UTILITARIAN HEDONIC MULTI-FUNCTIONAL DESIGN: THE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN OF THE FUTURE

The purpose of design is its usefulness to its design environment and usefulness includes aesthetics, which are inseparable from a design. (Peoples J. 2008) Everything produced in the community for its own use should be made conscientiously and well, but simple and without anything superfluous (Meacham J. 1795). A product is called a product because of its use, and it is seen in a form for recognition and understanding.

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), the modern architect of utilitarianism, who introduced the notion of utility into social science, defined Utilitarianism as an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the “overall good”. In this definition, overall good could be suggested to be the usefulness of the design therefore, the aim of the design is maximising the overall good.

Utilitarian Design may be defined as a design that emphasises utility over other values.

It can also be categorised as a design that mainly takes usefulness into consideration more than aesthetics. It can also be described as functional design or function based design.

The word Utilitarian stems from “utility.” The Origin: 1350-1400 as utilite middle English<utelite old French, utilitas Latin, equivalent to util which means the quality or state of being useful; usefulness; profitableness to some valuable end. (Ogilvie J) In this context, it is safe to say, it is the total usefulness of design received by the user. In an economic term, utility refers to total satisfaction gained from the consumption of goods or services. (S. Mukherjee, 2007).

Aesthetic Designs aims to communicate visual characteristics, charm or create emotion in the user. Aesthetics is a two sided coin. It is the beautiful, appealing, and intriguing thing that makes us want to look at visual culture. Aesthetics can promote feelings of righteousness, communicate vital messages, and illustrate excellence. (Freedman K, 2003) However, there is clear contrast between attraction and function. (Kalar B, 2006).

In a sense we create function for aesthetic beauty in design.......

It is also understood that perfection is the constituent cause of beauty (Burke E, 1803). Where parts are well adapted to their purpose, they are constantly beautiful and when no use appears, there is no beauty which is contrary to all experience; we might conclude that beauty is in proportion to utility (Burke E, 1803). This statement is similar to Shaker’s philosophy the highest beauty lies in harmony (Hauffe T, 1998) because harmony in this context could be proportion or a pleasing combination of elements in a product.

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EXAMPLES OF UTILITARIAN DESIGN

Umbrellas

Umbrellas are mainly designed to protect from rain or sunshine. It has been stripped to only its use. Its materials, size and fold-ability have changed over time for convenience and to make it useful for all. This could be considered to be in line with the “overall good” concept as Bentham suggested in his definition of Utilitarianism.

It is a thing which ministers shadow for shelter against the scorching heat of the sun. (Goodman W.1843). It is also our walking house when it rains. (Beckett G, 1869) Although it has been difficult to discover in which countries of Asia it really originated from, it is known that umbrella is from the Asiatic origin. (Penny Magazine, 1835)

Paper Clip

In the 13th century when paper became the standard material for written documents, there came a need to attach pieces of paper together when the assembly did not merit permanent binding in the form of a book. The earliest method of fastening paper was to thread a string, strip or cloth, or ribbon through two parallel slits that had been made in the upper left-hand corner of the papers by a sharp knife. Pins, made of metal or bone were also used as paper fastener. (DeGarmo P.E. 2011)

Bent-wire paper clips did not become common until the late 1800s. Various designers were introduced; all based on creating two metal surfaces that are pressed together by the elasticity of the metal wire. (DeGarmo P.E. 2011)

Nothing but Use

The paper clip’s simplicity in design and its direct functionality have made it difficult to overdesign it. It needs no other understanding but use. Paperclips are used for a single purpose, yet the design of a paper clip has changed through time, in terms of shape, colour and material. Although Designers have over the years have attempted to put more into its aesthetics, users still tend to look less at its design and usually have one thing in mind when purchasing a paper clip, “a need to attach documents together.”

Shaker’s Furniture Design

Design affects the mind-set of its user and its environment. Shaker design was based on religious belief, which required products to reflect perfection and functionally to meet communal societal demand. Their versatile furniture designs allowed several members to work together simultaneously to complete a community work task.

Extremely functional and utilitarian, shaker furniture is beautiful in its masterful simplicity of form. Collected today as art, Shakers furniture is among the most highly prized and pricey American furniture. “Qualities such as form and superb craftsmanship made Shaker furniture art not ornamentation.” (Peoples J. 2008)

The functional nature of a design is modified for the purpose of enhancing its aesthetic qualities and thus making it more pleasurable to human senses. (Peoples J. 2008).

