Design Criticism

My Reviews In Reflection

2006-07-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

In rewriting this review I have taken on almost all aspects suggested to me via EY and GW. I choose a more personal medium to achieve meaning and have fleshed out my review, giving more comments in the different areas of design. In choosing this medium I could not evidence my research throughout my critic. Steve Baker who writes influenced me by stating:

“ Fiction animates the world of objects”

I could have improved my piece with a still clearer judgement on the headphones and could have used better pros with better descriptive language to communicate the story. Therefore by covering more areas, clearly stating my position and trying to engage the reader more I would rate my article in the CR bracket.

I Am.........Quiet Comfort 2 Headphones

2006-07-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

Hi my name is Bose and I am Quiet Comfort 2 Headphones. I am different from my brethren in that I am aware. I am aware in that I know how I was made, I know my abilities and deficiencies but most importantly I have realised my place in society and am not at all happy about it. In fact I am disgusted and appalled and will tell you my story.

It is 2 years ago and I am sitting in an audio retail outlet, I am feeling great amongst my peers. You would not believe me but I am the most comfortable, adjustable headphone and my leather padding is so very soft compared to the durable yet uncomfortable synthetic materials used on the other headphones. Other brands have been commenting on my ability to fit any head shape, but laugh over my inflated Brand pricing. More importantly I am the top of my field in audio and noise cancellation technology.

I am bought by a rich 30 year old man named Bill who has read up on my abilities. I know he is rich because I cost $600 AUS.

He likens my styling to that of sophistication, where form follows function and contemporary trends are used where plastics finishes imitate metal. Have you seen this technique before? Well if you haven’t just go to a mobile phone outlet, it’s everywhere you look these days.

It is 1 year later I am much older, wiser and have become aware of my many faults. My abilities are still great but I am not efficient in many forms. Consider what happened to me last week.

It is Monday and Bill travels to work by train, he uses me not for music but to shut out what seems to be 1000 teenage girls giggling and squealing behind us. I do my best but I am not adept to shut out constant changes in pitch and struggle to please Bill. We are ten minutes into the trip and Bill decides he would rather listen to music. My wire can detach at the audio source end and my left earphone end. Unfortunately when he puts the earphone side plug in I don’t (although it would make me so happy) give him any feedback to tell him its in. He tries to play music. Well obviously no sound, but he doesn’t know why and checks pretty much every other switch before he realises its the plug.

It’s Monday afternoon and he is heading back down the train line. Bill fits me snugly and warmly over his head to receive music but I don’t produce sound. I’m turned off so Bill lifts his left hand up and using his left index finger to feel whether the switch is back or forward switches me on. However back in the early days of my relationship with Bill he didn’t know me by feel and had to take me off his head to switch me on. He used to get so frustrated from these occasions and has kept our relationship strained ever since

It’s Tuesday morning and can you believe those girls are on the same train and carriage again. Bill looks around to see the distressed travelling companions but feels heartened to have me with him. I feel loved but know what’s coming. Bill takes me out of my hard protective case as I’m quite fragile to realise he has left me switched on after getting off the train on Monday. My batteries are dead. He doesn’t have spares with him and he is so angry he hits me against the chair. I break, but my parents are good, they replace my broken parts and send me back for free. Thank-god they are not like most other companies, which would probably just dispose of me and send a replacement.

Another year passes, and today I lie here switched on while Bill lies dead on the road. He was walking back from work, a car beeped, and then screeched. I heard this but I kept the music blearing and the cars horrible screeches out (why couldn’t I do anything). It is from this incident and others throughout the year that I have come to the conclusion that I am bad for society.

It began when I was aware that Bill was missing social cues of stranger’s. No longer would he receive the nod or wave from a friendly neighbour as he walked home. He began using me more mainly at home and sometimes at work. However what I noticed with the nullified neighbourly gestures were also occurring in his home. Bill’s wife would often ask a question as she walked passed the home stereo unit to realise I was at work and therefore her husband would not answer. It was too much of a hassle to get his attention so nothing further was ever done.

