Design for a Living World

What IS organic design exactly? My recent visit to Cooper-Hewitt answered part of that question for me.

The Nature Conservancy developed an exhibition in which 10 leading designers were commissioned to develop new uses for sustainable materials and tell a unique story about the land and culture from which they came. This exhibition is beautiful because it asks designers to reshape our material economy by choosing products that support rather than deplete endangered places. Take a look at the incredible designs, beautiful regions of the world, and stories about these brilliant designers: Design for a Living World

Most products featured in the exhibition are decorative: items like bamboo furniture, chicle latex vases and vegetable ivory jewelry. These products are created with a Western consumer in mind, but wouldn't it be fascinating if they created products to add value to the people's lives in these developing villages and communities? There is a strong demand for textiles and furniture in the developed world, and the motivation to profit from these materials possibly led to the outcome. There's nothing wrong with that, especially since the profits are mostly going back to the indigenous communities! However, it would be even more interesting of a challenge if the designers used these materials to create products FOR the populations that so kindly lend their materials for production. This project created a lot of awareness for these regions and helped the communities, there is just something missing... when I see the salmon skin heels from Isaac Mizrahi, I wonder if anyone in Southwest Alaska, from which the salmon came, would ever wear these shoes? Would the Bribri women in Costa Rica make hot chocolate for their families with Yves Behar's invention below?

Mmmmm chocolate! Yves Behar 100% organic cocoa, made in Costa Rica. Sales from the product support the Bribri community and help to preserve biodiversity in the rain forest. To make the patty, Bribri women grind cacao beans to a paste and let it harden. The patty is meant to be grinded with the tool above and added to milk to make hot cocoa.

Sitting on a ticking time bomb

I was reading the Pantopicon blog, and this post made me stop and think: what direction is our world really going in? Humans could go in one of two directions: on one hand, there's a resurgence of back-to-nature practices like yoga, local and organic food, crafting and the popularity of handmade elements in art and design. On the other hand, the rise in social networking sites is breathtaking. But you have to wonder as sites like Facebook, Twitter and others keep folks glued to their computers - are social networking sites actually anti-social? There's an element of voyeurism, where you can scroll through people's pictures, see their friends and 'status' without ever picking up the phone to catch up!

My husband and I are more of the pick-up-the-phone type people, and 'hey, want to get a cocktail' type people. But in the last year we gave in to the Facebook pull, charmed by the ease of keeping in touch and reconnecting with so many 'faces'. I love Facebook, I must say. In terms of marketing, businesses either join FB, tweet and blog or miss out on lots of customers.

The problem with this trend is the decline of outdoor activity. According to The Nature Conservancy, visits to National Parks are down. Less time in nature means people are less aware of the value it adds to their lives, and they are less likely to protect it. I don't know which direction the world will go, and like the sociologists suggest on the Pantopicon blog post, if half the population goes in one direction and the other half in another, we could be facing a huge problem, much like sitting on a ticking time bomb.

My solution: I'm going to visit my nearest national park. I just have to figure out where that is ....

(this photo is from a trip to the Scottish highlands)