A lecture by Luigi Ferrara, Director of the Institute without Boundaries, and Director of the School of Design at George Brown College
Reviewed by Ayla Newhouse, Student at the IwB
“What is design?” Before Luigi begins his lecture, he asks each of us to answer this question in one sentence. We ponder, we respond. No one gets it “right”, but then there are no right answers in an “undecideable” question. Luigi Ferrara is the Director of the George Brown School of Design and the Institute without Boundaries, where we have just begun our year of study in interdisciplinary design. By the end of the lecture, we will be able to describe in a new language the way each of us felt about design but could never quite put in to words.
If there is one common denominator that brought us all to this school, it is the deep-rooted desire to explore the unconventional, the path less taken. We all speak the language of possibility, which, according to Luigi, is one way to describe design. It is also a good way to describe the difference between “decideable” and “undecideable” systems. Design, love, and the question of “what makes a good house” are all undecideable, whereas mathematics and science tend to be concrete and thus decideable. The beauty of the undecideable is in the sense of possibility it allows. In not knowing the answer, many answers may be considered.
Design is about sharing. Take a look around you and choose an object. Is it a table? Can you use that table to share meals or ideas? Is it your watch? How did we share the concept of time before the universally recognized design of the clock face? “Design creates reality by transforming resources into embodiments for the purpose of sharing,” says Luigi. In fact, as I walk toward the subway station later that day, I start noticing things (bikes, newspaper boxes, Starbucks) and understanding how it is that “first we shape our things and then they shape us.” We created the Internet, and now a great deal of our social structure is linked to an immaterial dimension. To see how the things we design will shape us in the future, we have to look back at how design has evolved.
Luigi breaks down the Evolution of Design into three categories: Design as Convention, Design as Abstraction, and Design as Transfiguration. In medieval times (and in many parts of the world today), the world was one of scarcity, and design was ruled by convention. In this world, design was done by the many; it was beautiful, unique and durable, and imitation was the norm. In the Industrial (abundant) world, the previous model was replaced by cheaper, mass-produced, standardized and “functional” design, done by the few for the masses. In this world, living standards were higher and the rich paid extra for the beauty of “conventional” design (or craft) as it became more rare. Here’s where it gets exciting… we are designers in a new paradigm. Today design is focused on transfiguration, and a backlash against abundance. Instead, simplification, balance (yoga anyone?) and personalization are valued. The role of the designer is shifting to one of a systematizer, or facilitator. The new designer thinks on behalf of (or with) the people to create appropriate solutions to challenges as they arise. An emphasis is placed on transformable objects (which have many uses) and thinking of the world in terms of dematerializing and re-materializing. We no longer need skyscrapers as “processors of information” because we have computer networks, internet and intranet. People own property and operate business in a new “web-dimension.” The question becomes how to make things work for people, the planet, the seventh generation (our babies’ babies’ babies…) and design a world that values life and living.
Suddenly we are out of time and Luigi laments that he had pages and pages of other ideas to share with us, but he has to go. As he puts the cap back on the dry erase marker and slides an arm into his blazer, I ask Luigi if he could come back and do another lecture about the future future of design? He laughs and slides the other arm in, “I think we’ve got a lot of work to do for this one!”