The ambulance is coming now and a medic slides me off his head for the last time and throws me into the trash bin on the side of the road. My batteries are running out and I reflect on my life;

Am I worth Bill getting run-over? Definitely not

Am I worth Bill’s wife ignoring Bill when I am with him? Probably not

Am I worth Bill missing out on neighbourly gesture of kindness? Possibly not

Are my brethren and I helping isolate society into their own cacoons? Yes

I wrote this critic in the first person to give an account emphasising that it is the designer’s responsibility to deal with the problems and not the products or the consumer’s. But also to put forward this question I do not yet know the answer to:

Is the ability to tune out society, for peace of mind and supposably more convenience worthwhile, when it helps contribute to the breakdown of social interaction?

References

www.bose.com.au

http://www.cnet.com.au/hometheatre/accessories/0,39028666,40002300,00.htm

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~krystles/NegativeEffects.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/5/21/18731/3016

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-1491500_1,00.html

http://www.engadget.com/2005/06/20/dr-ipod-podders-dont-like-cellphones-portable-video-other/

http://www.nwtm.com/ntm/travel_news/newsletter_all.aspx?cid=67=

www.reviews.digitaltrends.com/review242.html

www.playlistmag.com/reviews/2005/02/quietcomfort/index.php - 26.html

Responce To Blog DESCRITTESSEY: Splitboard Critique

2006-07-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Hi EY

First sorry my critique came up so late I was best man at my dad’s wedding down in Melbourne over the weekend and I didn’t get back till Monday night. I thought I could get it done when I was down there but I was too busy/ lazy.

Second

Would love to give the board/ ski, whatever they call it a go, but I guess it would be better if I learnt to board in powder first. I never really get the opportunity in Australia to board any real deep powder, and I hear it requires quite a different technique.

Critiquing you critique

I thought it was good the way you explained terms to beginners and set up context and feeling for your review early on. I do think that it was too long, although not really for a magazine review but for markers who will read the first 2 paragraphs and then skip down to where you make your first point. Or is that too cynical?

It is quiet hard to believe someone’s critique of a product before they have used it and in your case you have done well not too make judgements on things you cannot test. By clearly stating that your position is one of observer and not user you have done well to raise questions showing in depth thought about the product for instance your paragraph of suggested manufacturing techniques.

You have used the environment as the connection to some aspect outside of your design, however it seemed a bit disconnected. You yourself admit you are giving them benefit of the doubt. Maybe if there were some hard facts about how dangerous these glosses and manufacturing techniques are, or maybe you should give an example of an eco friendly snowboard (if there is one).

To use stage 5 and 6, as I understand you need to show somewhere where someone in a different context disagrees with you. Or some alternative view point etc.

Responce To Blog DESCRITTESSGW: Postcard Critique

2006-07-01T19:59:00.002-07:00

Hi GW

Postcards. Well I’ve never used one but I have received them and taken the free ones sometimes. I’m not sure if you agree, but I believe the free ones usually have the best pictures on the front.

My Response

Well ahh…you can definitely write and have covered every requirement of the brief as fair as I can tell. You start with an insight in visual communication, which was very helpful and then continued on to give a detailed analysis of the postcard itself and of postcards in general. You definitely achieved to emote a fondness for the piece of cardboard or pieces of cardboard in general although your conclusion maybe didn’t have this coming through as much.

You have mentioned that the picture is ‘cropped close’, however I can only guess what that means and might only be visual communication terminology.

Maybe some more referenced material could help qualify you argument or maybe some arguments against your points in a different context could be used.

Designer's Blog Review 2

2006-07-01T19:59:00.001-07:00

Too Many Grads or Too Few Competencies? The Design School Dilemma

Written by Steven Heller

http://voice.aiga.org/

This well researched, constructed argument is written mainly in the ‘descriptive criticism’ category highlighted in an article called ‘Methods of Criticism and Response to Criticism’ where the Heller seeks the facts. In using descriptive writing we make the assumption of; If we know the facts, then we can understand its meaning..

This is a good piece of Design criticism as it recognises its audience as part of the ‘public intellectual’ described by Rick Poyner in his article ‘The Time For Being Against” and although only in a context probably only read by professional designers this article makes a point in the present to change the future and in essence is written for its broadest possible audience. In the article ‘Methods of Criticism and Response to Criticism’ it points to design criticism’s potential to change the future as an important reason for writing.

