Objectified, we are !

Is ‘Design’ anymore meant for consumption by human beings or instead are they being consumed by it?

That’s the lingering question on my mind. 

The goal of Industrial design has been standardization of products for mass consumption. A huge risk of being thoughtless while designing is involved over here. Everyday millions of objects are introduced into the market. And if these are not directed towards the consumer needs and are not designed to solve a purpose, they would lead to a critical situation of resource scarcity and dumping related issues.

A good design should be innovative, useful, have aesthetics, understandable, honest, long lived, unobtrusive, environment friendly, consistent in details and simplistic. The designer’s key role here is to design the object so much into the future that it stands the test of time.

Another challenge faced is to cost a good design at a low price. But instead, it’s being marketed as more expensive since it has been "designed". That’s the irony. The fact is that a design can be expensive or cheap and good or bad. It’s subjective to people’s preferences. In that case,  a phrase like “democratization of design” (Representing or appealing to or adapted for the benefit of the people at large) should not even exist.

Most leading design oriented product brands are focusing on creating novel experiences for the consumer, an experience which is so addictive that the consumer is constantly on a lookout for new or the next generation intervention and indulgences. The challenge faced over here is that it leads to a consumer who’s always unsatisfied. And I ask myself, do I want to be subjected to this never ending race? The answer is No, I’d rather live in today and enjoy the things that we already have than become “OBJECTIFIED”.

There is a huge responsibility with the designers of today- create sustainability within products. We need to put our foot down and not only design objects but help people understand the consequence of their choices as well.