The Failures of Design

     As I fight my "robot" vacuum, which is by the way is my fourth, three have been sent back, it brings to mind how often design has failed in our lives.

     I want you to think of an item you have, anything, such as a car, a phone, a cooking appliance, anything that you just love using. If its that good that means the designer designed an item that you want to use over and over again. It gives one a nice, warm, comfy feeling. You are never frustrated using it.

     Now think of an item you absolutely hate to use but in the course of your life must. It too could be a car, an iron, even the way a door opens. I have plenty of those in my life and I bet you do too. Some you could fix but never get around to it and some, like doors hung the wrong way, often can't be. However, when you use them you give them a silent curse.

Do you feel the robots are ganging up on you?

     Back to the robot vacuum, an Aiper I might add. Today it vacuumed a bit and when I didn't hear it hump anything went to look for it and there it was, docked. The floors still had tufts of dog hair everywhere. The point was to, well, to vacuum it. Dragging out the plug-in vacuum I had the whole place vacuumed in about 15 minutes. The robot can take up to hours if it vacuumed at all! Ironically the only robot that does a fairly decent job is my $25.00 O'Cedar with a simple replaceable mat that does a credible job of collecting dog hair especially under the bed and under the couches - better than I can reach or the robot can find. Though it too has a problem with humping my pedestal barstools and a swivel recliner.

Xerox Copier Model A

     Technology is both a blessing and a curse. One of the best stories I ever heard about our technology revolution was about the very first Xerox copier. Evidently when it hit the market the first model was a flop. No one, other than the engineers, of course, could use it. Finally, taking a lesson from Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, Xerox brought in people off the street to watch how they used it, filming their actions. It soon became apparent that no one understood what the buttons were for, how to lay the item to be scanned and just about everything else. Engineers often don't think the same way as you and me. After many trials and changes, they tried it again and they started a revolution of an item we can't live without today. However, like many things, even all copiers are not the same.

     While just about every company knows about Apple

and its creations, the Apple Computer, the Macintosh, the iPod, the iPad, the iPhone and now the Watch and stunning new iPod Pro's, rivals haven't seemed to learn the lesson or if they copy haven't learned it completely. While I sometimes have issues and not every product is perfect (think of iOS 8 and now the buggy iOS 13) their products on the main are very user friendly.

     When the iPad first came out a popular YouTube video was of a 2 year-old who was given a new iPad to use and within minutes turned it on and was using the games put on there for her. It was said that in test runs of this same iPad, seniors were given it to test their reactions and many refused to give them up. A finger was much easier to use than a mouse. What's even more, it's much easier to lug around than a laptop and each iteration becomes more and more powerful. 

737 Max - an example of how design can go so wrong

      There are spectacular examples however of great companies creating bad, even deadly products that again were designed by people. Taking shortcuts has not helped Boeing's bottom line and as the 737 Max fiasco continues, planes they make are coming under increased scrutiny. The new 777-X is under attack in the European Union and the Canadians are demanding that the infamous MCAS software be removed from the 737 Max entirely. The big question now is, would you fly on one?

Pontiac Aztec. Would you buy it?

     There are many examples of how design can go so wrong. Remember the Pontiac Aztec? It was GM's foray into the world of small SUV's. It was so ugly that it was considered by many to be one of the ugliest cars ever designed. Even today you have to wonder what the designers were smoking to create a car with so many different designs that appeared to be combined into one car.

Guess they couldn't find the toilet paper
and smeared it on the walls.

              However, it was the beginning of a whole series of cars that mostly came from Japan, but America was not far behind, in the discovery if you add a fold or a crease here, five or even ten creases had to be better. Look at just about any car today and you will see what I mean. 2019 Chevy pickups are selling slower because it's, well, ugly. Most companies have still not learned Coco Chanel's dictum, "Less is more."

     The list goes on and on. Anyone that has driven the LA freeways knows exactly what bad design is. There is no North, South, East or West it says Ventura, or San Diego, maybe Riverside or if in the heart of the city, Santa Monica. Do you know what direction that is? One wag wrote that "LA signs merely tell those who know where they are going that they are almost there." If you were at City Hall, Ventura is north, San Diego is south, Riverside is east and Santa Monica is west.

Two for one?

     Lets look at indoor design. Here's some interesting wallpaper. It kinda makes you think well, hum, they ran out of toilet paper? I certainly would not be sharing these urinals.    What is it about bathroom design that common sense is replaced by, oh I don't know, idiocy? It would seem that one of our most important functions takes a back seat to common sense. I am sure that everyone reading this has had this stall experience. It brings to mind a crazy radio show in Los Angeles where the morning hosts, Kevin and Bean sat in stalls and talked to the people that went into the stall next to them. I'll say one thing, they didn't linger!

