Design Arguments: Critical Judgements

Reviewed Review Task 2 part C

2006-06-29T01:58:00.000-07:00

The BIC Maxi, Disposable Lighter.

http://www.bicworld.com/inter_us/bdd/product_classics.asp?product_id=95

I’m sure you have seen one, you have probably used one and chances are you have owned one at some stage in your life? BIC disposable lighters are the most popular disposable lighters in the world, over 4 million BICs are sold every day (BIC, 2006).

BIC lighters although one of the most common items in the smokers artillery are now recognised as an iconic Design of the 20^th century.

“In 2005, the BIC® Maxi lighter enters the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art of New York (MOMA), at the Department of Architecture and Design.” (BIC, 2006)

“last year, an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art at MoMA QNS called "Humble Masterpieces" proudly displayed the device, claiming it stoked a different fire admiration for its design. Design? Yes, design. If you thought the term only applied to objects that went beyond the functional and into the conceptual, think again.” (Shin, 2005)

Cool or Cruel: IsHigh in Everyday objects an Aesthetic Ruse? Laura Shin

http://beemag.com/essay_coolorcruel.htm

Although functional the BIC never evolved far from its beginnings. BIC has no doubt changed the manufacturing process a number of times now BIC lighters have a separate bottom piece that helps in the filling process; the shape of BIC has evolved to help the smoker a bit rounding of the corners mean less lumps in the pockets, the inclusion of a child safety guard helps mainly as a public relations booster. BIC lighters have a minimalist design with only 13 parts they, ultra sonic welding means that some of these parts will never come apart. A mix of plastic and metal the products need for lack of disassembly drastically reduces its recyclablity.

BIC lighters have their fans too http://www.lovemarks.com/lm/read/1629 tells of a devoted BIC user who’s BIC lit the way to safety during New Yorks more recent summer 2003 Blackouts. He now presents that lighter proudly on his table at home. He carries another around in his pocket ready for the next state emergency.

The design according to BIC world is flawless however rumours persist. Urban legends of lighters exploding in pockets are rife throughout the internet. Also claims that BIC usually settle out of court with restrictions on what can be told by the claimant. Recent recalls of BICs due to 0.04% of 6.5 million lighters not self extinguishing add a grain of possibility to these rumours.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_ppro/is_198810/ai_1066018456

When talking cost VS value, these lighters may sneak past because they represent a quality disposable lighter the assumption being that they cost less to manufacture.

The big question is how many are disposed in the equivalent life of a reusable lighter, I personally having in the past smoked for a period of about three years cannot remember ever using a lighter from start to finish and would regularly purchase new lighters, I still have at least 10 in a draw at home now unused and useless after more than 2 years of non smoking.

My secondary argument is this to what end are these 4 million BIC lighters that get sold everyday being used. Smoking could never be considered a productive pastime. At first 4 million lighters a day seemed like far too many to consider a real answer however this was from a good source (BIC 2006) and only BIC lighters, Then I found out “About 15 billion cigarettes are sold daily - or 10 million every minute.” (http://www.wpro.who.int/media_centre/fact_sheets/fs_20020528.htm) . How does the cost add up now the typical use cycle has been exposed? Smoking is a dangerous and destructive addiction if the lighters were being used to ignite stoves or create light then maybe they would be a worthy item. This would also slash the number being sold, raise the cost price and change peoples mentality that lighters are a disposable item.

The problem with BIC lighters is although they can be used for a number of purposes they have the limit that they do one thing (light a cigarette) well and 100 things badly. Ever tried lighting a candle with a standard BIC? You either burn a finger tilting the lighter or drip wax on your hand. BIC’s come with a warning label not to keep the lighter ignited for more than 30 seconds, fine unless you are trying to find your way in the dark.

I feel BIC lighters stand for how lazy people have become, how easily plastic has come and solved our small problems without thought of consequences. How people have come to take plastic as a worthless throwaway material that cannot contain worth. I feel these trends need to change and are changing. From a Designer point of view the lighter clearly illustrates how applying a new manufacturing technique to an existing product can lead to amazingly radical changes in the life cycle of products.

BIC 2006

http://www.bicworld.com/inter_us/bdd/product_classics.asp?product_id=95

Viewed 26.06.06

Shin, L 2005, Cool or Cruel: IsHigh in Everyday objects an Aesthetic Ruse? Laura Shin

http://beemag.com/essay_coolorcruel.htm

Chris, 2004, New York

http://www.lovemarks.com/lm/read/1629

http://www.wpro.who.int/media_centre/fact_sheets/fs_20020528.htm

Viewed 27.06.06

Bic's New Regular Size Fixed Flame Lighters Voluntarily Recalled

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_ppro/is_198810/ai_1066018456

Viewed 26.06.06

BIC Disposable Lighters

2006-06-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

The BIC Maxi, Disposable Lighter.

http://www.bicworld.com/inter_us/bdd/product_classics.asp?product_id=95 ter_us/bdd/product _classics.asp?product_id=95

Marcel BICH Started BIC which mainly manufactured ballpoint pens, BIC diversified in 1971 after purchasing “FLAMINAIRE” a French lighter company commenced making the first range of BIC lighters.

