Sunday, October 26, 2008

Paper

            Going through the timelines that I created in the past few weeks I found myself in awkward spot. While the timelines should have some connection between each other, mine did not at all. Ironically two of my timelines were exact opposites. The first timeline I created was about food preservation through long term goals, while the second was using light and fire for destruction. Both of the timelines were very conceptual and had to do with the ideas rather than tangible designs. Other than my timelines, I also found myself having trouble as a designer connecting to these ideas. Furniture and abstract Design is a challenge for me because my design interests are with culinary design, electronics and engineering.
            
           In my first timeline about preservation I wanted to go into a direction which interested me such as the culinary arts. Everyday people consume food but most people don’t consider the history of food preservation. Up until the 1920’s food preservation was only meant to keep meat and crop good for several weeks. Generic methods such as salting meat, canning foods or freezing meat were only temporary solutions for the food preservation problems. It was not until the late 1980’s that scientists discovered how to preserve food by changing their genetic construction. Now having the power to make crops that would last longer and be stronger towards disease, the farming industry became very dependable. Genetic engineering drastically changed food preservation, but it was the Norwegian government which revolutionized food preservation by creating the Doomsday Vault. After twenty years of trying to get the Doomsday Vault funded, it now sits in the north shore of Norway near the North Pole. The creator Dr. Fowler came up with idea for the safeguard of the world crops after witnessing the dangerous climate changes. The Doomsday Vault holds every known seed and nut in world so that if the planet went into nuclear war, or Armageddon, there would be some type of way of replenishing the world of it’s precious food source. I specifically found this concept interesting because now designers are thinking about the far future instead of temporary solutions.
            
            Far different from my preservation timeline, my second timeline had to do with light as destruction. I recognized that this timeline was very abstract, but I was interested in showing a new perspective on light. In the beginning of mankind during the era of cave man, fire was used as a tool of survival. Using it to cook food and to fend of animals at night mankind soon became the dominant species in this primitive time. It wasn’t till 673 A.D. that the Greeks used this once savory tool for sustaining life as a weapon of mass destruction. Greek fire was used to destroy enemy ships and fortress’ with its unique attribute. The incredible property that Greek fire had was that it couldn’t be put out by water. Greek fire was unstoppable because of its advance chemical properties. For a long period time the Greeks were a superpower of the Mediterranean, but new technologies emerged creating new superpowers. In WWI and WWII fire was used in battle to change the way war was fought. In WWI the flamethrower was created by German scientists, but it wasn’t till WWII that the tool was used. American forces used the flame thrower to clear out buildings and bunkers which significantly helped save American lives. At the end of WWII American scientists created the new Greek Fire which was called napalm. A similar concept as Greek Fire, napalm was a gel based chemical that burnt for hours at a time. After WWII there was a change in the direction of using light as a weapon. In the 1980’s using light changed from being a weapon to being a tool again. Tools such as night vision for soldiers helped the military function in dark areas and nighttime. The military still unitizes this new tool to battle insurgents in Iraq and enemy soldiers. The use of light has certainly undergone many changes, from its destructive employment in war to its function as a nighttime protection.
           
           Unlike my timelines that are concentrated on food preservation, destruction and functional chairs I find myself very different when it comes to design. When I was younger I aspired to become an engineer, but as time went on I found more interest in design. Similar to engineering I became extremely interested in electronics and culinary design. The reason electronics appeals to and fascinates me is due to its ever changing and developing technology. Not only are electronics the future, but the design that comes along with them are modern and unique. Along with electronics I also have a strong appeal in high end cooking tools. After working for Williams-Senoma for two years I am familiar with every type of brand and tool. Companies such as Cuisinart and Braun create elegant and trustworthy products. Cooking appliances and tools in particular appeal to me because these companies are starting to go into more of a design direction. Before the turn of the century these companies created appliances that had no consideration to ergonomics or style. It has only become apparent that these companies have started going into the design course, which is why I have started having become fond of them. Other than these two different types of design I am also intrigued in new technologies and engineering. I believe that technology is the only thing that is going to be able to help the world with its economic problems. As a designer I feel compelled to work with new interesting technologies and bring a stylish and user friendly aspect to these technologies.

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