldn’t believe their responses. They totally got into it and I had trouble keeping up with all the fantastic ideas they were throwing at me!

Headlines like, “Play soccer under the stars,” “The ball that can’t be beat,” “The soccer ball with muscle,” “The best night-light ever!” I just never expected such great ideas from them. And I think I learned a valuable lesson that day: Kids are creative. Kids like to think. Kids can make work fun. Isn’t that the way it should be for adults, too?

Fixing the World, One Contest at a Time

Metropolis Magazine’s 2010 Next Generation® Design Competition, “ONE Design FIX for the FUTURE” is calling for entries. With this year’s theme, they’re looking for one design fix – in a product, a workplace, a city, a building, a landscape or wherever – that “in scale or as inspiration, can improve our future.”

So if you’re a designer who has been in business less than 10 years – or a design student – why not enter? Just think: Your idea might not only win, but with the $10,000 prize in seed money, you might actually watch it come to fruition.
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If Only More People Thought Like Designers

Designers are creative thinkers who often venture far outside the proverbial box. What a wonderful world it would be if more of us could think like they do.
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“Design for a Living World”: Learning Lessons from Nature

Photo via: Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum

A dress made out of salmon skin? Hot shot designer Yves Béhar helping women make hot chocolate? What in the world is going on?
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From Racecars to Work Chairs: It’s All About Sitting

Dr. Brock Walker’s exclusive “medically engineered technology” (MET) has improved everything from racecars to seats for outer space to Herman Miller work chairs. Discover how his journey began—and where it has led.
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