Does Design Hide Knowledge in Technology?: Design Mysteries Series

Cotton Scarves | Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier

Is DESIGN the embodiment of knowledge in technology?

I probably should try to explain, what I mean by this statement. A square meter cotton scarf masquerades as many useful tools if the user has the knowledge and skill to transform it. Simply tying a few well-placed knots in a scarf can create a baby carrier. Having the knowledge of where to place the knots is all-important. A plastic, metal and canvas baby carrier is designed and engineered to require as little knowledge as possible of the user. The designed baby carrier has all the knowledge built into it. Plastic snaps require little understanding or knowledge to make them work. And once the baby out grows the designed” baby carrier, what do you do with it? Save it for the next baby? What if you don’t have another baby? Give it away? To who? If you use the “Scarf Baby Carrier” all one has to do is fold it up and put it away until you decide to use it as a scarf or maybe a “sling” for your injured arm or to carry some apples to a friends house or as a belt for those new pants you just bought. The point is a “scarf” as many, many uses and a very long PRODUCT life as it morphs from one function to another. The “designed” baby carrier has just one use and then it’s garbage or it has to go through another technological transformation (re-cycling) that capture its many different component materials, so they can be re-made into something else and this just makes it very costly in many, many ways.

There are many instances where technology makes us dumber and smarter simultaneously. It is the irony of technology and design. Navigating by the stars requires knowledge, navigating with a GPS device requires little knowledge of the user, other than the ability to push a few electronic buttons. The user depends on the knowledge built into the machine, not knowledge they acquired. The cotton scarf embodies the best kind of sustainability, it becomes whatever you want it to become when you need it. It just requires a little knowledge and a little imagination. Two wonderful words.

#DesignMysteriesSeries [#9]
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Design Mysteries Series
Bruce Hannah 2017©