Design_advanced(2).pdf

The future of design?

Level 3 Advanced

Pre-reading task: New ideas

Use two or more of these words to make six new design inventions. Then skim-read the article to check

your answers.

magnetic

sticky

solar-powered

clock

camera

tidier

robotic

wastepaper

transparent

garden

furniture

web

glowing

mirrors

cable

bin

vague

memos

bathroom

a)________________________

b)____________–________________________________________________

c)____________________________________

d)____________________________________

e)____________________________________

f) ________________________________________________

Keywords: Synonyms

Skim the article again to ind words that mean (almost) the same as:

1) allowed / given/ come true ____________

2) boring / unexciting ____________

3) rule / idea ____________

4) original ____________

5) factory-made in large numbers ____________

6) plan / project ____________

7) fail ____________

8) payment ____________

9) inexact / indeterminate ____________

10) view / see ____________

NEWS LESSONS / The future of design? / Advanced

The future of design?

Level 3 Advanced

The future of design?

Ian Sample, science correspondent

November 24, 2007

stores.Oneidea,fortransparentstickymemos,

wassuggestedbya21-year-oldstudentand

willbemarketednextmonth.Shestandstoget

royaltiesfromeverypacksold.

A Japanese innovator wants to change the

face of shopping and replace mass-produced

goods with people-power ideas

Earlierthisyear,NishiyamaappointedLondon-

based designers The Division as its irst British

consultancytofeedintotheproject,aheadofa

formalUKlaunchnextyear.Thecompanyhas

submittedthreedesignstoNishiyama’stestsite

atwww.cuusoo.jp/muji,includingaclockthatis

vagueaboutthetime,asetofsolar-powered,

glowinggardenfurniture,andawastepaperbin

thattidiesuglycablesaroundworkdesks.

IfKoheiNishiyama’swishesaregranted,hewill

be inancially independent by the age of 40, living

asaninventorandbeingwokeneachmorningby

hisrobotdog.Butthe37-year-oldTokyo-based

designerandfounderofElephantDesignhasa

moreambitiousdream,onehehopeswillchange

thefaceofBritishshopping.

DavidTonge,founderofTheDivision,said:“Our

thinkingwiththeclockwasthatmostlythese

are at work to measure people’s eficiency and

peoplearewatchedclockinginandclocking

out.Wewantedsomethingmorerelaxedforthe

home,sothehourhandisontheoutside,and

likeasundialit’sfairlyvague.Butinthecentre,it

displaysminutesinadigitalformsoyoucanuse

itifyou’redoingsomethinglikecookingpastafor

13minutes.”

Hewantstoemptytheshelvesofdreary,mass-

marketedandmass-producedobjectsand

replacethemwithproductsthatwe-thepeople

-havehelpedtodevelop.Nishiyamacallshis

ideaDesigntoOrderandtheprincipleissimple.

Anyonewithauniqueidea,foranythingfrom

aroboticwebcameratoamagneticbathroom

mirror,postsanimageanddescriptiononhis

website.There,peoplecanlogontosuggest

alterationsandimprovementstothedesign.

Ifenoughpeoplethenvotefortheproduct,

hemakesadealwithamanufacturerandthe

productismade.

Theideaforthegardenfurniturecameafter

Tongewasfed-upwiththeover-designedoptions

hefoundinshops,whilethecabletidierisa

standard paper bin itted with a powerblock and

cablestoragecompartments.

“Therearesomanymass-producedproducts

makingitontotheshelvesbecausethat’show

largecompaniesdothings.Ourideaistogive

peoplewhattheywantbyinvolvinganyoneof

anyageornationalitywhohasagoodidea,early

onintheprocess,”saysNishiyama.“Therearea

lotofpeoplewhohavegreatideasbutthey’renot

workinginthebusiness.Oursocietyisanunder-

utilisedtalent.”

