Homework 2: Rethinking the Way We Sit Down

After I watched the video, I came away with two equally important concepts: the idea of aesthetic and holistic design, and the idea that one’s designs should be extremely intuitive for their intended users. Niels described the many aspects he would design in order to complete illustrations of planes. Airplanes are not simply two wings, a body, and a tail after all. How long should the wings be? How heavy the wheels? How deeply curved the windshield? Every detail of Niels’ plane designs were given deep thought, not only regarding themselves as an individual unit but also in how they formed the larger whole. This attention to detail served him well when he went on to design the ubiquitous computer chair we all use today. Many features of the chair were explicitly designed with the user in mind (such as what their body does when they recline back, or what sort of support their tailbone needs while sitting). When he described his processes, the designs seemed like no brainers, but I realize that’s because I live in a world where the chair already existed. It must have been much more challenging before then! The video imparted to me just how importance mindfulness in design really is, and that nothing should be done without reason.