(image from Amazon)Jaeyong(Jay) Park
9.26.2021
Music 256A / CS476a, Stanford University
In this response, I will focus on the overarching theme of Chapter 1 of Artful Design: the interplay of form and function. Any good design will be both pragmatic and aesthetic: the form and function of a well-thought-out item would complement each other. This dualistic nature of design led me to think about the edge cases of the relationship between form and function.
Can form and function be mutually exclusive? The first case to think about is the "means to an end" case, where the functionality precedes aesthetic value. A piece of code for writing a program could be an example- the piece of code has a specific function for making the program run. On first thought, there are too many constraints that could be put on writing the most efficient code that there is hardly any room for design. And yet, there might be intrinsic aesthetic value in writing clean code that could be hard to tell apart from a good art piece. In the case of a watch, for example, the meticulousness and the structure of the pieces working together generate a sense of awe: the function itself has aesthetic value.
The second case is when form precedes function, in which a lot of "pure art" items like a piece of music could be an example. We often highlight the aesthetic aspect of a song: that is, a song must first sound good. However, that does not mean that music solely has functional purposes: different aesthetic styles provoke different emotional, moral, or social responses, and thus could be said to serve different functions. In a way, a song's rhythm, lyrics, and beats are purposefully chosen in a type of way to evoke certain feelings or thoughts, which itself could be interpreted as a function.
I also find it difficult to pinpoint the boundary between form and function. Take the case of the fashion industry. Clothing is special in that it serves the basic function of keeping us safe and warm, but at the same time, they have evolved into so many different aesthetic forms. There are brands such as ACRONYM* that are praised to have taken functionality to an aesthetic level. Their focus on making clothes efficient has created a whole new field of fashion called "techwear." In this case, the function has "become" the form. At the same time, different forms of clothing take on different social functions. There are symbolic images that come into mind when we think about the clothes that are commonly associated with business, parties, or athletics. In other words, as the clothing industry evolved, different social contexts have been attributed to different styles, blurring the boundary of form and function.
1. B&O Bluetooth Speaker
This is a Bang & Olufssen speaker. This speaker is made very simple. There are no visible buttons at first glance, and even then, they are only the most necessary buttons such as volume control, Bluetooth connection, and power. The speaker itself is shaped accordingly to where the noise comes out: there are no excessive parts. The speaker is made of two contrasting textures, a more metallic upper which protects the inside well and a more rubber-feeling lower half. There is a string attached to the speaker that one could hang on the wall, and also makes it portable. Overall, the design is kept simple and yet not simplistic.
2. Dame 4 Basketball Shoes
(image from Amazon)
These are Damian Lillard's signature basketball shoes. The shoe serves the function of a basketball shoe well: its traction, comfort, and support are what you expect from a pair of basketball shoes. The entry point of the shoe is "sock-like" and is not as firm as my other shoes. It is easier to put in one's feet, and one must feel the stretchiness of the upper body of the shoe whenever putting it on. This makes the shoe laces rather unnecessary.
3. 
(image from Amazon)
This is a diffuser. The shape is easily noticeable. Since it is an aroma diffuser, the mist is diffused through a rather small hole. Thus, the water tank, which has a larger circumference to contain more water on the bottom, converges to the top where the mist comes out. Also, there is a line in the middle where light comes out. This has the function to let the user know if the diffuser is turned on. The wood-like texture of the diffuser gives the item a more natural feel.
In Korea, there is a common culture in driving to turn on the emergency light to show appreciation or to apologize. Also, the signal lights and tail lights of the cars are often compared to faces: especially eyes, as can be seen from the Disney film Cars. Hence, it would be fun to utilize this idea in real-world driving. If the tail light has LED lights to signify different facial emotions, or even write some text, then we could communicate with the driver behind us better. A simple smiling eyes, or even the phrase "Have a good day" can be made with the taillights. This feature has no functional purpose for driving except making the following driver feel better.
Tested out the mand-o-matic-simple from the examples!
Mandolin foo => JCRev r => dac; // set the gain .80 => r.gain; // set the reverb mix .25 => r.mix; [ 0, 2, 4, 7, 9 ] @=> int scale[]; while(true) { Math.random2f( 0.2, 0.8 ) => foo.pluckPos; // frequency... scale[Math.random2(0,scale.size()-1)] => int freq; 45 + Math.random2(0,3)*12 + freq => Std.mtof => foo.freq; // pluck it! Math.random2f( 0.2, 0.9 ) => foo.pluck; 0.3::second => now; }