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Week 10
Monday
LETTER no. 64Week no.10: Making Things. MondayDesign 101 MOOC,
Abadir for iversity
Greetings from the Zone, somewhere in former Soviet Union.
The stalker is guiding us through the Zone. We must reach the
Room: a room where all of our unconscious wishes are granted.
This week is about making things. So get into the Zone! Get in
touch with your true desires and needs.
The world moves on because of our desires (else we would still
live in perfectly adapted caves). This is something very relevant
to acknowledge if you are a designer.
How to deal with our desires? How to deal with other people
desires?
Regarding the postcard, todays stamp is dedicated to one of our
favorites people ever: the Russian moviemaker Andrei Tarkovsky.
He made a lot of very interesting (and very special) movies.If
you never heard of him, you could start to watch the above
mentioned Stalker. Then you could watch Solaris. To end up with
Nostalghia...
:o
Then, next to Tarkovsky, we added Franco Albini and Franca Helg
silver Pannocchia. A very precious object, where its decorative
element provides the structural functioning.
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A bowl is something we need. But a bowl can be something we
desire. Probably, it is both. Desire and need. It has to function
(the organic ribs, guarantee its resistance and allow to have a
very thin section). But then, its functional element, can become a
very precious decoration.
A magical world where craftsmanship, function, decoration, need,
desire... they all overlap in one simple thing.
Finally, since we will spend the whole week making things, a
nice quote from our beloved John Cage: If something is boring after
two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then
sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not
boring at all.
May the Force be with you!
Question of the day: To design, does it deal withsatisfying
needs, or does itdeal with satisfying desires?If you are reading
this letter (meaning that you have a computer, an access to
internet, free time to read our silly postcards and letters,
etc.etc.etc.), design deals with satisfying desires.
Even more. Excellent design deals with the invention of new
desires.
The politically correct answer would say that design is there to
fix problems and satisfy needs.
The real answer goes elsewhere. Not necessarily nice, but design
does not have to be necessarily nice. If we are able to be true, it
is already a great achievement.
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Homework no. 64Last week, we spent some nice time relaxing,
celebrating, eating and drinking some. This week, we will get back
to making things. Indeed, we will be spending a week making
vases!
Today, you will complete the quiz and prepare yourself for the
week.
And heres what well be doing in the next days:
on Tuesday: you will measure a vase of yours.
on Wednesday: you will have to sketch up a vase.
on Thursday: you will create a vase from thin cardboard.
on Friday: you will create a vase from thick cardboard.
on Saturday: together, we will relax and interact through
colours!
on Sunday: you will relax and watch some nice thing we made for
you.
What will I learn today? To think about design through some
conceptual glasses.This week we will have to make a vase.A vase can
be intended as something we need (I need a vase to hold apples).
But, at the same time, a vase can be intended as something we want,
without a specific need. I would like to have a vase to hold some
beautiful flowers.
Is it need or is it desire? Is it decoration or is it function?
Where is our vase? Where are we?
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Why do we do this? Design is to make things with a clear idea
that those things we make always carry some meaning.
We have to make a vase.If we do it in paper it means something.
If we do it in steel, it means something else. Materials do carry a
meaning. The same goes for form, dimensions, formal qualities.
We want you to think about these relations, about these
tensions. Good design always comes out from tension. Its up to you
to decide when it is time to pull, how much to pull, where to
stand.
Something to remember: Let everything thats been planned come
true. Let them believe. And let them have a laugh at their
passions. Because what they call passion actually is not some
emotional energy, but just the friction between their souls and the
outside world. And most important, let them believe in themselves.
Let them be helpless like children, because weakness is a great
thing, and strength is nothing. When a man is just born, he is weak
and flexible. When he dies, he is hard and insensitive. When a tree
is growing, its tender and pliant. But when its dry and hard, it
dies. Hardness and strength are deaths companions. Pliancy and
weakness are expressions of the freshness of being. Because what
has hardened will never win.
Andrei Tarkovsky wrote this.You could imagine that them is for
people.Lets make an effort. Lets imagine that them are the vases we
will design and make this week.
Further inspiration... Here, another quote by Tarkovsky:
For me the most interesting characters are outwardly static, but
inwardly charged by an overriding passion.
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And here is a link to watch him talking about arts, solitude and
life.
Last but not least, the link to Franco Albinis (Mr. Pannocchia)
website. Take a look. That was (and that is) excellent design.
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Design 101. A How-To.We know we have some late-comers, here are
a few instructions on how the whole thing functions...
A typical Design 101 day:
We send you an email around 9 in the morning (Berlin time) with
the link to our daily unit + some news, updates, cool Design 101
things we found etc.etc.
Note: you can find all of our previous emails in the
Announcements section of Design 101 on iversity.
Once you land on the units page, you find our shipment (which
consists of a video-postcard + a letter). You watch the video, read
our letter, get to work and complete the assignment (or relax if
its a weekend day). For even more fun, you can always refer to the
Design 101 encyclopedia, which is updated every week.
Dont forget to take part in the conversations of the Discussions
forum!
Now, going beyond the iversity platform, we have setup other
places for us to meet and spread things we do.
On Facebook:the Design 101 page: to follow whats going on (in
general terms)the Design 101 Exercises page: to check out picks
(things that fascinate us the most)the Design 101 Arena group: to
post your pictures, share your thoughts, emotions, references,
lalala (as a complement to the discussions happening on the
platform).
On Twitter,@design1o1: to follow whats going on + discuss with
each other.#design1o1: to connect us all under a same hashtag.
On YouTube:the Design 101 channel: to view + share our video
postcards (which is not possible to do from the iversity
platform)
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On Instagram:#design1o1: to connect us all under a same
hashtag.
Regarding the hashtag, make sure to use #design1o1 with an o and
not a 0...
:-)
PS Uploading your homework to the iversity platform is very
important in terms of archiving. It is the only way we can collect
all the things we do in one same place. Once the course ends, it
might turn out to be reorganized into a wonderful book and/or
exhibition
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The Stalker Charlotte Perriand on the chaise longue she designed
with Le Corbusier
Andrei Tarkovsky, director of Stalker
Pannocchia, Albini and Helg
Todays postcardScenery from Stalker Duilio Fortes Pastrengo
Space