Really? Snaps!

     Another area where design plays a crucial roll is baby clothes. Ever tried to put these on a crying angry baby? Those snaps are like creatures from hell as you wrestle with kicking legs and screaming baby. What are designers thinking of? In the 21st Century you have a choice of either zippers or velcro to use. The same could be said of men's buttons, women's hooks on jewelry or clothing (think of that dress it took two to put on).

Bidet anyone?

      We are surrounded by poor design and it can only be the choice of words and their placement for after all, a sign or poster "was" designed by someone too! I don't think the "take action" poster above intended you to quit school. Even though the message urges you to quit smoking what showed was another message altogether. It's everywhere and rather than becoming better now we have the Internet to consider as streams of poorly designed ads, hucksters and who knows what else seems to be coming out of every place we inhabit.

     Bad design has a dark side too. As more and more trash covers the globe we seem to think no one will notice how things are packaged. I am sure you have purchased something like these toys only to find there is more than twice the packaging debris than there was toy. And it's just not toys either. Once you start to consider and look at the things around you, you too will notice the often disconnect in this world.

     As I noted earlier ethnography is derived from the studies of anthropology studying how societies lived. It was a small step to document how people reacted, especially like Xerox, who had a product that no one was able to use. 

     Our lives today are filled with poor design ... computer operating systems that say "start" when you want to stop, toilet paper rolls too big for the holder, software that is difficult to use, phones that only a 13 year old could use, medicine bottles a senior can't open but their 3 year grandchild can, election ballot wording that gets you to vote yes when you really want to vote no, holding on the phone because "you are so important to us" and are forced to wait forever. The list goes on and on. And YES, sadly these things ARE designed to operate this way.

     Design is probably the chief element in our lives ... from the government be it federal, state, county, city. Our work days are ruled by the hours of our work be it running a home, school or a job. All of these factors literally rule our day, our lives. When designs are effective things run smoothly but when they don't, as they so often do, lives can be miserable and in some cases lost. 

     The surest way to get things changed of course is to not buy it, subscribe to it and the ultimate, disobey it. Reward those that produce not only good enough products but those that offer exceptional products, a true value for their money. These might be fighting words but to maintain some kind of control over our lives we need to follow it rather than letting others control us.

Here in a nutshell is a description of the study of humans:

eth·nog·ra·phy

/eTHˈnäɡrəfē/

Learn to pronounce

noun

the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures.

The word derives from the Greek ethnos (folk, people, nation) and grapho (I write). Commonly, then, ethnography is a written account of cultural life, but one can also present ethnography in other media (e.g. an ethnographic film). Anthropologists commonly distinguish between two different kinds of meanings of the word: 1) an ethnographic account (text, film, sound), and 2) an ethnographic approach (a method that aims at documenting lived life).

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

         

Creating Three Christmas Themed Birdhouses

There is nothing that spurs the imagination like a challenge!

     A friend in Oregon that is a fellow artist but knows that I recreate the simplest craft store birdhouses into, her words, not mine, "artistic masterpieces" and have sold over 100 of my creations on my ETSY store convinced me to enter a contest.

     The Audubon Society in Portland, OR was having their first birdhouse decorating contest to raise money and anyone that wished could get a free birdhouse and submit it for prizes of some sort or another. The entries would be auctioned off to raise funds. My friend got the birdhouse, mailed it to me and the challenge was on.

Getting ready for the challenge

     Since I knew it would arrive any day I decided to play with an idea that instantly popped into mind for the contest.

Since this was going to be near the Christmas season and so many people love Christmas and completely redecorate their homes during the "season" I decided to use a favorite design idea, my painted fabric Crazy Quilt designs but in this case use Christmas wrapping paper scraps also painted on. The same idea ... only painted Christmas paper scraps painted as if they were glued on a birdhouse.

The contest birdhouse

    As you can see (left)  I used a mini birdhouse and some wooden Christmas ornaments as guinea pigs to try out an assortment of painted designs. Once I found designs I liked I was ready for the contest birdhouse.

The finished Contest birdhouse

     One of the things I discovered over the years is that in your haste to get all sides of a project done ... base colors used on all sides - top, bottom and the four sides, it invites many mistakes; smears, that are easily made. You spend a great deal of time repainting over the smears your fingers made on one of the other sides. So, for this project I decided to create three different birdhouses - very different as you see but using the same theme, painted scraps of Christmas wrapping paper, something we are all familiar with while wrapping presents.