In using Patricia M King’s ‘Reflective Judgement Model the article can be categorised into stages 4 and 5. The author Steven Heller makes judgements usually on evidence presented in her article for both sides, however leaves it as a question, as if to say I have given both sides of the argument and I believe it in this context, but I could be wrong. An example of stage 5 reasoning would be when she highlights that University’s should provide the skills needed for students release into the workforce. But also claims that if we think more optimistically about it then there are many other benefits from study besides landing a job.

Designer's Blog Review 1

2006-07-01T19:57:00.001-07:00

Andrew Johnstone

Inspiration or rip-off... where is the fine line?

http://www.designiskinky.net/theory/theory4.html

This piece of writing is a response not to the question of ‘where the fine line is?’ but is instead a personal attack towards the people who try to find where this fine line occurs. He advocates that this issue is a black and white case where:

“Everyone knows a rip off, it is so blatantly obvious…”

However he doesn’t proceed to back this up. This is clearly an example of stage 1 thinking in Patricia M King’s ‘Reflective Judgement Model’ Where

“ Stage 1 is characterised by the assumption that knowledge is gained through direct personal observation”

Where I believe it, so it must be true. However what’s worse is in saying that he proclaims that the 2 other critics who contribute to this article after him are not even worth reading.

Andrew Johnstone disclaims his own article by claiming he is not a ‘hypocrite’, but within the space of 2 paragraphs he proclaims:

“If a design, layout or idea has been blatantly ripped off then I am all for trying to castrate the people who did it.”

To then say:

“A blatant rip-off while still very annoying is, as I said above, so pathetic that we really shouldn't even dignify it by getting annoyed.”

The piece can be categorised as a piece of ‘interpretive criticism’ where he attempts to persuade us that he is correct not through “accuracy but plausibility” [1]. The Only decent example of this comes through when he uses humour in a paragraph to present a conversation with the people he disagrees with. He suggests these certain designer’s are annoyed when one company uses a lot of arrows in their design and so no-one else should use arrows because it would be a design rip off. He retaliates saying

“No it isn’t, it’s a fucking arrow”

Overall this piece is entertaining but in the end merely push’s a point without the plausibility to persuade.

Bienallie Review 2: Evaluation

2006-07-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

The instalment overwhelmingly works on a level not conceived by the artist himself, drawing on the piers environment and audience for much of its contrasts between cultures. On the one hand his installation succeeds in representing a feeling of sympathy and connection with his people however on the other hand does nothing to engage the interpreter about this contrast of cultures he is trying to represent. It felt more like an education into his culture than a point proving cultural diversity and differences. My only clue to his point came through his blurb where he outlines a difference of opinion between how he the leader of aboriginals in North East Arnhem Land and the high court want to govern a stretch of water. Which signifies a greater battle between aboriginal rights and non-aboriginal laws.

http://www.annandalegalleries.com.au/htmlpages/artists_bio.php?artistID=12

This contrast has actually come through by the very fact of its surrounding environment and the way people have interpreted how to use the physical space in which the installation is located.

The artist has successfully created a feeling of sacred ground in the middle of the installation. Possibly the most telling zone of contact I noticed was when I walked around this signified sacred area to see that sneaker foot marks had left impressions on the sand. My initial reaction was to ask why they were there. Was it because a member of the audience hadn’t realised the grounds importance or was it a curator who had to pick up a piece of paper that floated onto the display. Whatever the reason this footprint signified the extreme gap still evident in cultural acceptance of aborigines more than the artist could ever have hoped to achieve through education in an contemporary art Event.

Bienallie Review 1

2006-07-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

Djambawa Marawill

Little Baru 2004

The leader of the Madarrpa clan is an activist for aboriginal rights and a mediator between non-aboriginals and the people of North East Arnhem Land. In 2004 laws were past recognising the aboriginals native title to the sea. However the high court did not recognise their right to govern the sea by their own laws, and as such this issue is brought up in his artwork.

http://www.anu.edu.au/culture/abstractions/artists/dm_1.htm

His installation portrays a zone of contact between aboriginals and non-aboriginals by using traditional bark paintings each with their own story about the land , which is in contrast to a contemporary art display such as the Biennale. These paintings also show zones of contact between the surrounding tribes, their diversity and identity. An example of this would be the geometric clan patterns or the geographic locations represented on the bark paintings.

