Stefan Sagmeister:
After looking through the many forms of happiness that make up Stefan's life, he finds that most happiness stems from design-oriented subjects. He looks at it from two different standpoints, the consumer's and the designer's views. Aside from that, he also talks about abstraction to a degree, citing a Yves Kline painting, saying the theory was that if you abstract an image, you open as much room for the unrepresentable and, therefore are able to involve the viewer more. In viewing happiness, Sagmeister goes on to say that the visualization has become easy, even to the point where being authentic can be a difficulty. So the solution to this is to go in different directions, like playing on cynicism to evoke happiness through irony. The trick is to get people involved, allowing the public to express themselves. It is good to draw from personal experiences as well when designing, and work on things that matter to you.
J.J. Abrams:
Abrams begins his presentation through a nostalgic dissection of one of his role models, his grandfather. He talks about their fascination with the inner workings of basic machinery to trades like silk-screen and letterpress. The idea of deconstructing to understand an object is something that Abrams seems to have done his entire life to appreciate the beauty and science of designing. An important point he brings up about design is the idea of representation, to design with representation is to design with potential. The number of infinite possibilities is a catalyst for imagination. He also mentions the embrace of new technologies and techniques in the creative process, which are good to open up even more ways to design and create well.
Ultimately Abrams strategy lies in creating a good mystery box. To withhold information engages the viewer and leaves them wanting more. It is up to the designer to use this to full advantage and couple it with good design strategy when creating, no matter what resources are at hand.
Ken Robinson:
Ken Robinson begins his lecture with a look into the fascination with education. He feels that though we as a country are so well-invested in education that ultimately the results of it are unpredictable. Robinson states specifically that children have an amazing capacity for innovation and dedication, but to a degree the educational system seems to squander that. Children take chances, they don't prepare to do the wrong thing. Going through education seems to strengthen the fear of doing the wrong thing, therefore the chance at creativity is diminished. Robinson goes on to say that there is a hierarchy in school subjects, at the top math, then languages, then humanities, and at the bottom the arts. For public education, the peak of success seems to be producing men and women that are able to teach in universities, but Robinson affirms his belief that they should not be held on a higher level of human achievement, for they are human just like everyone else. Nowadays there seems to be an academic inflation anyways, where once a job that required a BA may now require a PhD, and that degrees in general seem to be losing their worth.
Because of the problems discussed by Robinson, intelligence should be understood as something quite diverse. People think visually, their minds are dynamic, and individually distinct. He states that the education system has mined the mind searching for commodity. So he feels that now the principles of public education need to be reassessed for a more stimulated creativity and to ultimately, educate the whole being.
How Good is Good?
While bad design can make the world a hard place to live in, good design for bad things is just as terrible. But bad design for good things can sometimes turn out good as well. So what makes good actually good? First the designer needs to assess all their values. Is doing good for one value good for the others?
Importantly, to design well means doing a myriad of things. It unifies, helps us remember, simplifies, makes people feel better, makes the world safer, rallies for causes, teaches, raises money, and makes people more tolerant.
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