Design is everywhere.
It’s the alarm that woke you up.
The news app on your phone.
The tea bags used for your morning brew.
The card you tapped on the bus.
The glasses perched on your nose.
And the words you’re reading right now.
So embedded in our lives.
We almost forget it’s there.
Design. Humanity’s Best Friend.
Important words from London’s Design Museum. I treated myself to a visit the other day, a first for me in their new home. That quote from them is so true, you really do forget that pretty much everything you do and touch has an element of design to it, and how much easier, pleasant, and enjoyable our lives are when that design is done well.
Where do you want to go?
I did like being reminded of the excellence of the British Transport road signage. From the Museum: “The government gave this huge project to the graphic designer Jock Kinneir and his assistant Margaret Calvert who had just finished creating the signs for the UK motorway system. By carefully coordinating lettering, colours, shapes and symbols, the pair created a system that has inspired modern road signs around the world. Pictures instead of words were used on many signs and the girl in the Children Crossing sign is based on an image of Margaret Calvert as a child.”
You know you’re getting old when…
…you see items you’ve used in what seems like the recent past in a museum! I found it interesting to see how Apple’s computers have evolved over the years. Versions that seemed so futuristic at the time that look so clunky these days. And so big for such teeny screens – how did I ever design double page magazine spreads or posters on them!
Rustle rustle crackle squelch
While I was there I also experienced their excellent ASMR interactive exhibition. So much fun! So what is it? They say: “Have you ever heard a sound that has brought you a sense of calm? Or even made your skin tingle? Millions around the world are part of an online community who experience ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response): a physical sensation of euphoria or deep calm, sometimes a tingling in the body, triggered through sound, touch, and movement. This is the first exhibition of its kind to lift the world of ASMR out from your screen and into physical space. Step into an acoustically tuned environment and understand how people are using new and existing tools and materials to navigate our complex world. Explore the emerging field of creativity that has grown up around this feeling and the work of designers and content creators who try to trigger it in their viewers.
It’s on until 10th April and I’d definitely recommend it.