Each painting tells a story and each painting helps educate non-aboriginals about how important these sacred areas are for them and convey why. Through exposure of his culture he brings education about his mission.

“Much of Aboriginal art is bound up with the Dreaming stories and the rituals and ceremonies that are performed to maintain the links between people and the spirit world.”

tp://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/indg_overview.html

The top down lights and walk around path gives clear precedence to the metaphoric sacred area and is emphasised through the use of didgeridoos placed standing up, which give a feeling of purposefully placed objects and not instrumental tools used on a daily basis. Sand is used to create an image of an area somewhere far off and baron, where to the non-aboriginal this may only signify sand this focal point educates the viewer of the actual importance.

http://www.anu.edu.au/culture/abstractions/artists/dm_1.htm

13 Questions in Reflection

2006-07-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

In completing the task it is clear that 10 questions can definitely give great insight into your personality, likes and dislikes. Justin used logic to narrow down where I might get my news from, but made a cultural assumption in that I don’t get it from reading. Janina was wrong in suggesting that I was born in Europe but was right about me wanting to go there because of my heritage, (I am a quarter Dutch). Lindsay has pointed out that I would spend a night out with the boys, which is true 3 out of 4 weekends by drawing on my interest in sport and motorbikes.

However I have realised that many of these answers draw on cultural assumptions. An example would be when Janina picks that a reason for travelling to Europe might be Bloodline related. However I wonder how accurate these results would be if they hadn’t seen my face, or even talked to me before completing this task. Would I get similar answers if they were answered by African tribes-man? Probably not, but if they were answered by American uni students or even, the elderly in Sydney would they be as correct?

QC2 In Picture Form

2006-06-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

Is Quiet and Comfortable Everything? An Industrial Designer's Comment

2006-06-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

The Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones have excellent sound quality, block out most external noises, are very comfortable and have been well rated by independent consumer review sites such as digitaltrends and playlistmag.

www.reviews.digitaltrends.com/review242.html

www.playlistmag.com/reviews/2005/02/quietcomfort/index.php - 26.html

They have also been commercially successful and profitable products and have been used to promote package deals and been partnered with allied industries.

(American Airlines passengers receive QC2’s for in-flight audio)

http://www.nwtm.com/ntm/travel_news/newsletter_all.aspx?cid=67

However, from an industrial design viewpoint this product falls well short of my own design expectations of what this technology could, and in my opinion, should be. As a consumer I am happy to learn and live with the products deficiencies but as a designer I had to ask the question why too many times. In critiquing this product I aim to highlight the issues an industrial designer may identify that consumers may not, particularly consumer to product interaction and sociology impacts.

In a consumer to product analysis I found many of the design ideas were feature driven and have been unresolved or otherwise solved in a clumsy way. The worst case of this can be highlighted through what seems to be a lack of user scenarios envisioned by the creative collective back at Bose headquarters, in which the user asks:

“What do I have to do to get this to work?”

There are already too many products in the world where the user asks this question, I don’t wont headphones to be added to the list. This situation is so frustratingly bad that I now have a mental checklist to find out what’s causing this muted scenario. Of course the audio source could be the problem, (which it is sometimes and has its own annoying checklist) but ignoring that possibility, it could be any one of these scenarios:

A) The QC2’s have an excellent feature where I can walk around with my headphones on only receiving the noise cancellation component and not the music from my mp3 player (unfortunetly the more useful idea of this idea switched to save batteries on powering the noise cancellation is not added). For this reason the wire is detachable to the headphones. Unfortunately when sliding the plug back in there is no feedback to tell me the plug connection is complete and often leads to the question stated above. This would be like closing the door in a car to make the door light inside go off. Yet without the solid closing clunk to tell you that in fact the door is closed you would not know wether to continue trying to close that door or move onto the next one.

B) The headphones actually have a power button and what’s worse is that the user cannot see this power button or determine battery life when in use and therefore infuriatingly has to take the headphones off to decipher this information.

