Title: The Toaster
Context: Which came first: the sliced bread or the toast?
Synopsis: The job of a designer is often that of building upon what has come before. We take existing ideas as a starting point and alter their presentation or end state so that the new experience improves upon what preceded it. Sometimes however, this transformational act changes the rules where the previous state is no longer valid and we must engage in a recursive design process so that the preconditions better enable our new model. This design regression is not always an upgrade. Sometimes we becomes so enamored with our technological progress that we ignore any negative impacts to its supporting concepts. The ends do not always justify the means, especially if we are forced to corrupt a fine stand-alone idea and treat it vestigially instead of preserving its original magnificence.
Best Bit: “But the toaster, despite its high-tech functions, is doomed to the continual repetition of Adam and Eve’s Fall, for an unregenerate bread cannot be saved. Every piece of toast is a tragedy.”
via jstor.org
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