Howdy,
So since my last post, I have been exploring the many paradigms associated with Product Design as well as furthering my research on ethics.
My main finds on the paradigm front have shown me that Product Design relies heavily on a high use of technology, broad ranges of products on a set value scale, new materials and processes, planned obsolescence and consumer co-creation/product customization. Whilst I knew the majority of these already, having them listed makes it far easier to design a product that would invert these paradigms and become surprising.
If I were to create a product that clearly challenged then paradigms of Product Design, it would need to be be basic and rudimentary, a single on off product, use older obsolete materials and processes, be long lasting with no direct successor and have no consumer input or customization.
Whilst it is true that creating a product such as this would indeed meet the brief, in my opinion it would create an absolutely pointless product that no-one would want, which would make it a total waste of time and effort and simply make it another thought experiment to be displayed in an exhibition which would exist just to annoy people like myself, though I admit, this is only my view as a cynic of such artistic philosophy.
I have also explored the ethics idea in more detail, which I personally prefer as an idea due to the potential humour that it could entail. As I had found previously, there are a few main basic ethical rules in Product Design;
– The product must not be harmful to the user or others if used correctly and should display sufficient warnings if it does indeed carry the potential to harm
– The product must not be deliberately offensive to any specific group in society, nor should it in any way insight hatred or hostile behaviour to any group
– The product must abide by all laws and standards within the point of sale
These base factors have shown me what I would need to do to create a product that broke the ethical codes and cause surprise.