     I scoured the craft stores for things I could add to make the birdhouses outstandingly different. Michael's and JoAnn's didn't have much Christmas yet but when I visited Hobby Lobby, voila, I hit the jackpot! They had aisles of Christmas decorations of all sizes and I got the spiral Christmas tree and gingerbread buttons used on the added feet to complete the Christmas theme there. I had to drill a hole for a dowel to prop up the Christmas Tree on the roof.

The second townhouse birdhouse

Finished birdhouse #2

     Once the contest item was safely packed and mailed back to Portland I concentrated on the remaining two birdhouses that were painted at the same time. Because they were bigger and completely different they each took much more time. 

    Being uniquely different they presented unique challenges. One was a townhouse design with door, second story windows and dormers on the roof. The other was a top loading, hanging birdhouse that was very plain.

     I was able to use the Christmas wrap designs fairly easily on each one though I had to adapt variations because of their unique designs. The townhouse birdhouse was designed to stand alone on a table or counter surface. I had found some snowman ornaments to put on either side of the stoop. This created yet another "look" though it started with the original idea of scraps of wrapping paper.

The final birdhouse with metal
corners add a finishing touch

     Happy that this went so well I was left to finish the last of the three birdhouses. This was a much simpler design, with a top opening roof that was like a blank canvas. I duly painted the paper scraps but when it was done, it lacked something. Walking into the studio last night I noticed that one of the drawers was open and I glimpsed some metal corner pieces I got in China. I had three styles of descending sizes and designs and found that the smallest, simplest antiqued bronze corner was the perfect addition to this hanging birdhouse. The corners were not necessary but they added a finishing touch. I realized just how important it is to keep an open mind and be willing to try something different even if it doesn't seem plausible or necessary.

     As you can see, they were all different. Yet they each have a unifying theme. If anything this showed me that one idea can be extended to a variety of surfaces. It brought to mind the famous Warhol silkscreens where he made multiple prints of the same subject, Mao or Marilyn, yet by using different colors seemed to make each print look and even feel different. While he used different colors I used different shapes. If you look closely you will see the same painted designs on all three birdhouses but how they cover the surface makes all the difference in the world.

     The other lesson was that it was the details that also created vast differences in the final results. A Christmas Tree and gingerbread buttons on added feet for one, the snowmen on another and metal corners on the third added additional differences that made each birdhouse unique despite sharing the same painted scraps.

     The other plus was that by painting three at one time, then two, I was able to avoid most finger smears that the paint, puffy paints, glue and other materials used would cause if you didn't wait long enough for them to dry. Puffy paints are the worst but the 3D effect they add are worth the wait.

     This was a wonderful challenge and lesson. It taught me again to work in multiples just as many artists have done during their careers. Photos of many famous artists show their studios with  many canvases at various stages of completion. Now we too can join them too!

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

     

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: A Gay & Lesbian History

I was recently asked by my church, the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs to participate in a series of talks for Gay Pride in Palm Springs in November. Since our Gay Pride weekend begins today for three days, I felt honored to be asked.
     A great deal of time was spent researching this topic and the talk I will give (below) is what I will present at church this coming Thursday, November 7, 2019.
     I am adding it to my column because I feel that our lives are shaped, are "designed by the societies and cultures we live in and have always lived in. As Americans we live under our Constitution, a document designed by man. Earlier mankind lived in tribes and loose gatherings of societies that were developed to ensure that they and their prodigy endured.
     Many things were learned in my research and so I thought it was appropriate to share my findings not only in church but here as well.

Alan Krug
November 1, 2019

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: A Short History of the Gay & Lesbian Movement

I chose this title, HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT because throughout history there have been, well, men who like men and women who like women and probably a variety of other combinations we just don’t know about. The names vary by culture but it has been OR was not accepted since the beginning of time.

Every one of us grew up in some religious tradition that pretty much across the board condemned queers, butch, bears, faggots, and any action that caused men to spell their seed as it was considered an abomination against the will of God. How did we know? For most of us it was at church ... if you were a Jew, Christian or Muslim. All three religions come from the father Abraham and his wife Sarah. We are not alone though; other faiths have similar restrictions as all have been told in one way or another to be fruitful and multiply.

This reminds me of the time I heard Spencer Wells talk about his mapping of the world’s DNA.

He came on stage and without preamble said, “I’m here to tell you there was an Adam.” The air was suddenly sucked out of the auditorium. Continuing he added, “And he was black.” We had now reached the vacuum of outer space as there was NO air left in the room. Anyone who has come “out” of the closet knows the feeling.

As I contemplated what I would say about the history of Gays and Lesbians I wondered, were they Gay then too? Could they be any different than we are today?

