Despite the "we're already there" rhetoric, there was a lot of dissatisfaction expressed at the Industrial Designers Society of America "Blurring Boundaries" conference with the boundaries in design as they stand today. As Tucker Viemeister, creative director at frogdesign, put it, "designers may be blurring boundaries, but we're not blurring the right boundaries."
Viemeister suggested that, although they may see themselves as generalists, designers have a difficult time taking into account the importance of the roles everyone else, from engineers to advertisers, play. "That is why clients still see designers as specialists."
James Wilson, "human factors and ergonomics manager" at Motorola, asserted that constraints usually fall into two categories: personal/functional/organizational (the "that's my job/that's your job" constraint) and design (the "that can't be done" constraint), and that these constraints are typically human constructs. He reminded designers that "creating is an individual process, and designing is a social process."
The conference, held this weekend in Washington, DC, included seminars, panel discussions, the IDSA awards, and presentations by such boundary-blurring notables as Thomas Dolby Robertson, renowned for his music videos and the hit song "She Blinded Me with Science," and now president and CEO of Web music company Headspace; and Jaron Lanier, pioneer of the VR industry, and an active new-music composer and performer.
Bob Brunner, a partner at Pentagram Design and this year's conference chair, asserted that "traditional disciplines are fast changing in content and breadth. Product designers are developing Web site graphics. Graphic designers are building stores. Architects are designing furniture. We're crossing over to other disciplines like never before. Working together like never before. The specialists have become generalists, creating opportunities for more specialists."
What were some suggestions for blurring the traditional boundaries in design? Michael Tchao, a designer involved in Apple's brilliant flop, the Newton MessagePad, spoke for many when he said that interdepartmental mingling is crucial. Robert Logan, manager of User Interface Design at Thomson Consumer Electronics, echoed Tchao when, speaking of human factor researcher/designer relationships, urged companies to "mix 'em up! Put everyone in the same studio, take everyone into the field, and embrace differences."
Joy Mountford of Interval Research Corp. complained of homogeneity of design ideas, and urged designers to get involved in topics they don't know anything about, to ask themselves unusual questions.
Phil Patton, engineer and contributor to iD and Wired magazines, said he would like to break down how seriously designers take themselves, and encouraged them to find inspiration on the Web, where the proliferation of visual design by nonprofessionals offers novel directions: "The Web is as if all these people were going to Home Depot and building their own houses."
The breaking of boundaries at lunch was apparent, despite the Omni Shoreham Hotel's typical segregation of chicken fajitas at the front table, hard-shelled beef tacos at the back; designers flagrantly piled their plates with both dishes and discussed the 1997 Industrial Design Excellence Awards.
Regarding gold-winner frogdesign's Toast Logic Toaster with Window, Ken Brazell, senior industrial design manager at Ryobi Concepts International, effused, "With the ToastLogic microchip and a viewing window to boot, burnt toast is now a thing of the past...." In case it's not, the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors were also among the 28 gold-award winners.
