The American way

I've had this PDF sticking around my 'to read' files for a while now, and just got around to it. Wish I'd read it months ago. It is a great manifesto of where American design has gone - down the tubes in most areas, is the answer. And why? Because we hate taking the time to make something great.

"When we make something in America, our aim is just to get the job done. Once we reach that point, we take one of two routes. We can stop there, and have something crude but serviceable, like a vise-grip. Or we can improve it, which usually means encrusting it with gratuitous ornament. When we want to make a car “better,” we stick tail fins on it, or make it longer, or make the windows smaller, depending on the current fashion. Ditto for houses. In America you can have either a flimsy box banged together out of two by fours and drywall, or a McMansion—a flimsy box banged together out of two by fours and drywall, but larger, more dramatic-looking, and full of expensive fittings. Rich people don't get better design or craftsmanship; they just get a larger, more conspicuous version of the standard house."

Amen, brother!

Makes me want to read more Paul Graham. I've never heard of him, but this... well, he's got a point. American businesses value fast over quality, and a lot of the time the consumers do too. It explains a lot of the reason why the Big Three aren't so big anymore. The sea change is coming though, with Ipod leading the way. May we have many more well-designed things in the future!

Comments

[cornellbox]

I printed out the PDF and took it along to read this weekend when we went to Grand Rapids to take the kids to Meijer Gardens (and to see the Andy Goldsworthy show there before it closed). Took me a while to get to it, but it sounded like an article I'd want to read, so thank you for the recommendation and link.

Interestingly, we stopped at an Applebee's for dinner on the way home since the kids were getting hungry, and it was going to be past dinner time when we got home. It provided a pretty good case study for some of the Americanisms in the article.

I don't know that I've been to an Applebee's before (what can I say; I don't get out much). But it matches some of the points about corner cutting and quick-and-dirty American style. A kid's meal with a sealed plastic single-serving container of applesauce, instead of having a proper bowl for a side dish. Likewise, I got a single-serving packet of malt vinegar to go with my fish (like a ketchup packet).

There are lots of instances when Americans will choose the cheap alternative, thinking cheaper is better than more expensive, but Americans also embrace good design when they see it (witness the iPod's popularity). I'm not sure what brings the difference to the fore, but it's not simple us-vs-them-ism.