Gay history, as we know it begins with the Bible. Everyone knows the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah. Did they lust after the angels? Were they hot? In any event the word sodomy, used forever now, came from that nasty town that God destroyed. I might add that even today theologians are arguing about what really happened and what it really meant. I would say from that time until now most people have already made up their minds, and it’s not favorable.

For some reason then and now men have much more concern about their fellow man and what they do. Leviticus notes in chapter 18, verse 22 “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have some done an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is on them.” That pretty much tells the tale, don’t you think? Or does it? I would ask then as now, what right does anyone have to judge what is done in your home, in your bed? I certainly don’t care what they do; why are they so interested in me? Jealous I might have more fun?

Among hundreds if not thousands of recorded cases of same sex acts recorded in justice or church records from Medieval Europe until today few were for relations between women. For men, the English law of 1533 made buggery punishable by death.

Century after century penalties ebbed and flowed. The Renaissance saw an openness not seen in hundreds of years. They saw serious penalties and then a relaxation. What I got from the histories though was a dry clinical outlook that made being Gay like a rat in a cage, being watched and then reporting what they saw. History seems to have no understanding of love, or passion, even caring. Since I have moved here (Palm Springs), I have seen couples that have been together longer than most “straight” marriages. I have seen the other side too but I have known many straight, whatever that might mean, men brag about their female conquests. My God, what do you think the MeToo Movement is about?

While there were periods in history against Lesbians they usually got off more easily than men, as men, who else right?, couldn’t possibly conceive of how Lesbians could commit the sin of illicit sex. After all they had no penis and no seed to spill. I’m not kidding. Sexual relations between women could only have one purpose: to enhance real sex, i.e., sex with a man. Read the histories, you will see.

You notice I haven’t used the word homosexual yet. I don’t because the word was only coined in 1869, the year one of my references started their Gay history because it was the first time a Latin - Greek word was created to describe same sex relations in a medical sense. It entered the medical lexicon in 1892 a few years after a similar German word. It was when a realization that all that had been thought before was reevaluated and people realized that men or women could love each other not only intimately but sexually. It was inborn. The word heterosexual was only coined a few years later as there was yet no word to describe relationships between a man and a woman! Homosexuals have the honor to be identified first!

An example of hidden in plain sight would be Oscar Wild’s famous and still popular play, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. Many of us had to read it in high school and most of us have seen it performed at one time or another. It’s a theatre staple. However, did you know that the word “earnest” was a Victorian code word for being homosexual? So, like another scandalous movie, THE LAST TANGO IN PARIS, it’s not the girls the boys are after, it’s the boys. TANGO was considered so scandalous that the American version had Marlon Brando having an affair with an underage girl. In the original French version, it was a young man.

Silver Daddies, as one popular male web site is called, follows a long and venerable history of pairing older men, “Daddies” with younger men, “sons.” The first recorded actions of older adult males mentoring and loving youth starts with the recorded writings from Ancient Greece. There it had to be a free born adult male and a freeborn youth that had a form of mentorship. These youths were between the ages of about 13 until 19 when they then were considered men. The idea was the older man “trained” the younger in the habits of being a man. Similar societies occur in Africa. Many of my older students, when I was in the Peace Corps, had scaring on their bodies given when they were in the bush for up to 8 years learning the ways of their tribes and learning to be a man. Called secret societies they would never admit to or talk about what they endured. However, we do know there was sex between males.

Romans also practiced this kind of mentoring but were stricter allowing only slaves and those purchased youth to have such a relationship with an older Roman citizen. A citizen youth was not allowed such unions.

Many American tribes, north and south, had cultural traditions dealing with and mostly allowing men and women to have same sex relationships and also allowed men to dress as women and live as women. Settlers and the church condemned such actions and forbid them though it is said they still exist out of the white man’s view even today. Indeed, many Gay individuals were honored and became shamans and medicine men and women.  The tribes believed they had special gifts and powers.

After WW I, many Gay men and Lesbian women went to Europe. Even though France has no laws against same sex liaisons, Germany did.  Prof. Hirschfeld, a Jewish liberal Gay man fought most of his adult life to overturn the German Paragraph 175 that originally made sodomy between men and later women a crime with jail time. His research center was one of the first casualties of Hitler’s triumph of 1933. Speaking across Europe and to visits in the United States, he argued that same sex attraction was a natural phenomenon and could not be altered. 