C) Typically Portable audio devices switch themselves off after a period of inactivity and 'mains' powered devices can be left on permanently. The QC2’s are neither and therefore it has to be turned off after each use. Imagine how many times the user (mainly me) comes back to a dead battery. I carry around spare batteries and spare cash to buy more batteries. This is extremely wasteful in a money and sustainable future context, but also in a space context where transportability is such a major design brief issue.

More importantly though is a question of whether these headphones intensify the break down of communication in social environments?

Sociologist Michael Bull has stated that:

"A world where everyone has their headphones on may not be a very pleasant world."

http://www.engadget.com/2005/06/20/dr-ipod-podders-dont-like-cellphones-portable-video-other/

This world could be described by Andrew Sullivan who writes for Time magazine. He writes:

“ They walk down the street in their own cacoon, bumping into others, deaf to small social cues, shutting out anyone not in their bubble”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-1491500_1,00.html

I personally experienced this situation when I walked home from uni one day in an experiement to find out how my neighbours would react. The neighbourly gesture of a wave and nod was nullified with headphones on and I was left with blank faced stares.

Throughout the world this topic is debated in ‘blogs’ and forums not only with headphones but also with different products and new ways to communicate digitally. Common examples would be for sunglasses and Internet shopping. Quite often the debate centralises around whether there are more positives or negatives to come out of being able to not participate in a social environment.

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~krystles/NegativeEffects.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/5/21/18731/3016

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-1491500_1,00.html

However with noise cancellation technology in headphones this situation is amplified and made worse to the point where strangers are not the only ones being excluded.

A man who wrote a reader review for the QC2's at ‘cnet’ describes enthusiastically a situation where using the headphones has drowned out the overly noisy computer fans at work. Unfortunately he promotes a scenario where he subconsciously tells his colleagues not to contact him and if they do it would have to be through a physical and not a verbal act. But also that, whatever is needed, must be worth him to take his headphones off, so that he can hear what he or she wants to say. This same scenario can be translated to a home situation with loved ones but also in its marketed scenario of aeroplane travel.

www.bose.com.au

http://www.cnet.com.au/hometheatre/accessories/0,39028666,40002300,00.htm

These headphones are good if not the best headphones, for blocking out noise such as the unwanted whirling of a Boeing 747 engine. But when issues of worth, in a context greater than you or me becomes a focal point these headphones are frustrating and damaging to society.

13 Questions

2006-06-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

1. Favourite Television Show in the last 2 years. How many hours television do you watch a week?

I watch about 12 hours of TV a week and I think 'Family Guy' is the best TV show.

2. What sort of camera do you have? What do you take pictures of: events, friends and relatives, things I find interesting, beautiful things?

I do not own a camera.

3. What sort of car would you like to drive? How often would you get under the bonnet of that car?

I would actually ride a motorcycle and would like to ride a Moto GP race bike. If i was riding this bike i would probably be racing in the championship and would have a dedicated team of mechanics.

4. Do you play a musical instrument? Which?

I do not play a musical instrument.

5. List your most favourite and least favourite type of music?

Most Favourite = Rock 1950's to now Least Favourite = RnB

6. Which of the following would you visit or attend at least twice a year: art galleries, museums, public lectures, public libraries, political meetings, demonstrations or rallies?

Puplic libraries

7. List 4 films you have seen in the last year, from favourite to least favourite, and indicate how you saw them (cinema, video/dvd rental, video/dvd owned, pay TV, free-to-air TV)?

24 Hour Party People, Trainspotting, Requim of a Dream, Batman Begins

8. What is your favourite sport or game to play? What is your favourite sport or game to watch?

Favourite game to play = Tennis

Favourite sport to watch = AFL

9. Where would like to travel to (apart from to friends or relatives)?

Europe, especially The Nertherlands and England

11.Should the government be spending more or less funding on: tax relief, sport, the arts, the environment.

More money should go to sustainable living.

Questions I Have Not Answered

12.Which country are you from? Could you live in a country other than where you were raised for the rest of your life?

13.Where do you tend to meet your friends: at each other’s homes, shopping centres, pubs or clubs, cafes and restaurants, parks or exercising?

10.What is your primary source of news? To what extent to do you take an interest in the news

Well, well, well

2006-06-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

3 holes in the ground.