It is your average Monday morning and you’re heading to work. Are you thinking about the planning that went into making the door that opens to allow you on the tube or the seat that you sit on, the window that you’re vaguely looking out of as you sip your coffee? Or better yet are you thinking about why the building you work in was made the way it was? In reality, probably not. But when you take a minute to really think about the detail and work that goes into the things that we use in our everyday lives, it can all be thanked to Designers. Designers have the interesting task of meeting the expectation of users (us the consumers), while also completing heavy research and planning. My complete ignorance of this process was finally cleared away after my trip to the Design Museum. The main campaign at the Design Museum is to, “create an identity that is about growing up and not growing old”. And once I stepped inside the museum, that mission statement became much clearer to me.
With not even my two feet inside the museum, I am in love with the interior of the building. The detail and complexity of the John Pawson’s architecture was truly something compelling and yet even with all of the convoluted designs of the roof and various other places, the tone of building inside still was a relaxing one. After seeing this, I am immediately even more interested in the world of Design.
The first part of the museum to really catch my attention was a large, colourful sign. Each colour filled up the shape of small triangles, making the sign even more interesting. But the most appealing part of this sign is a continuous cycle of the three words, Designer, maker, and User in a bold black color. At first, I was confused as to why the words maker and user were being brought up. (I mean I am in the Design Museum). But once I stepped into the main parts of the museum, everything started to make more sense.
Designers. This is the first section of the museum that I see. By taking a look at some interesting images of Vespa’s and new fashion looks and by reading the background information, it really came to my attention as to how important designers are in the world. Without the intensive background research and creative thinking from designers we really would not be in the world, we live in today. One great example reached out to me in the designer’s section. It is the political area called, “agents of change”. When we think about political campaigns we are often so concerned with the political character or group that we forget about the hard work that goes into designing campaign posters, merchandise, and many other items. From the prohibition acts to Tony Blair and his Iraq crisis, “protest graphics have offered designers the opportunity to contribute their skills to causes they support. Individuals are stronger when they align with others in large groups, and designers can help gives these movements a voice”.
The next component of the museum is the makers. Once the designers have everything in set, the makers come into play. Without the hard work from the makers, the users would have no products at all.
Which brings me to the third and final group that I learned about at the museum, the users. The users are, in my opinion, the most important group to meet at the design museum. My reason for this is because without the users wanting things and demanding change, the designers would have no innovation to begin with and that leaves the makers without a job as well. The “interaction between people and brands that have come to define the modern world”, which is why the users are so important. Like I said, without you and me, we would not have half the things we have in the world today.
In all, I think the museum was really compelling and it gave me a lot of insight into a topic that I was rather ignorant about. We often forget about the importance of particular things because we are so absorbed in our everyday lives. But I think that it is especially important to take a step back sometimes and understand the world around us. So if you are ever in London and wish to be diverse and change the tour guide for your trip, definitely take a wonder over to the Design Museum. It is the perfect place to go with family and friends and of course to see how many cool presents the designers have given to the world since its first birthday.
Museum Location: 224-238 Kensington High St, Kensington, London W8 6AG
*The main exhibition does not cost anything but special exhibitions do include a price, and those prices will vary.
If you wish to see more information about the design museum check out the website at:
https://designmuseum.org