The biggest change in modern sexual history can be placed at the door of World War II. Millions of men and women, upwards of 30 million were displaced and left sheltered towns and homes and for the first time found others like themselves. While the U.S. Armed Forces prohibited such actions in WW I, liaisons were encouraged in WWII combat as it was recognized, as Romans had 2,000 years before, “buddies” could and would watch over each other in battle.” However, after the war, Gays and Communists were considered bedfellows and many Gay men, especially, didn’t fare well in either the government or private industry. It was a hard time to be Gay even as the number of clubs and groups grew. Cities enforced ordinances, treatments were often ordered and police raids became common targeting known hangouts. The irony was that many of the Gay and Lesbian bars were run by the Mafia and to stay open paid weekly bribes to the local police departments. Don’t pay and expect to be raided.

Many groups were started in the 1930’s and beyond but the battles they fought were more with each other than getting political traction. The Mattachine Society, formed in 1950 in Los Angeles, was an organization to support Gays and Gay rights. Most of the members were originally Communists but as the Red Scare of the early 50’s increased many members left. The group grew until 1953 when the founders left and the group wanted to assimilate, ape the mores of their heterosexual brothers and remain in plain sight with their “tastes” kept private. Others argued that they should be accepted as they were. By Stonewall they ceased to have much support.

Daughters of Bilitis, was the first Lesbian civil and political rights movement that was formed in 1955. It was conceived as a social alternative to bars subject to raids and police harassment. It morphed into providing support to women afraid to come out. The group rose at the same time feminists became active and there was a tension between older and younger members. It finally ended after the 1968 convention where fewer than two dozen members attended.

As we all know, in June of 1969 patrons of one of the worst bars in New York City fought back. It had been a bad month there and bar after bar was raided. Finally, late night patrons had had enough and fought back. It wasn’t just one night either, it went on for several nights and again the following weekend. As we heard here in church, those that were there that night didn’t realize what was started. It was a “raid” that was heard ‘round the world.

However, it was the AIDS epidemic that changed the course for Gay men forever. Finally identified in 1981, it would kill 660,000 Americans as of today and the count is still growing but at a much slower pace. It took groups like ACT UP in NYC to picket and press for medicines that were being used in Europe first to care for those with the virus. The other center was San Francisco that may have had the largest concentrated Gay population at the time. In just a few years thousands died and often the meds finally used could be as deadly as the disease itself.

Even today, there are about 26,000 new infections each year, infections that needn’t happen. As we said in my youth, “good girls don’t get pregnant” because no one told them about sex, just as many areas of the country today refuse to discuss Gay sex and prevention methods. 

I have pointed out that religion, especially Evangelical religions have been no friend to the “Queer” community and continues its drive to take our rights away. I read that over 1,200 laws and regulations have been attempted in this country, mostly in the Deep South, to not serve Gays, not hire them and even attempts to take their rights away. Even though it is legal for same-sex couples to marry we thought this battle was over but just like Roe v. Wade, the battles have just begun.

People think they “know” Gay people, who they are and what they do. A study a few years back that actually asked Gay and Lesbians what they did for a living surprised the researchers. The top 15 were:

•      Psychologists

•      Training and development specialists

•      Social and community service managers

•      Technical writers

•      Occupational therapists

•      Massage therapists

•      Urban and regional planners

•      Producers and directors

•      Teachers

•      Probation officers

•      Morticians, undertakers and funeral directors

•      Physical therapists and exercise physiologists 

•      Computer and information systems managers

•      Lawyers, judges and other judicial workers

•      Web developers

You notice that hair dressers, decorators and such were not in the top 15. So, while they are there, the majority of people you deal with professionally are Gay in plain sight and you may never know it.

Another group that is considered vulnerable today are the transgender men and women following the time-honored judgment from ancient times that you are the sex that your genitals indicate. However, an excellent documentary at Cinema Diverse told another story. We have all been taught that sex is black and white. But as any Queer can tell you in the real world there is black and white and about 7 billion grays in between.

PBS did a wonderful special regarding young men coming out to their parents. One was a Mormon boy in a large Mormon family. They were shocked of course but finally accepted his orientation after much discussion, prayers and such. At the end, the father related how a friend came up to him and commiserated with him about his son. Then added that he didn’t know any Gay people. The father said, “I told him oh, you do, you just don’t know it.”

I would like to leave you with this thought, probably most if not all of the clothes you are wearing were designed or copied from a Gay clothing designer, many of the movies and cable shows have Gay writers, producers, actors and camera men. At the recent Cinema Diverse I saw the documentary on the artist Steven Arnold, a flamboyant artist who died of AIDS in 1994. Before his death he was interviewed on TV and asked about his thoughts on being Gay. He shrugged it off and said that he was proud to be Gay. Look at the heterosexual world, how boring! You need Gays and Lesbians to give the world some spice, some color. And you know, he was right!

Alan

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!