“In 2005, the BIC® Maxi lighter enters the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art of New York (MOMA), at the Department of Architecture and Design.” (BIC, 2006)

Cool or Cruel: IsHigh in Everyday objects an Aesthetic Ruse? Laura Shin

http://beemag.com/essay_coolorcruel.htm

Disposable Lighters are one of the icons of the disposable plastic generation, of which BIC must be one of the rulers. A design that has functionality in its heart because it can do something that man took millions of years to do, with just the flick of a thumb. BIC lighters have soared into popularity with the plastic and the smoking bandwagons. They have a minimalist design with only 13 parts they, fit into the pocket, can be lit up to 3000 times, are fitted with a child guard, and come in a multitude of colours.

And they have their fans too http://www.lovemarks.com/lm/read/1629 tells of a devoted BIC user who’s BIC lit the way to safety during New Yorks more recent summer 2003 Blackouts. He now presents that lighter proudly on his table at home.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_ppro/is_198810/ai_1066018456

When talking cost VS value, these lighters may sneak past because they represent a quality disposable lighter the assumption being that they cost less to manufacture. However how many are disposed in the equivalent life of a reusable lighter, I personally having in the past smoked for a period of about three years cannot remember ever using a lighter from start to finish and would regularly purchase new lighters, I still have at least 10 in a draw at home now unused and useless.

My secondary argument is this to what end are these 4 million BIC lighters that get sold everyday being used. Smoking? How does the cost add up now the typical use cycle has been exposed? Smoking is a dangerous and destructive addiction if the lighters were being used to ignite stoves or create light then maybe they would be a worthy item.

BIC 2006

http://www.bicworld.com/inter_us/bdd/product_classics.asp?product_id=95

Viewed 26.06.06

Shin, L 2005, Cool or Cruel: IsHigh in Everyday objects an Aesthetic Ruse? Laura Shin

http://beemag.com/essay_coolorcruel.htm

Chris, 2004, New York

http://www.lovemarks.com/lm/read/1629

Bic's New Regular Size Fixed Flame Lighters Voluntarily Recalled

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_ppro/is_198810/ai_1066018456

Viewed 26.06.06

weblog review of http://www.designsojourn.com/

2006-06-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.designsojourn.com/

Designsojourn

This is a personal weblog by Brian Ling

His latest blog is about the Nintendo DS, He introduces a personal feel by stating his reasons for blogging about the DS, that he has to upgrade.

His argument is a non popular one because of the hype surrounding the PSP he includes reasoning for what he believes are Nintendo’s goals and argues they are trying to open up new areas of the portable gaming market. In his argument he does however bring up the PSP as a competitor then tares it down as a straw man by changing the target market to “social Gamers”

Brian’ arguments are of a high standard however I feel he lets his own bias interfere too much with what he is trying to argue. His opening statement that he has a Nintendo already put’s him into the Bias league when arguing about their products. Although in the same manner a person who hasn’t used a Nintendo for a reasonable period of time may not know enough about their products to review them.

In terms of King and Kitchener’s scale of reflective judgment the articles in Designsojurn are quite high on the scale. I would rate most of his articles in the reflective reasoning stages 6 + 7, Especially with his articles concerning Design Entrepreneurship that shows a deep understanding of the topic and strong developed reflections.

The comments on the site are brief few people do add comments but there are still comments that occur quite soon after the post date so traffic through the site must be reasonable. it seems that Brian usually attracts comments through his blogs on Design Entrepreneurship, according to the site he is looking to become an entrepreneur in the near future part time at least.

Brian Ling also uses Designsojurn as a area to place his interests and things that have come to his attention with out need for criticism such as the “Power of ten” clip by the Eames’.

After reading Rick Poyner’s thoughts on design criticism in his article “The time for being against is now” Brian’s argument could be a little harsher on the portable hand held market, I feel that handheld devices in general still have a lot to answer for. However argument wise I think this would take away from his light article on his views of the direction hand held gaming in going in.

Weblog revew of http://www.gizmodo.com/

2006-06-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.gizmodo.com/ Is a web log dedicated to new gizmos. It has thousands of searchable logs that describe new and upcoming gadgets. Although you cannot blog to the site or become a blogger for the site it is easy to comment on the blogs. The blogs on this site vary in their level of criticism on King and Kitchener’s “levels of reflective judgement.

