Adapting Design to the Digital Age

Randall Braaksma — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:00:09 +0000

One of the big appeals of technology devices is that they get smaller and more powerful with each successive design. This trend toward miniaturization makes these devices easier to carry and store, and much more convenient to use, which affects how we live and work. The logical conclusion for miniaturization—implanting computers in our bodies—is now less the stuff of science fiction and more a matter of future labs.

Miniaturization, as you might expect, has affected the furniture and other objects that support it. This complementary effect is known as dematerialization, and it means that less—or even better, no—material is used to create a product that provides the same level of function to the people who use it. Steven Kurutz, in the New York Times, sees this trend affecting industrial designers, who are adapting their designs “in ways big and small, subtle and not so subtle — to new forms of technology and the proliferation of devices like the iPad, e-readers and ever-thinner flat-screen TVs.”

Both trends—miniaturization and dematerialization—are likely to continue and speed up. As Ryan Anderson, our director of furniture technology, notes in the article, designers used to have time to anticipate where technology was headed and plan for it. But with the speed of technology change today, the furniture, and the space it occupies, have to adapt almost instantly.

Why Do You Go To The Office?

Randall Braaksma — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:12:52 +0000

Every day people endure rush hour traffic, mediocre coffee, and the interruptions that come with office life. Equipped with a laptops and cell phones, many workers could work from elsewhere. So, why to do they go to the office?

“All work is social,” says Larry Prusak, author and director of IBM’s research lab. While mobile technology untethers workers from their desks, nothing trumps face time when it comes to developing and deepening relationships with others.

René Shimada Siegel writing in Inc magazine recently observed, “We’re all in the people business. We’ll only be successful if we really get to know our customers and colleagues.” To do this, Siegel advocates meeting in person, offering 5 reasons to forgo Skype, emails, and texts.

People chose the office for a reason. For those of us who design and furnish offices, the challenge is to make them places where people want to be.

Herman Miller blog: Discover » Mobility

Adapting Design to the Digital Age

Why Do You Go To The Office?