Limited production
Where do I start?
I’m supposed to hate it... right?
But most of the best things in life come in limited production. Cheesy things, teenage love notes, backwards Christmas cards you made your grandparents when you were little, good friends, really good products? It’s debatable, but all good things are.
Limited production products, the kind that sell for thousands of dollars are a different story. There are blatant benefits that come out of these processes if they are meant from the start to be beneficial. Although, if you are making a bench dipped in platinum that’s also a different story. I’m all for bringing things into this world that we have never seen before, and without those one or two things that change the way we perceive what’s possible, everything would stay the same.
As one of my most treasured friends have said, and many wise people before her, “there is a time and a place for everything”, there was a time for that platinum bench, even if its place is to tell us it was a useless meaningless idea. That conclusion is all my own, and one that is relevant to my experiences and my beliefs as a designer only.
I don’t like that bench for a number of reasons, not just because I see it as a waste of materials. But again that’s a whole different story.
Good examples of limited production products are all around us. Hand crafted wooden boats, beautiful films, a pair of custom leather boots, these are all things that deserve to be appreciated for themselves, one and only. There is a craft that comes with anything limited production, and a level of respect that comes hand in hand. And whether or not you like the specifics or the material chose or the sometimes contrived aesthetics this field of design is an art form just like any other.
To say that limited production is the answer to designing without a user group in mind is something I fundamentally disagree with. We as people take in every bit of information that we can process every millisecond of every day, and even if we are making something purely to describe ideas made in our heads all we are doing is regurgitating everything that came before us, putting one thing in front of another or one thought upside down, or however it may be. It’s not to say that no original thought has ever been had purely only that as humans we are based on progression. Progression is what I look to for inspiration, and it is the father of everything new, it is possibilities. Even a platinum bench has a frame of reference and fits into the puzzle somehow.
The more complexities and facets a designer builds into the product conceptually the more elaborate the meaning is going to be. But what is important to remember is that this has no bearing on the worth of the product, it is only guidelines for what it is meant to be worth, and every product is the outcome of our own perception of it.
Where do I start?
I’m supposed to hate it... right?
But most of the best things in life come in limited production. Cheesy things, teenage love notes, backwards Christmas cards you made your grandparents when you were little, good friends, really good products? It’s debatable, but all good things are.
Limited production products, the kind that sell for thousands of dollars are a different story. There are blatant benefits that come out of these processes if they are meant from the start to be beneficial. Although, if you are making a bench dipped in platinum that’s also a different story. I’m all for bringing things into this world that we have never seen before, and without those one or two things that change the way we perceive what’s possible, everything would stay the same.
As one of my most treasured friends have said, and many wise people before her, “there is a time and a place for everything”, there was a time for that platinum bench, even if its place is to tell us it was a useless meaningless idea. That conclusion is all my own, and one that is relevant to my experiences and my beliefs as a designer only.
I don’t like that bench for a number of reasons, not just because I see it as a waste of materials. But again that’s a whole different story.
Good examples of limited production products are all around us. Hand crafted wooden boats, beautiful films, a pair of custom leather boots, these are all things that deserve to be appreciated for themselves, one and only. There is a craft that comes with anything limited production, and a level of respect that comes hand in hand. And whether or not you like the specifics or the material chose or the sometimes contrived aesthetics this field of design is an art form just like any other.
To say that limited production is the answer to designing without a user group in mind is something I fundamentally disagree with. We as people take in every bit of information that we can process every millisecond of every day, and even if we are making something purely to describe ideas made in our heads all we are doing is regurgitating everything that came before us, putting one thing in front of another or one thought upside down, or however it may be. It’s not to say that no original thought has ever been had purely only that as humans we are based on progression. Progression is what I look to for inspiration, and it is the father of everything new, it is possibilities. Even a platinum bench has a frame of reference and fits into the puzzle somehow.
The more complexities and facets a designer builds into the product conceptually the more elaborate the meaning is going to be. But what is important to remember is that this has no bearing on the worth of the product, it is only guidelines for what it is meant to be worth, and every product is the outcome of our own perception of it.
0 comments:
Post a Comment