What is Good Design to Me?

This is “Habitat 67”, located in Montreal, Canada. It is a community living complex desgined by Moshe Safdie. I think this piece of architecture is good design because it is extremely unique, innovative and efficient. The unit is comprised of 146 different apartment complexes ranging from one to eight concrete blocks in various combinations. This piece of architecture wows me because of its similarity in design to Legos. I am amazed by how Safdie was able to make some of the blocks appear to float without a structure underneath supporting them. This building could be good design to me and many others, because of its purpose in encapsulating suburban living with privacy and outdoor space while also conserving square footage. However, it may not represent good design to handicapped individuals, because when reading about this building I did not see that there were any elevators or handicap accessible entrances.

Boston City Hall was constructed during the Brutalist architectural movement in the 1960s. The Brutalist style of architecture became popular because it was a very different style of building that was supposed to open up Boston, not only physically due to its narrow streets, but economically after the 1950s. This building wows me because of how strange the bottom looks with no structural foundation, and how it is built into the red brick of the ground. I think this is good design because the City Council room and the Mayor’s office both project over the red brick plaza, encouraging more intimate public contact during celebrations and ceremonies that were held in the plaza. There is also ample room for foot traffic in and around the building because of the open space around the supporting columns and lack of foundation. I feel as though this building could encourage more public activity because of its placement and open room around the structure.

Jessica Helgerson bought a tiny home in Oregon in 2008 and decided to design the most effective and space-saving interior possible. The home is only 540 square feet, and Helgerson designed the interior with almost all recycled or re-purposed items. This children’s bedroom is exactly what I consider to be my personal design aesthetic; minimalistic with a vintage feel. I am wowed by the look of the white wood paneled walls because of their antiqued finish, and I love the pull out closet shown on the right of the bunk beds. I think that this room would represent good design to almost anyone who is trying to save space or be as compact with their living space as possible. I see a possibility with saving even more space in this room if there was a small attic in the ceiling to store the children’s toys, books etc. The possibilities are endless with being thrifty and saving space, and being even more environmentally friendly. I think that Helgerson did an incredible job on taking a tiny, closet-sized room and turning it into a functional and aesthetically pleasing children’s bedroom.

This is an interior of a “living area”, created by Matt Impola, founder of Handcrafted Movement. It includes a kitchen, living room and loft area. He began working on this small house as a “weekend project”, and has since found his love of decorated tiny spaces with environmentally friendly, recyclable, and extremely functional items. His trick for this room was in the flooring; he used one-inch thick ply wood to floor this home, leaving him a few extra inches of room for furnishing and extra items than if he used regular flooring. I think this is amazing design because he pays extreme attention to details that all influence how effective his use of space is. This interior wows me because of how gorgeous it is, and how everything in this space is reused and re-purposed. Similar to the other tiny home, this interior is good design to anyone who is trying to live a more minimalistic life and conserve space. However, the loft included in this space uses a ladder to access it, which would be a problem to handicapped individuals.

Costello and Tagliapietra’s New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2012 collection screams good design because of how their clothing was produced. The two designers use AirDye to create the colors and patterns on their clothing. AirDye is a sustainable and environmentally friendly technology that uses water-free dyeing, saving huge amounts of energy and water. This is amazing design because not only do the clothes look great, but they were produced using extremely eco-friendly technology. The fashion industry wastes incredible amounts of water and energy when producing items. This is good design to everyone because being environmentally conscious is something that impacts the entire world positively. This line of fashion also represents my personal design aesthetic because, fashion wise, it is very flowy, and 60s inspired. It also environmentally aligns with my personal design aesthetic because I love anything that is eco-friendly.

“I AM NOT A VIRGIN” jeans started when founder Peter Heron realized that millions of tons of denim scraps and plastic bottles were tossed into landfills each year. He decided to create a brand that created clothes from fabric scraps and recycled bottles. I think that this is great design because it is extremely innovative and environmentally friendly. Recycling extra fabric from manufacturers and thrown away bottles and turning them into new clothes is an amazing idea. I see infinite possibilities in this brand, because if they are already using fabric scraps and bottles successfully, you can imagine all of the other recyclable materials that could come into play.

I chose the graphic design aspect of the app Instagram. The layout and design of Instagram puts the emphasis on the user instead of the app as a brand. Kevin Systrom’s design of the “like button”, the tabs on the bottom and the layout of the feed and profile are all essential aspects to why Instagram is so popular. The design is innovative because it was a brand new approach to social media that focused on photos. While the layout of the app has changed since the launch in 2010, the base features remain the same; the like button, the icons that represent the tabs, and the profile screen. This is good design because it encourages users to produce content, rather than only consume brand-created content. I think this is good design to everyone because anyone is able to create content on Instagram. The design aesthetic is simplistic and minimal, which aligns with my personal design preference.

The McDonald’s “M” logo was created by Jim Schindler in 1962. Since then, the slogan was coined, but the classic “M” logo has stayed the same. This is good design to me because it is timeless and recognizable. Even today in 2019, the simple “M” makes everyone worldwide think, “McDonald’s”. The design of this logo has made a huge impact on McDonald’s as a brand and people worldwide. I enjoy the design aesthetic because they are consistent with their color use of red and yellow, and it is very simple yet recognizable.

The Microsoft Surface represents good design to me because of its innovative design and user friendly features. The Surface includes a touch screen with a detachable keyboard, so it can be used as a laptop or as a tablet. It also includes a pressure-sensitive touch pen, which can be used instead of typing using a pop up box where you can write the words you want to type, and the computer translates them to typeface for you. I think that this is good design for everyone because there are features that are inclusive for any way you want to use the product. Braille keyboards, Sticky Keys, and voice-reading options are available for individuals with disabilities. This object wows me with how innovative and inclusive it is, creating a very simple and easy user-friendly product.

I think Fitbit is an amazing example of good design. Fitbit is a fitness bracelet that tracks things like your total steps, heart rate, breathing, etc. Fitbit is different than the rest of fitness trackers because it gives you personal reminders to get moving, calculates daily goals using your personal statistics, and gives on screen guided workouts. I think this is good design to everyone because it is customizable and caters to your personal needs. You can give it information such as height, weight, gender, personal goals, and even disabilities, which are all taken into account when creating your personal goals. It is also aesthetically pleasing because it is small and can be worn as a watch, and it does not get in your way of other daily activities.