Design and the Elastic Mind

Follow-up to a blog entry a couple of weeks ago about the innovation and design exhibit at MoMA. Paola Antonelli, the exhibits curator, appeared on the Charlie Rose show last week. Antonelli is an Italian-born, self-described "generalist." Watch the interview and you'll realize quickly how insightful she is too. During the hour-long talk, she descibes the bridging of science and design (developing comfort and trust between both parties is key) as well as the changing face of scale in 2008, the relationship of architecture and nanotechnology and the need to push designers toward "pragmatic intellectualism."

Couple of notable quotes:

“Some people say that designers can revolutionize and change the world. Yes and no. That’s not their job – their job is to help us change the world. They’re the interface.”

“What is scale today? Philosophically, it's changed considerably. From realizations about the universe to realizations of the genome, it isn’t about dimension anymore. It’s about complexity.”

Antonelli is a great communicator. Her philosophy on design in the 21st century is fascinating. Watch the video

(The website designed for the exhibit is crazy cool too.)

Posted May 16, 2008 09:59 AM by Chris Flanagan | Permalink