Something becomes art when its purely utilitarian or functional nature is modified for the purpose of enhancing its aesthetic qualities and thus making it more pleasurable to our senses. (People J. 2008). The existence and desirable nature of their products today show prolonged use and therefore sustainability.

Utilitarianism strips all extra characteristics of a design and directs all efforts in the design process towards the overall use of the product. Utilitarian design has no other message but use. This message does not allow egoistic or individualistic approach to designs.

Naoto Fukazawa says Good Design means not leaving traces of the designer, and not overworking the design (Szita J. 2006). This could also apply to minimalism.

Minimalism

Minimalism refers to a tendency within various creative genres to reduce complexity in the work such as to reveal dramatically its essential qualities (Parsons T, 2009). This similarly means stripping off superfluous and complexity in design and stressing more on usefulness or qualities of design.

An example of utilitarian, minimalist design is a Japanese lifestyle chain establishment called Muji, established in 1980. They design functional minimalist products with the principle of ‘no brand but quality product’. The name MUJI actually stands for the phrase “Mujirishu Ryohin” which in Japanese means “not brand product but quality products” (Konsorski-Lang 2010). This principle means that the designer and the names of a product are less relevant than its usefulness. Although Muji products are designed by highly acclaimed designers from all over the world, the designers themselves remain anonymous (Konsorski-Lang, 2010). This principle keeps the focus on the usefulness of the design allowing the design to speak for itself rather than the reputation of designer.

Naoto Fukazawa’s intention is to erase himself totally from his products, nevertheless, that itself, is a unique trait in the age of the celebrity designer and ironically often his work cannot be mistaken for someone else’s. His outright rejection of the fetishism of design objects and his determination not to assert his personality gives autonomy to the relationship between his products and their users. (Szita J. 2006).

Naoto Fukazawa’s “anti- technical” approach to electronic gadget design, dispensing with unnecessary buttons, displays and other high-tech signifiers, represents minimalism. An example is his “Twelve” watch design for Issey Miyake, it radically removes the clutter that is supposed to signify “precision” in watches and the design relies on the shape of the face to provide the accuracy of reading. (Szita J. 2006)

Creative Director of Muji, Naoto Fukazawa has cultivated its philosophy from Zen Buddhism.

Zen Buddhism (Origin Of Minimalism)

Fowler M (2005) states Zen Buddhism relates to the inner strength, composure or meditation that frees the mind from worldly attachment, both fear of pain and desire for pleasure that eventually leads to a detachment from one’s personal self, to a state of one with everything, “The Higher Self.” Zen Buddhism holds that the phenomenal world is an illusion, or nothingness. The realization of this through meditation is fundamental to enlightenment. It is the ability to clear one’s mind and rid oneself of inhibiting thoughts. (Keane M.P, 1996).

The ideals of Sung-dynasty Chinese literati, Chinese Ch’an Buddhism and later Zen Buddhism strongly influenced Japanese Architectural Design. Their large scale temples and shinden residence of the Heian period gave way to a new form of architecture in the middle ages. The residence of warriors (buke-yashiki) fig 6 shows a greater division of space through the use of walls and sliding screens/ doors that clearly delineates private and public area. The sliding paper doors of shoin architecture allowed for far greater flexibility in the degree to which the interior and exterior would be partitioned. (Keane M.P, 1996).

Multi-Functional Design

Multi-functional Design is a design that embodies multiple functions or use to a single design idea. Multi-functional Design can also be said to be a design that opens more than one opportunity or environment of use to a product.

An example of a multi-functional design is the multi-blade folding knives which has multiple blades for different functions. The blades can be as minimal as three and as great as 100 or more.

There is no evidence to suggest that folding knives existed before classic times. The Roman’s brought them to Britain two thousand years ago. Roman or possibly ancient Greek folding knives have been found dating back to the first century AD: Many recovered throughout Western Europe demonstrate the sophistication of the culture that produced them. (Moore S, 2008).

The least of the blades in a multi-blade are either special-purpose blades, such as a Spey blade or a special implement, such as a nail file or a leather punch, which are sometimes used in three-bladed Pen knives. Special implements may include a can or bottle opener, a champagne wire cutter, a hoof pick, a wrench or even a dinner fork. (Shackleford S. 2010).

