DESIGN dna

I've been fascinated with HGTV's 'Design DNA' (really bad website...) but only catch it on occasion because for some reason my pvr refuses to record it as a series. Just between you and me, I think its jealous because it knows its a clunky, awkward, first generation piece of junk and has issues with me watching a show dedicated to objects of good design.

The show profiles products and objects with good design that we may take for granted because of just that; they're so well designed that we take their functionality and aesthetics for granted. It's so true how only once you get to know the background of some"thing" can you really appreciate it.

The latest episode I saw profiled the Jacuzzi tub (missed that segment), the Alessi bird kettle and the Umbra Oh chair. The one that really got me was the kettle. Growing up I'd been vaguely aware of the tea kettle that looked somewhat like a big-peoples fisher price play thing. When in design school, my Design History 101 instructor was going on and on about how when she worked for Michael Graves blah blah blah and brought up the kettle as a mastery of design. I suppose to her, knowing its background and particulars, it was an object of affection but I just didn't get the hype. All I knew was that "designer" people understood its virtues and I did not. It had a plastic bird on the end and a chunky handle. So what? Doubting my place in the design world, I squirreled it away and only took slight notice when it gained media buzz once more as an item anyone could get at Target. I'm sure millions of college students bought one because of the kitsch factor but, like me, didn't really get its significance.

After watching a 6 minute segment, something clicked. The thought and detail behind every element. The fact that it has evolved over its 2 decade lifespan to accommodate the new induction stove tops (something I only recently discovered as well though my 3rd house building project.)

I couldn't download the specific episode that talked about the Alessi kettle, but I below is segment profiling Pyrex and all its wonderful properties. Don't knock it till you watch it...