B-Log

Look around you. The hundreds of objects surrounding you right now didn’t appear out of thin air. They have been created by people like you and me, only with a different label i.e. designers. And if these guys did their homework well, the characteristics of the things around you have been created to suit you and your needs.

The function, form, texture and colour. These are the characteristics we are talking about. At times the research does not reveal some or all of them. Sometimes things need to be created from scratch and thus the designer has to use his discretion. In such cases, is the subconscious effect of theses really considered. Barring a few cultural differences, certain forms and colours hold common meanings around the world.

For those of you who have watched Devil Wears Prada may remember the scene where Miranda (Meryl Streep) lashes at Andy (Anne Hathway) with a big speech about how the blue sweater she was wearing landed in her hands because it was chosen by them – selected few people. And that’s how things take place in real life too, in a lot of cases.

Our minds are hardwired to interpret certain things in a given manner. Or we are taught and conditioned to do so. While designing something, do designers actually realise the subconscious effect their designs would have on the masses. The effect additional to the intended one. If pink is the reflection of the new male of today’s world, is it also transforming the ones who never related to this colour. If things have organic shapes today, along with reflecting today’s needs, does that also alter our perception of things on a different level.

Considering that 95% of our thinking and cognition happens in our subconscious mind, design holds tremendous powers. It has the power to transform the society even while they are not aware of it. Do we realise what effect these inanimate objects are have over us? The things we see, the things we hold, the things we use. Every minute your mind is being influenced and altered by design.

Dangerous or useful? I think we can place it right next to the nuclear power discussion.

Edited to add - Right after posting this, I switched on the television only to find Devil Wears Prada playing on Start Movies. Heh!

Fiction becomes fact here.
The much talked about(not as much as Burj Dubai or the World though) air conditioned bus-stops shelters have arrived. And I saw one up close and personal in an almost running state today. A bit late but better late than never!
Waiting for the bus in the scorching sun would not be a reasonable excuse anymore.
Though finding a space inside these could soon become one. Each air-conditioned bus shelter would accomodate 14 people - 8 sitting and 6 standing. And given the way we are, if it is filled only with only Indians, 40 can easily be squished inside!

The shelters would earn revenue for the Road Transport Authority through advertisements inside and outside the shelters along with vending machines. They are also expected to have ATM’s. I have seen a lot of them have 3 different kind of waste bins besides them which look like pin ball machines. I think they might start charging ppl a Dh. or so soon to enter. Who knows!

It would also be insteresting to see a system which has been proposed in Abu Dhabi to track school buses to help worried and concerned parents(which all of them are). A tracking system using mobile towers and SMS would provide information about the location of the bus, thus making it possible for the parents to know that their kid is on his way and where exactly is he starving in the daily afternoon traffic jams.

It would be interesting to see this getting included in the new bus shelters. People could be informed about the expected time of arrival of the next bus. A feedback system can also be incorporated through an automated kiosk. Weather information, pollution levels, etc. could be shown. It would be an interesting place to take public surveys. And given the presence of bus shelters and their proximity to people in the city, several new uses could be thought of.

P.S. My wait for airconditioned footpaths starts hereon.

After using earbuds for a long time to listen to stuff on my phone, today I tried on a pair of headphones recently discarded by my dad. I was under an impression that my earbuds were delivering excellent quality of sound for what it had costed me. But these headphones for a lesser amount actually rendered a much better audio quality.

And this feeling of trying them on and the intial thrill and kick of experiencing this superior audio quality is just so overwhelming.

Wouldn’t it be great to something that when used, can render an experience similar to that. A service or product that renders a nicer, better experience everytime you use it with a certain familiarity.

There would be some examples of that in the cyber space but what about real life?

The land of stock photography is more coloured now. It has acquired a few new shades.
Now flooded with pictures of Indians, proliferation was never before expected to show its traits in such ways.

Wherever you search, something Indian would appear atleast once on each page of the search result. No more are we depicted through pictures of Rajasthan or roadside beggars. Our pics are as slick, classy and clean as the others’.

The country has started to make a mark at every level in the world. The world needs to cover all the developments and its effects. We are also becoming more comfortable in our skins. Realising that being an Indian isn’t such a bad thing after all. There’s a revival of national pride. Therefore brands talk to us with visuals which depict us as we are. Indians are working at par with people of other nationalities. They have more things under their control now. Therefore, commanding more respect.

It is being recognised that we have a different set of perception and identity. Our value sets and aspirations are unique.

This is, as I said… just a trait… a sign.

I saw this chair at Kilol in New Delhi and stared at the hinge for a while, trying to figure what the hell is it doing there. Could not understand if it was just some ornamentation or was it designed to do something. I started to fidget with it and just then a rather bemused sales lady showed me what it really was. (I assume she does this everyday in order to maintain the chair’s existence.)

And there it was. It opened up into a step-ladder. I loved the way it hinted you that it can turn into something and teases you. And then there’s this “wow” moment of seeing the way it’s designed and it’s transformation. I am not sure if it was really an old chair or was it conditioned to make it seem so. The store has ethnic Indian clothes and linen. And if the chair is old… just imagine the sense of design and utility they used to have back then.

There you have my handsome model, Adi, demonstrating how to use the step-ladder who’s head I mistakenly chopped off in the shot while rushing to make sure he doesn’t jump off the ladder.