Who are we designing for, anyway?
Early career reflections, what happens when we design in vacuums & redesigning for a sustainable lifestyle
With such massive wealth in tech corporations, it’s easy to see why creative professionals have headed here in this so-called late-stage capitalism. See: the simplified mundanity of Corporate Memphis that’s overtaken SaaS companies and startups over the last decade, venture-capital-backed startups who dream of cashing out from bootstrapped exits, or the cringey community-building banter attempts by verified brands on Twitter.
Relatedly, the first real job I got out of college—the one that afforded me the opportunity to move to New York at the time—was doing just that. I personified branded smartphones, smart washers and smart dryers, smart fridges, and smart TVs on social media, amidst the wrath of usually rightfully angry customers. I juggled the art of amplifying mainstream humor, regurgitating witty comebacks, and spoon-feeding sales pitches to faceless gray circles on the Internet in just 140 characters a pop, hundreds of times each week. I regressed into a miserably normalized world of desk lunches and cancelled dinner reservations, each time my manager stayed behind to impress their manager, in order to impress their manager, in order to impress their manager. All for this?
I’d have liked to even half-believe President Nixon’s pride of capitalist-driven product integrity, when he famously argued in the 1959 Kitchen Debates: "Would it not be better to compete in the relative merit of washing machines than in the strength of rockets?" Convincing, but seems to lack the foresight of my more current situation: getting an “urgent ping” from my manager about flagging a user’s exploding washing machine to our client for the second time this week…
Hellish formalities of corporate communications aside, it’s shamefully apparent that our design choices, in and of themselves, are largely ruled not by innovation or integrity, but by those who hold the most purchasing power. Which means that when choosing between the two—helping more people vs. turning a quick profit—it’s never the former when design needs are clearly conflated by investor funding.
All design has become industrial
Tucked into a short stretch of narrow hallway, there’s a small section of the Tate Modern in London that’s filled with large, graphic posters and inky photographs laid out in clean-cut collages. When visiting in late November, I was immediately struck by how similar the propaganda-forward visual elements and ideas of Soviet photobooks and posters are to those today in modern digital design, like experimental mixed medium usage and collaboration between trades via collectives.
Above all was this notion that “the Soviet state rejected the idea of the ‘creative genius’. Instead, it promoted mass-produced art that could benefit society.” But how did it actually “benefit society?”
In the Soviet Cold War era, this came to be:
Little innovation or product improvement due to a lack of competition or incentive, and no consumer alternatives to turn to, therefore,
Originality was virtually nonexistent since the only references they had were the ones from neighboring western countries
Reverse-engineered designs then became commonplace—from daily household appliances and objects to strategic bombers to everything we know about state-backed hackers
It then dawned on me that creative teams for corporate brands also “rejected the idea of the ‘creative genius’” and “promoted mass-produced art that could benefit society.” It’s become middle managers who toe the line of executive-approved playbooks that are rewarded—with enduring Sisyphean tasks, stable salaries, and predictable calendars chock-full of back-to-back meetings. What’s taken over a supposedly “creative” industry is funding FOMO and a disconnect to problems that we already know exist, as opposed to the ones we’ve just pretended to have found.
But there were also qualities of VNIITE-approved designs that would truly serve societies well at scale:
Less cheap, disposable goods without any regard for longevity…which meant,
More durable, modular prototypes with considerations to conservation & sustainability
Perhaps we could do with a more industrial approach, rather than an industrial execution, to improve what’s often referred to as the creative industry.
👀 This week’s sustainable home goods from: my past, present & future lives 😇
I did this seemingly really ridiculous thing when I moved to New York 4.5 years ago, which was a self-edit on all the day-to-day products I was using.
But it totally paid off, since here I am still using them and recommending them to friends & family! It also appears that I forgot my razor in my Paris apartment and left my shampoo at my friend’s flat…so, naturally, I’ve turned to the same trusty B-Corp or EWR certified & 1% FTP brands I can count on getting back in the states.
P.S. Most of these websites are really hideously designed & I’m not getting a commission, so you know it’s real. :~) Y’all can also hire me if you wanted…
🚿 For shampoos and conditioners, Plaine Products has a closed-loop system where you simply send your empty aluminum containers back with an included shipping label, so they get reused! All ingredients are organic and natural, which works beautifully with curly and/or wavy hair. They’re also carbon neutral and use recyclable materials. And everyone who has stayed over loves the rosemary mint vanilla scent. ✨
🦷 Turns out most of the stuff that makes up Big Toothpaste is derived from petroleum. Because that’s fucking disgusting, I started using David’s Toothpaste and really love how it tastes. And it’s plastic-free!
🪒 Did not know there was a razor emoji until now? Anyway, I’ve actually tried several razors once they hit the DTC market over the years. I even checked out Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s because I was like, there must be a better alternative than these stupid 10-pack cheap looking things that I keep bleeding from. The winner amongst them all, though, has been Billie—and I think I had an emotional experience after my first post-shave shower after realizing that shaving could be so damn easy. I don’t know if everyone has switched to these removable, replaceable razor heads yet, or if this is already really obvious since so many of my friends also have them, but if you haven’t already, try it.
🧼 My go-to for dish soap, laundry detergent, and hand soap is pretty much a one-stop-shop at Common Good. I discovered them at Dépanneur in Williamsburg, which has refill stations in the back corner (and you can find your closest one here in the U.S. and even a few parts of Europe)! It actually lathers, cuts grease, and is biodegradable, so you can use the extra water for your plants, in your outdoor shower, or whatever without worrying.