Nathan Shedroff attempts to explain what is considered mathematical and scientific to a designer. Shedroff addresses that designers must face the truth that they attempt to avoid throughout their career: to truly understand good and sustainable design, we must look beyond the visual field. How does Shedroff convince this to the visual designer? Why, through visual models and images of course!

Shedroff integrated words, statistics, charts, and pictograms throughout his presentation at UC Davis on November 18th, 2009. He posed 3 questions to his audience:

1. What's a more sustainable world look like?
2. What's a more meaningful world look like?
3. What's a post-consumer world look like?

He states that these unanswerable questions are vital in discovering what more sustainable design exactly is. Shedroff presented images of various cultures - Cuba, India, Brazil, etc. as examples of this unending attempt for answers. Are we approaching the answers? Are these cultures, noted for their sustainability and low consumerism, steps toward the sustainable good design we seek?

Shedroff can only provide the audience with an unsettling "perhaps." His presentation does not aim to provide all the answers for the designer seeking to create good design. Shedroff, while he has much more experience and knowledge than 98% of his audience, seeks the answers to his questions also. It is perhaps this selflessness that will lead us finally to good design. Shedroff puts aside the ego and shares nearly everything he knows about design. Shedroff shares his thoughts and findings because he does not seek to be a good designer, he seeks to create a world with good design. Shedroff gives his audience the tools. Good design takes more than one designer.

jamielew

18
april 13, 1991
design @ uc davis
jamielew@gmail.com

October 2009
November 2009