All Articles have an Author mentioned however not all posts have much to say a lot of posts just inform of new technology or rumour around some of the larger companies. Criticism goes up from time to time.

“Anergé is Eternal Delight
By Brendan I. Koerner”

This post has a high level stage 6-7 level of argument that does not take the evidence at first glance. The fact that the author does a lot of internet research probably contributes to this level of argument as there is a lot of misinformation on the internet. Brendan Koerner has found a company that sells USB devices such as flash memory and MP3 players at a very low price. The sales pitch is that they come from the factory however in his experience the cheap items are usually dodgy. Brendan goes through the research he did into the company taking into account each stage of his findings. Brendan makes his own conclusions into the worth of the items and how the distributors got the prices so low. Theses conclusions are based on evidence. Brendan’s personal reputation is considered at the end for all who don’t know him is referenced at the bottom.

“Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired and a columnist for both The New York Times and Slate. His Low End Theory column appears every Thursday on Gizmodo.”

Brendan’s article demonstrates a bias as described in Methods of criticism and response to criticism. (Attoe, Wayne) He clearly through his research has developed an understanding that the comparative cost of technological gizmos to their sale price is unfair on the consumer. Brendan describes that it he thanks the company producing duplicates of the bigger company’s products and re branding them for resale without comment on the ethical problems involved in the possible theft of a design.

This article aside, the Gizmodo site usually has a friendly conversational language when they review the new gizmos their criticism with most reviews generally stays at a level 1-3 criticism. When following up on the reviews introducing new evidence the level of criticism raises.

Comments on the reviews are usually brief comments about any fact bending going on or an insightful personal experience.

The 2nd Review of Part B (with more Evaluation)

2006-06-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s piece Homographies, by involving me attracted my attention straight away, I saw a figure on one of the screens that looked like me, and i was amazed that it was me. Does that make me art worthy of showing at the NSW gallery? Although the Sydney Morning Herald thought it was disturbing,
( http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/bigger-than-christmas/2006/06/01/1148956427053.html )
“Experience the disturbing thrill of being watched” I felt a different feeling, almost like the work was flirting with me. If I label the parts, the cameras being the eyes looking at me with out watching like the monitors are a window to the mind. the thought of where I was and what I was doing being the process of the security tracking and the lights being my affect on “her?”. Now I hope you understand why?

The other part was the slow discovery of the abilities of the work. The Discovery that the cameras were linked to screens and survelance that was linked to the lights and that the lights reacted to the people who were on the cameras. Like noticing somebody in a bar discovering they are noticing you and allowing them to discover that you have noticed them noticing.

The location of the work was a good choice there is lots of thouroughfare in the entrance way and it gave the cameras a look of a airport lounge it gave the space an alterd feel although I often feel like I’m being watched in art galleries.

The idea could be taken to many diffeent points it was good that Rafael Lozano-Hemmer chose to be more subtle in the reaction of the lights as it helped in the slow discovery of the system lengthening the bewilderment. If all was revealed straight away it would take from the monitoring statement the idea changed. I think the idea could have been kept while still improving the reactions of the art by improving the speed at which the lights were able to turn. I only really discovered the affect people had on the lights by looking at the diagram on the monitors. Otherwise I might not have put the two together, and the idea would have been lost to me. Compared to Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s other work this is far more subtle. The statements he is trying to make also become more subtle.

Section 1 Part B task 1 Sub-Parts A+B To Review Without Value Judgements

2006-06-21T02:02:00.000-07:00

It was so obvious at first how Homographies fits into the title “Zones of Contact”. The piece is in a zone, being the entrance hall at the NSW Gallery and has interactive contact with the viewers although this contact has to be discovered.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has attached 70 fluorescent lights to the roof. These lights are rotated by electric motors. At first they seem to spin randomly however they are being controlled by a sophisticated monitoring system. The system follows patrons on the monitors and rotates lights in a response to the person’s position in the foyer. As you walk down the corridor you disrupt all the lights accordingly. Being under the lights this is not often as apparent as it sounds. To combat this lack of understanding and initial interest Rafael has installed 6 screens that display video of the entranceway and show diagrams of where people are and the direction of the lights. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has made similar pieces however they comment differently on technology’s role in society. I think Rafael is trying to show the way humans and machines interact and how they behave towards each other. In a simpler form the system is like when usually children wave and jump about in a convenience store to make doors open and see themselves on the monitor. On a larger scale the Art also needs people to move throughout the space to make the lights follow something. It makes a point about the abilities of machines to keep watch and take action in response to human behaviour. This is different to his work reviewed at

http://blog.wired.com/sterling/index.blog?entry_id=1073071 A piece described by Wiredblogs “"Subtitled Public" consists of an empty exhibition space where visitors are tracked with a computerized infrared surveillance system. As people enter the installation, texts are projected onto their bodies: these "subtitles" consist of thousands of verbs conjugated in third person and they follow each individual everywhere they go. The only way to get rid of a subtitle is to touch someone else: the words then are exchanged between them.”

