| DESIGN houses bowls spoons glasses lamps fixtures ornaments giftwrap cards wreaths cookies food presentation bags boxes cars bikes mailboxes gates doors doorknobs hinges appliances gadgets books paper pens posters frames fabric games tools hats shoes chairs kitchen sink |
Things all around you were designed by artists, from tissue boxes to trash cans to hairbrushes to soap. If you google "award winning designs," you'll get lots more ideas.
On the "Good Design" pages you can view severalcategories: automotive/transportation, electronics, kitchen/bath, furniture, fabric/textiles, lighting, household products, household appliances, tabletop, children's products, medical equipment, personal care, office products, hardware/tools, sorts, urban furniture/architecture, graphic and packaging design, and industrial equipment.
The earliest year for which they have a site is 1996:
http://www.chi-athenaeum.org/gdesign/winners96.htm
and the newest is 2005:
http://www.chi-athenaeum.org/gdesign/winners05.htm and you can see the years in beween by replacing that number with another year. This is an international competition, and the site lists the winners (though not always photos) in all those categories.
Those images are gone, but here's the new site, with categories, of design winners, with photos: http://good-designawards.com
Maybe you'll find your keyboard, or your mouse, or your monitor, in the award winning designs. Is there a certain spoon or knife or mug that people in your family especially like because it feels good in your hand, has a good balance, or something? What about favorite towels or sheets? Pillows? Maybe discuss where these things came from, who made what kinds of decisions about them, and how rich the world is in design artistry of all sorts.
The comments on this blog won't accept photos, but I can put photos on a webpage linked here, and links and stories galore, if you have any thoughts to share. Some art is seasonal and fleeting—does someone in your family wrap gifts beautifully? Make beautiful cookies? Elegant punchbowls? This is the week to catch those images before they're gone!
