reflection on safety gear for small animals

Having a look at an exhibition’s catalogue called “SAFE” I came across some brilliant designs and some others that made me think a little bit more critically about designers’ ethical responsibilities and how they are fulfilled. The products in SAFE where "designed to protect body and mind from dangerous or stressful circumstances, respond to emergencies, ensure clarity of information, and provide a sense of comfort and security"

I may be a little bit strict about design because I believe mainly in usefulness, but I do not exclude emotion from the list of useful aspects. I consider designers as some of the most creative professionals and I find it sad when talents go wasted by designing useless objects.

Practically I refer to the project “safety gear for small animals”, which is an example that has confused me. It is obvious that Bill Burns has done extensive research on the issue and after finding the problems those animals face decided to design something about it. He designed a range of tiny scale models of human safety gear based on the Victorian era’s theory about similarities between humans and animals.


What is the point? Well I guess it is a little bit funny, a little bit cute, but why did he have to lose time and money and waste materials for just a few shots? It is obvious the collection is not designed for use and I think it is a shame as a designer instead of creating something a little bit more useful that could actually offer a solution to the problem he wasted his creative mind for a few pictures.

On the other hand I feel like he didn’t lose his point completely. His collection triggered my curiosity so I visited his website, read his manifesto and learned a little bit more about endangered species and his work in general which aside the tiny safety gear is really interesting.

At the end of the day who is to decide what is useful and what not? If its aim is to inform and the message gets through then it served its purpose, I guess...

Antonelli Paola (2005) Safe:Design Takes on Risk, New York:MoMA
http://www.safetygearforsmallanimals.com/