There are other kinds of Multi-blade knives with more blades e.g. Horseman’s and sportsman’s knives which are also known as combination or Swiss Army knives.

My Take...........

If Utilitarian Multi-function Design is applied to product design, it could improve sustainability in terms of space and material as less material will cover a single multi-functional use.

The truth about Design is, not all designs are “multi-environmental” in terms of functionality. This makes products limited if targeted at a set market or environment. The definition of Multi-functional Design could also be expanded to mean multi-environmental.

An example of Multi-functional Design is the apple’s iPad computer tablet design which covers a large market including ordinary telephone use and consistent Wi-Fi on the go. This design allows mobile calls directly from device eliminating the use of mobile phone and does many other office applications. Some of it’s other features include a mobile operating system, icloud which stores music, photos and documents, fingertip multi touch, Navigation system, Gyro, accelerometer, compass, video mirroring, wireless printing, wireless transaction etc. These are all in one multi-functional design. (apple.com/iPad/features).

Scottish social philosopher, Adam Smith (1723-1790) defined a product as anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or “need.” (Tomar R 2009) This definition emphasises usefulness and doesn’t mention beauty. It could be argued for a product to succeed in the market, its usefulness to fit a want or need has to be magnified or maximised.

Sheila Mello (2003) states that the key to a product’s success is paradoxically simple: Delight the customer by creating a product that fills a specific “need.” Filling a specific need as suggested in this statement could be considered incomplete as in our modern age, we often have more than one need therefore it is imperative to design a single sustainable product to fill the “multi-need” and if we could, we will assign more function to one favourite product creating a level of attachment to that one product.

A Utilitarian Multi-functional Design (UMD) can be a design that allows more than one function in a single utilitarian design/product in order to increase sustainability. We can also say assigning more usefulness for sustainability to a utilitarian design.

Japanese architectural design practices minimalist but multi-functional design as the spaces in a building can be of different function at different times just with a little pull of simple partitioning of paper sliding doors. (Keane M.P, 1996).

HEDONIC DESIGN

Hedonic design focuses on making interaction fun and enjoyable. Several streams of literature have examined trade-offs among goods that are chosen and consumed to induce pleasure and make consumers feel good or to achieve an instrumental purpose. These streams have distinguished between luxuries and necessities, Hedonic and Utilitarian good, and affect-rich and affect-poor products. (Khan U. 2004).

Although Utilitarian Design could be suggested as solution to a need, after which users move on to the next product after exhausting the use of a particular product. However, assigning more use to a Utilitarian product could be Hedonic in terms of prolonged usage or prolonged enjoyment of use.

Although Hedonic versus utilitarian distinctions are not between good and bad, consumer choice between the two seems to be driven by whether a preference for a Hedonic item can be justified. Response modes that increase the need for justification favour utilitarian hedonic options. (Khan U. 2004). This shows that product users would like utilitarian designs to also be hedonic at the same time. It could be concluded Utilitarian Multi-function Hedonic Design would encourage prolonged use.

Designs that are fun, enjoyable, pleasurable, desirable and multi-functional can lead to a higher degree of usage over time. The design objective for utilitarian design is productive use while Hedonic design is to encourage prolonged use. (Colvin H.2008). “Prolonged use” makes a design sustainable.

It is clear that utilitarian products have a short term use as the design is aimed at a set market or a set environment of use and in most cases are not enjoyable as they only serve a purpose of which, after their use, they become useless until another time needed while Hedonic design has a chance of being used again and again due to the pleasure, fun and enjoyment in the design. It is good then, to make utilitarian designs more fun, enjoyable and interactive just like hedonic design in other to prolong and encourage its continuous use in diverse environments of use.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN OF THE FUTURE

Utilitarian Hedonic Multi-functional Design is a design that incorporates fun, pleasure and multi-use, making a design sustainable by reducing material wastage and encouraging prolonged use. UHMD creates interaction and a relationship between products and users, as the design meets the needs of a user at all levels.

A Utilitarian Hedonic Multifunctional Design also uses less space and material as several uses are combined in one design. It is a good solution for sustainability; however, the combined function has to represent or be in line with design’s primary use.

