Design, c'est une conversation

          Generally speaking, I'm sure it's safe to say that design is a universal conversation. It can represent, show, include, and reflect what is important to people's lives in society. As I've mentioned in a previous blog, it can illustrate the zeitgeist of modern culture and society through the evolution of iconography and other elements of design. We watched a part of a video essay in Design 1 last week that interviewed Charles and Ray Eames on design. It explained, in the simplest and most honest of terms, that design tries to find solutions to problems. With that said, it's apparent that the conversation of design is between society--the whole multitude.
          Nowadays, sustainability or the "green" initiative is popular in today's culture because we have become self-conscious about our carbon footprint and concerned about the condition of the environment we live in. We have realized how pollution, depletion of natural resources, and waste from humans is ultimately, directly and indirectly, affecting other people, our children in the future, and nature. It's a grand cycle that is being resolved through the efforts of people and sustainable design. IKEA is a well known company that tackles this challenge of sustainable furniture design, paired with affordable prices, to meet the problems of today's society. This is the conversation of design in action through sustainability.

FILLSTA (floor lamp) $69.99

POÄNG chair ($99)

IKEA PS KARLJOHAN table ($59.99)

          Their designs for furniture, among other things, are very innovative. They have always been a step ahead of the game. They managed to create furniture that is stylish, simplistic, and practical with the constraints of sustainability. Surprisingly, the quality and aesthetics of their furniture designs don't seem to lack through these constraints.They have a thorough sustainability report from 2009 that shows how much work they put into sustainability with their products and their own manufacturing. It's refreshing to see companies like this who make it part of their standard to include sustainability, safety, and quality in their products.
       IKEA's sustainable designs are a response to society's concern with the environment. In this way, design holds a conversation between the environment, science, and ethics.

Credit/Links:
Charles and Ray Eames: http://designmuseum.org/design/charles-ray-eames
[IKEA Sustainability Report 2009 PDF]: http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/pdf/sustainability_Report_2009.pdf (7.14MB)
[IKEA FILLSTA floor lamp]: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00155006
[IKEA POÄNG chair]: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00155780
[IKEA PS KARLJOHAN table]: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10149939