Monday, April 29, 2013

Design your own museum!

The design museum awards are always an interesting amalgam of what is new, with what’s considered hot and topical. It’s normally challenging and interesting to review what has been included. This year the overall design award has gone to the gov uk website. Um that’s a bit dreary and boring isn’t it? I mean a website? Among all the other things they could have selected, from the categories of Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Products, and Transport. They chose a website. It strikes me as a bit dull and un-inspiring. Mind you so is the design museum website. Looking like it was designed in the 1980’s with that tight text and links all over the page, it’s a pain to navigate and unforgivably doesn’t provide any description or images for the design shortlist. Maybe the design museum should take a real long hard look at their chosen winner. On top of that they should think about marketing the shortlist better, not everyone can get down to London and visit the place and they would be doing us all a favour. For those of us outsiders here are some of the highlights. The wind map is baffling. It takes a while to load but it’s worth it, click on the live map and view. Eerie, surreal, hypnotic. Like the early years science class with moving iron fillings and magnets. The Mando Footloose Chainless Bicycle is not just chainless but is also a folding bicycle. Innovative. Bit more exciting than a website eh? (OK i will stop now). While the aptly named donkey bike aims to be the “pick-up truck of bicycles” according to industrial designer Ben Wilson.