Series 2 Episode 09: Design, Then and Now

The aim of many designers is to create timeless work.  Whilst aiming for a long design life is admirable, we shouldn't get hooked up on trying to avoid the time in which we live and work.

This episode explains that good design can be timeless yet still reflect the times in which it is designed.   Indeed understanding and learning from the past is just as important as familiarity with new developments in materials, technology and thinking.  

Transcript

Speaker 0:13

Hello and welcome to another episode of Make Life Better by Design with me, Kevin Drayton. A friend shared on social media that he wasn't doing too well with three of his New Year's resolutions. Firstly, being more patient. Secondly, not assuming that most people are incompetent, and thirdly, being more approachable. I certainly felt there was a, a resonance there. I have a habit, not just with New Year's resolutions, but more generally falling into a trap of thinking in a particular way. The, the one that I've struggled with a lot is falling into the trap of thinking that everybody else has gone on the same sort of journey of development from childhood that I have. And of course that couldn't be more wrong, but somehow it colours my thinking, I know, a lot of the time. And I think what goes alongside that is falling into the trap of thinking, well, if I know something, it must common knowledge. The fact is that observation, education and thinking for oneself are the foundations of personal development, no matter where you're coming from; what your particular journey is or has been. And the sooner it dawns on us that yeah, we are all the same, but in an infinite variety of ways, the sooner we can understand why the often small, subtle variations and differences between people can lead to conflict rather than automatic agreement. But an open inquiring mind may find that what you first perceived as wrong in another person's thinking, really just because it was at variance with your own thinking at the time, reveals itself upon closer examination to be of value, and it modifies our own thinking for the better. I think, let's face it, if we ever reached a point in life, when we thought we knew it all well, what would get us up the next day? It's a fatuous question because every day until our last, will bring new things, new discoveries. It was happening to people before we were born, and the process will continue after we die. Now, turning more closely to design. Design thinking, often urges a reduction to fundamentals to avoid fashion and trends. And instead aim for an embodiment of, of timeless factors in design based on balance, proportion, intelligibility, and so on. And whilst there is a lot to be said for that, each era, each generation is, in my view, blessed or cursed with new discoveries, new science, new technology, new materials, new techniques, new ways of thinking, all of which it would be wrong for designers to ignore. Each generation has a richer and richer history of design to call upon. What this tends to mean is that design is almost impossible to divorce from when it was produced. Every period in history has produced great designs. Part of the success of those designs will derive from the designer's ability to exploit the discoveries and thinking of their own time whilst retaining eternal verities and values. We cannot just throw out everything that's gone before. A new type of music doesn't mean we no longer appreciate music from an earlier era. Indeed, seeing how earlier composer's thinking has been updated in new music can increase our pleasure in both. So we look back and we can appreciate classical architecture, renaissance painting. Art Nouveau Artefacts, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dylan Thomas, plain song, Chopin, minimalism, and Progressive Rock. All very much of their times, yet continuing to inform and invigorate architecture, art, literature, and music today. When, where and to whom we were born are beyond our ability to change as to a slightly lesser extent are the times through which we live. But observation, education and thinking for oneself can produce great works despite these unalterable beginnings. Architectural history illustrates this mix of timeless and innovative design throughout history. The Pantheon in Rome was built before steel or glass were available, yet survives as a breathtaking architectural experience, as well as an object lesson in what could be done with concrete. Art and technology rooted in time. And still able to take its place as one of the greatest buildings available to us. Gothic cathedrals pushed the envelope of what could be built with stone and also incorporating vast areas of stained glass. That combination of soaring masonry and light filtered through sheets of jewels is eternally tied to a period in history while still retaining its power in 2026. The skyscraper, originating in 1880s, America used new construction techniques to build to enormous height from a very small footprint. The skyscraper was the love child of raging land price growth, and developments in structural engineering. The fact that skyscrapers can be found and continue to be built in great urban centres all over the globe shows that the circumstances that gave birth to the skyscraper continue still. Those same principles of development and evolution apply to every sphere of design. A classic four and a half litre Bentley from the 1920s doesn't have the fuel economy or the safety rating of a luxury saloon produced today. But as an exemplar of cutting edge automotive and sublime product design of the time, it can still induce euphoria by the bucket load. Anything and everything can be examined by a reasonably educated designer. And here I'm using designer with a small D to mean all of us. It can be examined by a reasonably educated designer and to decide for oneself whether or not it's well designed, regardless of when it might date from. So there it is, observation, education, and thinking for oneself. Essential attributes for all designers, regardless of whether their initial letter is upper or lowercase. It's an activity to indulge in anytime and anywhere. In fact, many architects, uh, product designers and so on find it almost impossible to avoid. I was out to lunch recently with a friend and we quickly agreed that the food in the restaurant was terrific. And after a while my friend asked if I could please concentrate on that IE the food, and stop going on about how the restaurant interior might be better organised. How perhaps the lighting could be improved and why I felt a different type of cutlery might be an improvement. We ate in silence for a while until I excused myself to go to the toilets. When I returned to the table, my friend eyed me for a while before sighing, putting his napkin beside his plate and asking,"okay, go on then, what were the toilets like?" I can't resist. And let's be honest, there is so much out there to absorb, to think about, to comment on, and it's something that I hope that you'll do. Either more or more deeply because of this series. As always, it's been a pleasure to be with you and I'm very grateful for your company. I hope you'll join me again soon, and until then, goodbye!