A mobile phone for example, it’s name states ‘mobile,’ every other function included in this design, would have to be mobile, smart, fold-able, hand held, transformable, visually entertaining, Wi-Fi, with Bluetooth connections to fit the concept of being a mobile phone.

It is clearly quite inappropriate to include a kitchen appliance in an entertainment product where size, environment or material becomes a challenge or barrier due to conflict of usefulness.

Convergence has improved technology, economic, cultural and media realms, they can now be represented and all fit into one single design. This has manifested in the design of our modern day mobile devices. Mobile phones are now unquestionably tied to the rise of convergence. Far from a mere form of communication, the mobile phone has become a “multi”-media device. (Hjorth L. 2008).

A design that was once utilitarian has now fully become a multi functioning device combining functions from electronics to games, emails to camera functions, video and voice recorder to applications and browser enhancing the internet of things.

The mobile phone has become the Swiss army knife of consumer electronics, becoming by turn a games machine, emailer, camera, or remote control. You can even talk to people on them. This feature creep has gone so far it’s tempting to think it cannot go much further. But with new technologies on the horizon in Japan, and a market infatuated with the mobile, suggests that the idea of a phone as a do-everything gadget still has a lot of mileage in it.

There is a saying ‘one man’s food is another man’s poison’. Some designs are as minimalist as possible but maximizes functionality. However, they fail to cover overall good as the interpretation of utilitarianism suggests. A typical reoccurring example is a new mobile technology.

Among the mobile fruit names to set alongside apples and oranges was the blackberry handset, once renowned among businessmen as the most effective mobile email device. Created by a Canadian company, Research in Motion (RIM), it was Barrack Obamas’ favourite mobile during the 2008 American presidential campaign.

For five years it had been an almost automatic choice for corporate email but with the huge increase in internet users, it reshaped its image in 2008.

Although mobile technology has been able to achieve multi-functionalism, Mobile phone consistent compartibility is still to comply with Louis Sullivan’s Principle of “Form follows function.”

Failure Follows Over functionality in Smart Phones

It is agreed that the Mobile technology has fulfilled beyond its design aim, but it’s aesthetics especially buttons, touch screen and memory size etc is failing in touch-screen and frequently crashing due to its multi-functions.

Form Follows Function

Louis Sullivan’s principle ‘Forms follow function’ which came to him when John Edelman explained his theory of suppressed function. Sullivan saw in a flash that this meant the real clue to the mystery that lay behind the veil of appearances. (Hoffmann D.1998)

The immense idea became in Sullivan’s mind a law “shall we then, daily violate this law in our art? Is it indeed a truth so transparent that we see through it but do not see it? Is it really, then, a very marvellous thing, or is it rather so commonplace. So every day, so near a thing to us, that we cannot perceive that the shape, form, outward expression, design or whatever we may choose, of the tall office building should in the very nature of things follow the functions of the building” (Hoffmann D. 1998). This was then simplified as “form ever follows function”.

This principle was to make an architecture that fitted its function; a realistic architecture based on well-defined utilitarian needs. Clearly, this principle applies to utilitarian multifunctional design as this involves fitting more than one function in one design. It is imperative to research utilitarian designs that would fit into one design in their area of use or combined area of use.

Combination of Utilitarianism, Multi-functionalism and Hedonic Design in one single product could be a solution to sustainability. Where more than one function is put into one product, material use and space is minimised and multi-environmental use is combined into one single design.

Utilitarian Hedonic Multi-functional Design (UHMD) prolongs use of a single product, creating interaction and a relationship between user and product, so that one design becomes “Jack of all use, master of all” for the user just like a mobile phone.

With research and exploration of different theories, views, principles and philosophy from existing and successful designs and designers, it can be concluded that practicality is good design. Therefore, making Utilitarian Design pleasurable through Hedonic Design in diverse environments of use can contribute to a sustainable future.

Utilitarian Hedonic Multi-functional Design could also contribute towards sustainable architecture. A multi-environmental space used at different times saves space, time, materials and resources as seen in Japanese Architectural Design from a Zen Buddhist point of view.

Utilitarian Hedonic Multifunctional Design could also bridge the gap between the rich and the poor bringing equality in product possession. Design for Multi need allows internet browsers or email users, gamers and a mobile phone users to use the same design for different functions, in different environments, at different times. It can also be looked at as professionals, non-professionals, students and general public using the same design for different purposes, in different environment at different times.