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We are living in an age that is becoming increasingly materialistic. People seem to constantly be looking to own the ‘next big thing’, something more expensive, more impressive than the next guy. How this has happened is beyond me. Why are products being produced that compromise function for aesthetics? Who decided that it would be an awesome idea to make a product that doesn’t operate properly, but looks amazing in the front room?
I regularly visit museums and galleries. Time and time again I have been disappointed. As society becomes progressively numb to global and domestic problems such as disease, disability, an ageing population (in the developed world) and unemployment, to name a few, we still seem to see designers concentrating on aesthetics and barely considering the real purpose of their product.
One example was the Zaha Hadid exhibition at the Design Museum last December. I am exemplifying this particular show because she is ‘all the rage’ at the moment. The Guardian calls her a ‘starchitect’ and ‘the worlds best female architect’. If you have seen her work, you will know that is visually stimulating.
At first glance I was genuinely impressed, as one might be by the crown jewels. After a good minute of being captivated by the aesthetics, however, my brain interrupted by snapping my eyes out of their trance and I began to realise that every single design, product and building, had been generated as a direct result of her over-expanded ego. From chairs and sofas that no one can comfortably sit on, to buildings that ignore their environment in which they are built. Has she designed ANYTHING with the consumer in mind? She couldn’t, if her life depended on it. 
Zaha Hadid: "Lamp" I am not criticising her individuality or her artistic license, but rather her total disregard of the world around her. She designs for herself and no one else. Each building is one huge shrine to herself. She wants to be immortalised and wants us to acknowledge her existence. How pathetic. How selfish.
Design is slowly but surely becoming more the designer rather than the client or consumer.
The show at the RCA was just another example of this shift, and nobody seems to care. Instead of pointing out this embarrassing development in society, we praise it! SOMETHING IS WRONG!
What ever happened to a social conscience? Where are the condoms and light bulbs of 2008? Condoms have saved lives globally! Light bulbs have allowed the world to operate at night! Has everything useful already been designed? Are there no more problems to solve? Is that why people are designing clothes for pets and voice evaluating ice-cream machines? Must be. That whole ‘third world’ thing must have been a dream.
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