2 posts tagged “culture”

Hugh Graham over at Hugh Graham Creative, one of my daily reads, has a very interesting and insightful post up: "The End of Consumer Culture?". In this post, he has a closer look at the already visible side effects of rampant consumerism and how designers as central figures in the design of new products are ethically obliged to improve product design towards an end of the "disposable culture" and to trigger a shift in consumer culture.

Some key quotes:

(...)consumption fills some sort of void in our lives, at least temporarily. And by feeding the void in our lives, designers are providing the stimulus that keeps the modern economy moving.

(...)
The question (...) is how we can both decrease our rampant disposable consumerism while still continuing to have a reasonably robust economy. How am I supposed to continue pushing the economy forward while cutting my carbon footprint by 60 percent?

(...)
Designers have an opportunity to engage in this paradigm shift. Part of the story lies in creating products that have intrinsic and lasting value, products that I like to call artisanal. And part of the story lies in better communicating the value of the artisanal. I believe that designers have an ethical duty to work toward the end of disposable culture. Of course, this isn’t going to happen overnight, and it’s not going to happen in vacuum. But it is going to happen, whether we choose to be a part of the process or not. Better to engage the future rather than have it thrust upon us.

But click over and read the whole post, since it contains many more ideas.

Also, the post contains a link to another good article, over on the Guardian: "Eat, drink and be miserable: the true cost of our addiction to shopping".

Already back in 2004, Ipsos/bestseller published the article "Lass dich inspirieren", which discussed a shift on the consumer market away from defining luxury through material values to defining luxury through immaterial values (published as PDF, or view as HTML via Google).

The article predicted a shift from "have" (the luxury consume of yesterday, defined through material possessions, demonstrative consumerism, status and glamour) through "being" (the luxury consume of today, defined through egocentric consumerism, immaterial values, a have of time, individual freedom) to "making" (the luxury consume of tomorrow, defined through inspiration and the utilization of creative potential).

bestseller predicted that the luxury consumer of tomorrow is an inspiration seeker and a creative consumer, in that (s)he looks for inspiration and creative potential in the goods (s)he is planning to buy. As an illustration to this onsetting trend, besteller quoted the taglines of some novel marketing campaigns in 2004:

• the "be inspired" parties of Siemens Mobile
• the Inspire Award of Deutsche Telekom, for the "inspiring 'go-getters' whose engagement is to encourage people in Germany to take things into their own hands".
• the "Ipsei" drink (by Coca-Cola) and its tagline, "Think what you drink"
• the star ride to Milan, an introductory campaign for the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class

The trend report closes with a prediction that reminded me a bit of Philippe Starck's statement about the designer of the future:

"Suitable as creditable communicators of the future concept of luxury are especially muses and 'inspirators', who will soon be traded in similarly high ranks like top models are today."

And look where we (already) are today, in 2008.

My knowledge of Japanese culture is very limited - and I admit I am ashamed for my ignorance. However, I think I learned enough to know that the members of Zen-Tei-Kyo shake the pillars of Japanese society. I have heard about them today, and my jaw dropped as I read a news piece.

As divorce rates continue to go up in Japan (i.e., women demanding a divorce from their husbands), the National Teishu-Kampaku Association teaches men introspection and how to become better, more caring and loving husbands. Shuichi Amano, the founder of the association, puts it quite clearly:

"The old ways don't work anymore and we husbands have to get out of our little fantasy of having ultimate power over our wives. We have to show our ability to change ourselves for the sake of our marriage."

Accordingly, there are three principles of love (愛の三原則), which not only form the central motto, and which are sung at each meeting, but which according to the instructions also make a good mantra:

定例会では、まず愛の三原則を唱和して、「カンパーイ」となるのが通例。
この言葉を日頃から唱えることにより離婚の危機も回避できるでしょう。

It's quite indicative, I think, that the husbands not only demonstrate their will to repent (okay... to better themselves) in public, but as they shout out their messages, they stand on beer boxes turned topsy-turvy.

Sigh.
We need more men like these.

(Go and tell your lady that you love her. Don't blush. Don't goof off. Willya.)

sources: article in Japanese | article in English