When I say “refined” I actually mean a new-made conception of a consumer’s product, probably a conception of consumerism itself, and most of all - the utopian dream about completely different approach in creation, design and marketing.
From the very childhood I was addicted to the luxury market, brands like Bang & Olufsen in music systems or Prada in fashion formed my taste, though being a technology addict I soon started to hunger for more innovation. First for function, then observing the design, for usability and style. What is evident today is amotivation to create new inspiring product that would possess new qualities for its users. It is clear that customers are attracted by features artificially exaggerated like the thinness a mobile phone, just imagine all the budgets spent to advertise, sell and create new generation of mobile phones with the unbelievable thickness, even in spite that they did not have any new functions, were some time user unfriendly and the battery died much faster. I’m not saying that the demand for small and mobile devices should not be met, or that the thickness of mobile phones is a bad thing to have, I’m saying that the approach is abused. Examples are every were, when the technology may be easily advertised and the necessity to buy a never model explained, like in case of HDTV we have millions invested, even when we do not have a content worth watching in HD, I mean is a Hollywood movie with budget near two hundred millions really worth watching if it lacks the message?
I think it is a sign or regression, a very bad and vivid one, we can take a look at the PC market as another example, processors, video cards, Gordon Moore’s law in all absorbing sense, millions of gamers buy new hardware every year, but if we look closer we will see that with the ultimate freedom of creation, it looks like only 10% are used, what requires such capacity (if we speak of a home PC market) is games. But if we take PC game as creation of art, like a good movie, we will see the exactly same picture as with the HD and movie industry in general, not a content but insignificant envelope evolves, and the affectation of its importance is simply felt when we compare old thought-out content filed movie with new one with plot worth watching and we see that both still do posses a quality for us, though if two “envelope oriented” compared only the latest one remains interesting as far as it is considered the “latest”, from that point I believe we see how ephemeral the qualities on which today market stands and products are sold.
When we can evolve with every new project, every new web site created may literally have a better interface and usability innovations that when grouped will change the everyday life not a small innovation every five years, there are no barriers and technological limits that would stop a leather briefcase worth 2000 usd to be much better that the one made fifty years ago, actually it should be better than the model made last year if it is considered to be a new one. I’m not even saying that it may be sold at the price of 500 usd bringing comfort to the much wider group of people, at the same quality level. When I was participating in Child’s Play competition, I created a concept that can hardly be considered affordable, not because of the idea itself (like pricy materials used or handicraft work required), but because of the situation we have on the market today, because of the false guiding lines the whole system works on we can not bring to life an amount of amazing things, services and technologies, because everyone needs new “fashion color” instead of technology that would change their life.
I believe that it is very hard, almost impossible to change the market, to make people earn money harder using alternative greener sources of energy, and so on, but it is possible in some scale, and the same way the philosophy and tolerance work it is a tuck for every one of us, especially people involved in the process of creation today products. Every product can be the next real step in evolution and every one can be an inspiration for living.
