Melodievb/dart391b

I am taking a Sociology class this term which is called Sociology through films and I am amazed to see how Sociology and Design are linked. Actually, I am studying many concept who could be useful to see in our design classes. Last class, we saw a part of the documentary called “the corporation” and I decide to rent it in order to have a chance to see it entirely. I was really shocked to discover that kind of information which is concerning directly consumption, marketing, production and so on, through a Sociology class which is a free elective. Of course, we talk about sustainability and socially responsible products but I think we should have courses that talk directly of those issues, the real ones… Theory is good but to my opinion, waiting for the marketplace to find out about all these bad practices that our future employers do use to gain power and money. I really think we should have courses like Ethics in Design, Deontology in Design, Environmental implications in Design… Some of the real stuff, something more concrete.

Through this film, I heard about a woman called Klein and one of her project called No Logo. I am planning to look for more information because it may be related to my plastic bags projects in a certain way.

Yesterday morning like every Tuesday morning almost, I was sat at the table of a coffee shop called Le Placard on Mont-Royal avenue. This place is very interesting because of its concept: they serve food, delicious fair trade coffee and the whole place is filled with used clothing they sale and plastic mannequins. The ambiance is great and not too noisy even though many people is passing by or stay for a while. I used to take few minutes to listen to what the old men that come almost every morning are saying about actuality. It is always interesting to see places on the Plateau who still have both trendy and simple people as clientele. Anyway, yesterday I listen to a conversation between the owner of the place and a neighbor. They were talking about how difficult it is to get an outside bench installed from the city. There are asking them for 4 years but nothing happen. He was talking about the 3 brand new benches just few meters to the East of there businesses, just in front of the car concessioner. They were also talking about how the city’s employees are incompetent and slow to get the job done. Then, I wondered if Designers shouldn’t be hired by the cities to help to resolve those kinds of problems…

What I keep in mind:

User oriented approach is not successful because research is not done seriously

This paper is based upon the idea of “reader-response” + empirical examples of user-modified designs

This technique allow more flexibility and opportunity for users to actualize designs and participate in decision process

Le Corbusier’s way of thinking about design = My task is to establish people in conditions of harmony… He sees experts as the only ones who can provide true order in cities, he builds on the base of his own point of view

———-My questions about it: Did Le Corbusier ever think about people in wheel chairs, mothers with strollers, etc.

———-Later on in the text, it says that user needs and wants continuously change. I am not sure to agree with this idea. I think that the mass production event created that need and will but it was not in the nature of ancient consumer. The texts we are assigned to read always have those little shocking sentences and ideas and it bothers me a lot, actually. Designers, even if in the text, they are talking about the benefits responsible design, don’t take enough blames on their back. They are the one who created the bad habits about consumerism and they too easily forgot to mention it, in my opinion.