RR02

In "Design: A Very Short Introduction", the ideas of Identity and Systems are discussed.  In the identity chapter, the influence of cultural identities on a business's identity were shown and how some businesses are forced to adjust their identities to be marketable in other cultures, while others have an easier time adapting.  But either way the idea that identities are always evolving was a key theme to the chapter.

Systems was defined as "a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements that forms, or can be considered to form, a collective entity."  So systems are the big picture combination of different products produced by designers that are put together by other designers to create efficient and organized systems for us to use in everyday life.  Ex: mass transportation systems in cities or road signs.  These need to be easy to use and understand, and have consistent application so their use becomes second nature.  Ex: If road signs weren't consistently used, they wouldn't be as effective as they are.

The introduction to Cradle to Cradle was very interesting.  It really addressed a lot of things I'm passionate about and in the beginning when it listed off all the problems with the products in the house I was getting really angry because I think about these things a lot.  It has always frustrated me that there are almost no items out there that are "guilt-free". For a while I only bought clothes from thrift stores and tried to only eat organic and not buy anything made in a sweat-shop country.  But that took so much effort and really didn't make much of an impact.  I like how instead of suggesting "going without" as I have always done, the authors suggest changes that would allow people to still consume but in a different way that isn't bad for the environment.  I hope this idea catches on and more "guilt-free" items become available.  I think I'm really going to like this book.