Is design even a critical factor for the average end user, my guess is no. Why do I say this with so much conviction, well just take a look at the selection of the buildings around,… building economics perpetuates homogeneity.
It doesn’t take an expert to guess the answer to this question:
What does design mean to the end user vs. the architect?
This question doesn't get asked often enough, even though we live in a society full of opinionated people. Agree or not, if you don’t have an opinion then why are you reading? The process of Architecture today has no choice but to take millions of opinions from all different sides, mesh them into a cohesive design and ultimately form one big gigantic monumental decision (literally).
Have doubts, compare an architect’s initial concept and compare it to what is actually in the ground. The myriad process and the reality of price makes real estate easier to admire than to indulge; end users typically seek the combination of size and price than a building’s architecture merit....Again, one word: Economics.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Personal Style vs. Market Style
My fascination with culture theory questions how the fashion industry really manages the phenomena and demanding needs of "independent styles" in an era of global mass production homogeneity.
Independent style is usually thought of as a dissident reaction to mass consumption. My style, though in my mind is unique; it is not truly unique, it simply has a unique interpretation of the trends of the time because it is still dependent on the products provided by the market.
In my short life experience, I have learned that constraints are a natural part of everyday life. The art of fashion design relies on the ability of a designer to mix creative span with the constraints of raw material access (such as textile type, color and quality), budgets, product marketing and sales, and of course profitability maxims.
Fashion designers provide us with tools to create our independent style and like them the art of our independent style relies on our ability to mix our creative span with the constraints of product options, market access and spending budgets. Because let's face it, we all want that hot Chanel or Gucci something or other, but can we all really afford them...the answer is no.
In the imperfect utopia outside of our little perfect world there exists an effervescent presence of constraints on our style choices. Fortunately, our style will not be compromised even if we do not always get our optimum fashion preferences because we will always still go with something that captures the general essence of our preferences.
What you wear will define your value system. The question is, how much are you willing to compromise because of constraints? The answer should be: Not Much.
So, how much do you compromise?
Independent style is usually thought of as a dissident reaction to mass consumption. My style, though in my mind is unique; it is not truly unique, it simply has a unique interpretation of the trends of the time because it is still dependent on the products provided by the market.
In my short life experience, I have learned that constraints are a natural part of everyday life. The art of fashion design relies on the ability of a designer to mix creative span with the constraints of raw material access (such as textile type, color and quality), budgets, product marketing and sales, and of course profitability maxims.
Fashion designers provide us with tools to create our independent style and like them the art of our independent style relies on our ability to mix our creative span with the constraints of product options, market access and spending budgets. Because let's face it, we all want that hot Chanel or Gucci something or other, but can we all really afford them...the answer is no.
In the imperfect utopia outside of our little perfect world there exists an effervescent presence of constraints on our style choices. Fortunately, our style will not be compromised even if we do not always get our optimum fashion preferences because we will always still go with something that captures the general essence of our preferences.
What you wear will define your value system. The question is, how much are you willing to compromise because of constraints? The answer should be: Not Much.
So, how much do you compromise?
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