Asofyesterday,Tonge’sclockhadreceived39

votes,thecabletidier22votesandthegarden

furniturenine.Theleadingproductonthesite,

with235votes,isabathroommirrorthatdoubles

asawhiteboard.Thedesignerspitchitatthe

busyprofessional,whocanwriteappointments

andthoughtsonit,attachmemoslikefridge

magnets,andglimpsethemastheybrushtheir

teethinthemorning.Anyitemthatachieves

1,000votesisputforwardformanufacture.

TheschemehasbeenrunninginJapanfor

afewyears,andhastakenoffamongfellow

designers who use it to loat their ideas instead

of committing to something that may lop. The

companyhasrecentlysetupatestsitewith

retailerMujitohelpdevelopproductsforits

Fornowthetestsiteisfreetodesigners,but

Nishiyamasayshewilltakeideasfromother

people,ifthereareatleasttenofthemwho

NEWS LESSONS / The future of design? / Advanced

The future of design?

Level 3 Advanced

supportanidea.Hiscompanywillevenproduce

imagesforthesiteifneeded.

“Becauseit’sanewthingandit’sexperimental,

alotofpeoplearepostingideasand,ithas

tobesaid,someofthemareutterlyrubbish,”

saysTonge.“Butitcanbesurprising.Thereare

deinitely regular people out there, who are not

designers,whohavesomegood,interesting

ideas,andsomeofthosemaywellendupon

theshelves.”

©GuardianNews&Media2007

Firstpublishedin The Guardian ,24/11/07

Comprehension check

Choose the best answer according to the text.

1. KoheiNishiyamaisa…

4. Whocancurrentlypostideasonthesite?

a) ... inancially independent, 40-year old, Tokyo-

basedinventor.

b)...37-yearold,London-basedinventor.

c)...37-yearold,Tokyo-basedinventor

a)Japanesedesigners.

b)JapaneseandBritishdesigners.

c)Anyone.

5. Currently,themostpopularideais.....

2. KoheiNishiyamawantsto…..

a)...theroboticdog.

b)...thevagueclock.

c)...thebathroommirrorthatdoubles

asawhiteboard.

a)...retirebythetimehe’s40.

b)...changethefaceofshopping.

c)...setupawebdesigncompanyinLondon.

3. Peoplewhosuggestsuccessfuldesignscan....

a)...earnmoneyforeveryitemsold.

b)...getajobwiththecompany.

c)...voteforotherdesigns.

NEWS LESSONS / The future of design? / Advanced

The future of design?

Level 3 Advanced

Vocabulary: Collocations

Match the words on the left and the right to make collocations from the article. Then look back over the

article to see how they were used.

improvements

loat votes

grant

post

aproduct

make

ideas

found

awish

suggest

acomment/animage/anidea

develop

adeal

receive

acompany

Discussion

Which statement about the article do you most agree with?

a)Thisisagreatopportunityfornewdesignerstogetthemselvesandtheirproductsknown.

b)KoheiNishiyamahasfoundaneasywaytomakemoneyusingotherpeople’sideasandhardwork.

A new invention: Group work

What single item would make your life easier – either at work or at home? Think of something that would

help you in your everyday life.

What would your invention do? E.g. polish your shoes, put on your make up, clean the snow off your

garden path.

Makenotesandpresentyourideastotheclass.

Webquest

Go to the website in the article www.cuusoo.jp/muji .

Click on the pictures and see if you can guess what the designs are (the website is in Japanese).

NEWS LESSONS / The future of design? / Advanced

The future of design?

Level 3 Advanced

KEY

1 New ideas

3 Comprehension check

a) vagueclock

b) solar-poweredglowinggardenfurniture

c) transparentstickymemos

d) roboticwebcamera

e) magneticbathroommirrors

f) wastepaperbincabletidier

1) c

2) b

3) a

4) b

5) c

2 Keywords: Synonyms

4 Vocabulary: Collocations

1)granted

2)dreary

3)principle

4)unique

5)mass-produced

6)scheme

7) lop

8) royalties

9) vague

grantawish

loat ideas

postacomment/animage/anidea

makeadeal

foundacompany

suggestimprovements

developaproduct

receivevotes

10)glimpse

NEWS LESSONS / The future of design? / Advanced

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