David Townson: Bowler Hat with Sleeves and beyond

On Friday we had a very inspirational lecture by David Townson. He talked about service design, design for people to make their lives better, easier or more comfortable, but that this should not be in detriment to other peoples lives. Need to consider the whole chain of design and how we can socially make things better for people. He talked about his experiences and what his idea of design is, he agrees with Charles Hume and feels design should be 'selfless' and that it has to 'benefit others'. He also gave us a good insight into how to find work, build contacts and help others by putting them in touch with people that suit their field.

His tag line 'Bowler Hat with Sleeves' was taken from one of Billy Connolly's comedy sketches in where he makes the point, why over complicate things and design things just because we have the notion to that serves no functional purpose in the slightest like a bowler hat with sleeves.



The purpose and end result has to be taken into account when designing everything, from use and beyond especially as we are trying to enter into a more sustainable way of living. So as designers we need to define the problem, our solution to this said problem must in some way make things socially better for people while still giving them what they desire, be profitable, as companies cant produce things that don't generate money while trying to be ethical at the same time. This seems like a big challenge but it is the design philosophy I want to work on throughout my masters and beyond.