Week 2: Waste
Ohno He Didn't
Published: 1/17/2023
Compiled by: Andrew Neyer
No Muda
Muda (無駄) is a Japanese word meaning "futility; uselessness; wastefulness", and is a key concept in lean process thinking, and the Toyota Production System (TPS). Waste in this context refers to the wasting of time or resources rather than wasteful by-products and should not be confused with Waste reduction.
Start With “Why?”
Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership—starting with a golden circle and the question: "Why?"
– TED
Who Is On First?
I believe in designing for yourself first. If I do not love my work, why would anybody else? If I love my work, but no one else does, I should not bother reproducing it with the expectation someone will buy it. This sounds ridiculously obvious, but we encounter this daily; terribly designed products no one loves (40% off!). I'm not suggesting that if I don't love a particular product that makes it rubbish, but if the designer doesn't love it, why did they let it go to production? Massimo Vignelli said it best,
"The life of a designer is a life of fight: fight against the ugliness. Just like a doctor fights against disease. For us, the visual disease is what we have around, and what we try to do is cure it somehow with design."
Ten Precepts
1. You are a cost. First reduce waste.
2. First say, “I can do it.” And try before everything.
3. The workplace is a teacher. You can find answers only in the workplace.
4. Do anything immediately. Starting something right now is the only way to win.
5. Once you start something, persevere with it. Do not give up until you finish it.
6. Explain difficult things in an easy-to-understand manner. Repeat things that are easy to understand.
7. Waste is hidden. Do not hide it. Make problems visible.
8. Valueless motions are equal to shortening one’s life.
9. Re-improve what was improved for further improvement.
10. Wisdom is given equally to everybody. The point is whether one can exercise it.
Source: Wikipedia
Ohno He Did
Credited as the father of the Toyota Production System, Taiichi Ohno ((大野耐一 Ōno Taiichi) identified seven forms of muda (無駄, meaning “futility; uselessness; wastefulness). He would abstain from these muda, mura and muri at all cost.
A manufactured product must consider all of these wastes into its price since the cost of the product = work + waste + profit.
Put The Zen In Kaizen
Kaizen is the Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc. It can completely transform an unprofitable business into a lean-mean-money-making-machine.
"Design must be an innovative, highly creative, cross-disciplinary tool responsive to the needs of men. It must be more research-oriented, and we must stop defiling the earth itself with poorly-designed objects and structures."
– Victor Papanek, Design For the Real World
*Remember:
Good design solves problems.
Context
Here are links to the media we covered in class. Please call me if there is anything you cannot find ッ
“Good design solves problems, and bad design creates them.”
– C.W. Waggins
A Good Waste of Time
Fig. 2
Taiichi Ohno, Toyota Production System
Omit Waste
This waste bin serves as a reminder to look for things that do not add value to your products and processes.
Ohno’s Seven Wastes
1. Transport
2. Inventory
3. Useless Motion
4. Waiting
5. Overproduction
6. Over processing
7. Defects
Kaizen
Case Study Houses
Fig. 1
Case Study House No.1
What drives you bonkers?
Identify problem or product you despise (use your anti-tastes as a guide)
Why does it make you mad?
Propose a solution
Workshop No. 2
Case Study
Using your Taste Terms or Anti-Taste Terms as a filter, find a case study project or product to zoom in on.
Identify why it is a perfect example of your tastes.
Research the case study
Use the Our Glass as a template (What ← How ← Why → Who → Where)
Assignment No. 2
Updated: 1/21/23
• Procure a Merriam-Webster dictionary (app, book, or bookmark)
• Signup for Grammarly (get the Premium version. It is worth it.)
• Read Design as Art pages 101–109.
• Watch this video & read about Kaizen (改善)
• Document your preferred step rise/run.
1. Complete Workshop No. 2
2. Submit your anti-taste terms.
3. Bring your research to class.
4. Find* some quotes that summarize your Taste.
*Remember the C.W. Waggins cheat-code
Questions You Should Answer:
– What waste would you like to omit?
– How does removing waste improve the design?
– Why do we hide waste?
Next Week
Common Conception
Common things are known to a community. Familiarity is not a slight, but instead what common objects champion.
“A leaf is beautiful not because it is stylish but because it is natural, created in its exact form by its exact function. A designer tries to make an object as naturally as a tree puts forth a leaf.”
—Bruno Munari, pg. 31
Common Furnishings are familiar objects that increase comfort or utility. The material language is known. Utility is the priority.
That’s Not All Folks
Folk Design is rooted in the tradition of common people and is a reflection of their lifestyles. The Shakers are a great example of this holistic design approach.
The Shakers' dedication to hard work and perfection has resulted in a unique range of architecture, furniture and handicraft styles. They designed their furniture with care, believing that making something well was in itself, "an act of prayer". Before the late 18th century, they rarely fashioned items with elaborate details or extra decoration, but only made things for their intended uses. The ladder-back chair was a popular piece of furniture. Shaker craftsmen made most things out of pine or other inexpensive woods and hence their furniture was light in color and weight.
