This year I explored the Dutch Design Week. For me it’s the event of the year and this year I took the time to see and read ALL works at the Design Academy Eindhoven graduation show. It took me 3 days to read the book (460 pages) and see my selection of work and speak to the alumni. I’m sharing some of my favorite works on this blog connecting the works by Tate Modern’s ‘Ways of Looking’. Want to know more about Tate Modern’s ‘Ways of Looking’? Look here.
My last post was about Hoppa, a couch you can jump on by Renske Rothuizen.
I connect Rothuizen’s playful design by looking at the Subject – what is it about?
Rothuizen’s couch is about letting more play in your life. It’s about what people, in this case kids, do (and we grown ups sometime want to do but don’t) and that is PLAY. Seeing kids jumping on couches can also be a starting point for your design instead of a trigger to keep kids from jumping, read playing. I can hear parents telling their kids “yes you can watch television but you first have to jump 10 minutes on the couch.”
Play can change human behavior and make the world a better place. And cleaner if you think like Wouter Vastenouw. He designed Afvalbank (Garbagebench):
“Stray litter is a persistant problem in urban areas. Drinks are consumed, and cans are then thrown in the street instead of a rubbish bin. Now, with ‘de Afvalbank’ Wouter Vastenouw makes cleaning up cool. From the outside it looks like just a regular bench. But, kick a can towards the slot in the base and it disappears inside. Kick it at the right angle and a chime inside rings a congratulatory sound, inviting more action. The fun factor is instant as the cans become footballs, with the bench as a goal. Who can resist?”
Who can resist? I could not. At the graduation show I just had to kick some cans in the bench to hear the chime. I was the only one. I’m sure it works better in a public place.
Using play to clean the world. You know the world’s deepest bin?
‘Cleaning up for kicks’ it says on Wouter Vastenouw’s page.
Jumping and kicking can make the world a better place.
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