Design is Utopian

A Utopia is described as an ideal place or state. It is perfection that can never actually be achieved but is constantly strived for. Design is Utopian. Design makes up the aesthetics of culture in society and therefore is able to change it. Design strives for perfection and despite the fact that perfection is arbitrary and may never be actually be achieved design is a process that is repeated time and time again to improve itself and become closer and closer to the utopia state.

The rug above by Dutch partners Tejo Remy and Rene VeenHuizen is a great example of design and that is striving to improve society through its concept and aesthetic. The rug uses old disposed of blankets and strategically modifies and combines them to create an innovative piece of art. The form and use of the blankets are altered to reinforce the concept that just because an item has run out of its original use does not mean it is useless. The rug itself is part of the event “Reclaiming Design” hosted at HauteGREEN in New York. Here, designers contributed designs made of recycled and revived materials to reinforce the importance of sustainability. Many of the designs contributed were home decor objects such as coffee tables, magazine holders and draws that seemingly could have been made at home by the average person given enough time and thought. The pieces created by the designers still maintain a sense of higher creativity or “fine art” while at the same time remind the owners that they too can create something new from scrap that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

It seems that conspicuous consumption and consumerism mentalities are an index of an industrialized, progressive country however, designers are setting out to change the definition of a sophisticated society. Do be developed, does not mean that the individuals of society need to constantly be consuming. And recycling means more than just putting paper into the recycling bin. It may serve more purpose as the back of a note card, wrapping paper and then a coaster before finding its way to the recycling factory thus reducing the need to buy more disposable products.