Think Outside The Can

After obsessively watching episodes of Design For Life featuring Phillipe Starck, I was reminded of a project I did when I was in University. One of my instructors presented us with a challenge. We were asked to design and build a 3 dimensional object out of affordable, recycled materials. We then designed a poster with a brief that explained our process for building the object and how it functioned. We were graded on how well the object functioned, the materials we used and the design of the poster. I decided that I would build a tv stand for my apartment using empty cans of Pringles as my recycled material. In the end the stand functioned, I got an ok grade and I used the object as a coffee table in my apartment. A success right?

Yes and no. In hind site I consider this project somewhat of a failure. I did something that has haunted me throughout my creative career. I took it too safe. If I allowed myself to think "outside the can" a bit more I know I would have come up with a million more creative ways to incorporate my recycled material of choice. Good design is about meeting specific objectives and I successfully met them. However, great design pushes visual, conceptual and in this case structural boundaries while meeting those same specific objectives. If I allowed myself to think "outside the can" a bit more I know I would have come up with a million more creative ways to incorporate my recycled material of choice. Don't get me wrong, there's something to be said for using restraint. Not knowing when to use restraint can effectively kill a project. However artists and designers SHOULD make a point to challenge themselves visually and conceptually on every project they are involved in. If not, what's the point?

Below is the first episode of Design For Life. Enjoy!