Milena Cywinska, User Experience Design As cliche as this sounds, the global pandemic has shaken up every field of life and had a huge influence on all of us. So why would the design go through all of that unharmed? As we all suspect, it did not. Also, it is not a surprise that the anti-design trend was brought back to discussion, but we will get to that. The pandemic has questioned everything that felt so certain and revalued it in its own way - which I actually started to like. In a blink of an eye everything was gone, everything was different. We finally began to value things that we had always taken for granted. These were such fundamental things as family, health, security. The social aspect of life was completely frozen, we were left alone with the new and unknown, in isolation and uncertainty. It felt like the world suddenly stopped. It all has taught quite a few important lessons. Dressing up fancy to classes in a modern building in central London - you wish, not anymore. Get used to pyjama pants and a random, at least proper-looking shirt with a laptop in your bed. That was the new normal. And there was no way to impress and even if, then no one cared. As the whole social life completely froze only the core, most important values survived. In the new circumstances, the ‘pretty’ has completely lost its value. We began to care more about comfort, functionality and usability, as that was all that was actually left. Our commercial sides were not as easily tempted anymore. All the shiny and decorative was not in place in the face of such hard circumstances. Additionally, we finally started to appreciate the role of a community. In the face of a threat, we had to work together but separately in order to prevent the spread of the disease. We lacked social interactions and started to appreciate the value of having people around. We have finally started to realise that all of the environmental threats and problems that we so easily ignore are about to happen. We have finally brought social problems back to the discussion. And even though we still do not care ‘enough’ about all of those, we did make a baby step in the right direction. People became more aware of their role in the community, excellent proof of which is visible in the agenda of the 2021 Dutch Design Festival, where all topics focused around sustainability, ecology and loads of other exhibitions I have recently visited, most of which touched on the socially relevant topics such as activism, war, local heritage, healthcare, identity, and a variety of others. Even me, technically a UX designer, ending up working for a social design studio shows that something has changed. Leave and Let us Go, Alexandra Rose Howland, FOAM Museum, Amsterdam 'Howland presents an intimate portrait of Iraq, a country that is often misunderstood and misrepresented.' Piet Hein Ek - Sustainable Furniture Design, Dutch Design Week 2021 ![]() The whole world became humbler, our priorities have shifted into the most fundamental values. We really enjoyed working from home, dressing up comfortably, not having to impress anyone. But we did get bored quite quickly. As we generally became humbler and more considerate, it does not mean we did not get tempted by the ‘pretty’ at all. We did get a new view on what really matters but from time to time we desperately craved the luxurious and crazy. We started to miss all the fun and entertainment. And when we did, we went extreme. That is when the anti-design comes in, which stands exactly for all of those. ‘Anti-design embraced various exaggerated and expressive qualities to undermine the purely functional value of an object.’ As for me, the design of today has become more purpose- and usability-oriented. We do prefer simple and accurate solutions, but do not mind adding an anti-design twist to those from time to time. Questlove wears gold Crocs to the Oscars red carpet. ‘I’m definitely seeing people taking more risks, in terms of color choices, prints and patterns, even shapes and silhouettes that they wouldn’t have worn before, says Sydney Mintle, a fashion industry publicist in Seattle.’ The world went from one extreme to another, but that taught us it is not so one sided, we do need both. We do need comfortable, practical, easy and humble but we also need crazy, fun, bold and exaggerated. The pandemic is going to leave us with a crazy mix of both - sweatpants with a twist. And as fashion is the most clear way to reflect that, those changes have influenced the whole design world. ‘Comfort has remained an important fixture in our wardrobe and that’s something many will find hard to relinquish anytime soon, says Forbes-Bell.’ References:
Attardo, K. (2021, June 8). A Fashion Psychologist on What Post-Pandemic Dressing Will Look Like. Marie Claire Magazine. https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/a36321088/post-pandemic-fashion/ Dellatto, M. (2021, May 4). Why ugly-cool Crocs have stood the test of time. New York Post https://nypost.com/2021/05/04/why-ugly-cool-crocs-have-stood-the-test-of-time/ Korducki, K. M. (2021, November 18). The sudden, uncomfy fall of the biggest pandemic fashion trend. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/nov/18/sweatpants-pandemic-favorite-slubby-trend-over Over. (2021). Over’s 2020 Trend #6 Anti Design. Made with Over. https://www.madewithover.com/trends-copy/anti-design Martinique, E. (2016, June 25). Anti-Design Movement - Aestheticism of the Modern Era. Widewalls . https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/anti-design-italian-movement
2 Comments
sarah temple
1/6/2022 08:40:09 am
Compelling argument Milena on the subject of caring more for others and less for ourselves. If design becomes more considerate and socially-orientated can a UX designer address the a-typical and accurate/simple at the same time? Worth reading Joana's position in an earlier post.
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sarah temple
1/6/2022 11:40:16 pm
Excellent captioned illustrative additions - very good reference to contexulaise with use of Dutch Design Festival - an important barometre of European design activity.
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