The difference being Homographies retains the non contact experienced in the real world allowing it to be exaggerated but not expanded on. The piece is similar though its message is very different. Another work of Rafael’s has belts suspended at waist height that turn to face and in doing so interact with the people exploring the space. This focuses more on the technology having an attempt at becoming more human.

It seems all of Rafael’s work tries to reflect the world in some way, I will mention an earlier piece that rotates bottles on a table to movement that is derived from ambient radio waves it receives. This is similar to the piece of music played during our lecture yesterday.

Wednesday Afternoon at the Sydney Biennale In Search of a Review

2006-06-21T00:55:00.000-07:00

The Biennale of Sydney, It comes once every two years has a variety of contemporary art in different formats.

This year (2006) I visited three galleries. First the Pier 2/3, Walsh Bay galleries, then the museum of contemporary Art in Circular Quay and thirdly the Art gallery of New South Wales. On my search to find the artist that interested me the most I found a number of artists work along the way, At the Pier I was astounded by the scale of contribution and collection in Antony Gormely’s Field work. I could find a lot of meanings behind his work, however it would be hard to review as to me it lacked a solid statement on which I could base a review.

At the museum of contemporary art I thought I had found the piece I wanted to review in Cälin Dan’s work Emotional Architecture 2 – Sample city 2003 This was a movie/video piece listened to on headphones however in contrast apart from being interesting Aesthetically I was no where near understanding any subtle meanings behind the work I also feel a video would be an unwise choice for a review as it would be difficult to describe.

Salvation at last on my way to view the works by Fiona Tan and Biljana Djurdjevic’ both interesting especially Biljana’s powerful paintings the one shown to the left is from http://www.biljanadjurdjevic.com/Biljana%20Djurdjevic05-03.htm which is Biljana's site, I passed through the lobby and was able to participate in Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s instillation titled Homographies This is the work I’m going to review.

Taste Profile

2006-06-19T06:32:00.000-07:00

To Anyone who views this who isn't from UTS. These are some questions and answers that are included to show my taste, and possibly influence the way you feel towards me? If you feel like it try to guess my answers for the questions I have left Blank (easily found in red).

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

MythBusters, Loved it when it first came out still enjoy it even though the myths are becoming a little bit obscure. I watch a lot of movies as I have a part time job in a video store (during work videos can be played on the in store TVs) . So if watching a DVD counts then LOTS if not then probably about 3-4 hours a week.

2. What sort of camera do you have? What do you take pictures of; events, Friends and relo's, things I find interesting, beautiful things?

A Cannon ixus V3, birthday prezzie model. Take it to parties when I feel recordings should be made or when I don't know many people (helps conversation + remember names). Like to take photos of close ups and scenery with people in it.

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

When I was growing up (18-21) I wanted a 1977 Lotus Esprit twin turbo just like James Bond the one that turns into a sub (The spy who loved me). I believe that I would have to spend far too much time under the hood if I got one of those. It would be cool to semi hot rod an old 1950's truck (ute) and of course spend copious amounts of time under the bonnet.

4. Do you play a musical instrument? Which?

Used to toot the flute? Have all manner of what I consider non serious instruments: Ukulele, Harmonica, panpipes, those thumb piano things, Tinker with these on occasion.

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

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?

Art galleries, museums and public libraries definitely.

7. List 4 films you have seen in the last year, from most to least favorite, and indicate how you saw them?

Tais toi - friends DVD (owned)

Jar head - Cinema

Running on empty - friends owned

Brotherhood of the wolf - rental ( this was recommended by a customer from whom in the future I will choose to ignore suggestions )

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

Basketball is a good game for the playing.
Ice hockey is a good game for the watching.

9. Where would you like to travel to?

On Earth...
St Petersburg in Russia, a pole (north or south), Madagasca, and somewhere in South America.

OR Saturn whichever is easier.

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

TV or Newspapers equally. Or Gossip people love to talk current events. Take quite an interest in stories that are somehow related to ME or interest ME. I hate it when something happens that stations constantly bombard viewers listeners with updates that include no new information.

11. Should the government be spending more or less funding on; Tax relief, sport, the arts, the environmnet?

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

Australia, yes easy, Don't take this the wrong way though, I do love this Sunburnt country.

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

And That concludes my 10 question Taste Profile

New Blog

2006-06-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

This blog is a place where I can post my thoughts on design, and in turn join and influence the collective.