Dear colleagues,

Sorry for some of our businesses going bankrupt ( a real panic over here, 
particularly in the hardware industry and retail shops !), and for many of 
our fellow Designers out of employment (re Glenn's post), following massive 
cheap imports from China and from other "Third World" "sweat shops". Too bad 
for all those who are not flexible enough, as a consequence of their 
anachronistic views and training (Jacques Giard's post),  all those unable to 
adapt to new conditions in the exercise of the Design profession! They will 
either remain stuck, and starve, on one bank of the present "Design chasm", 
or just fall in the rift because they are ill prepared to jump to the other 
bank. 

Some of us, however, are trying to explore where we can jump to the other 
bank of the chasm. It simply is a matter of survival as individuals and as a 
profession. We are striving to move along the "new wave" of Design (re 
Kondratiev's wave cycles, in John Broadbent's and today Ken's posts). Some 
are working to move from the traditional crafts, within the ideology 
of "productivism", toward new concerns within the same ideology (re Ben 
Matthews's post). And some others are even unfearfully jumping over the fence 
of consumerism and start to worry about the social and environmental outcomes 
of their designed artifacts (re the "o2 mailing list").  We are aiming at 
still producing artifacts and information, but this time with end users in 
mind. The new trend seems to be indeed the one viewing the "client", not only 
as the person paying the salary, but the one who, in addition to indirectly 
paying the salary, may show also gratitude and acknowledgement of the "good" 
work done by the designer. This would manifest in increased "fidelity to 
brand", "increased sales" and, ultimately, in designer's job more rewarding 
and a better pay, and most importantly in perdurence in one's job. Or else, 
ultimately, if the current mode of Design practice continues, the reward may 
just be repeated blame and, eventually, ...heavier and extended legal suits !

As for those who have resolved to face the fear of the unknown and wish to 
join in the exploration of the long neglected end users' territory, a few 
search tools and indications are slowly becoming available. We all are aware 
of Ken's watch-tower position and his self-dedication to so aptly bring to 
our attention the slightest bit of information related to our profession. His 
today's post is no exception to all previous ones (Remember the post on the 
Barbie doll !). There is also this unprecedented and invaluable forum, the 
PhD-Design list, where views are exchanged for the group to advance further 
ahead in personal and group achievements, as a recognized, appreciated and 
influential contribution by the profession.

One of the views I personally am interested to highlight is the socialness of 
artifacts, "pour le meilleur et pour le pire", as hinted at by Ken and also 
in today's Karen Fu post. 

I am looking forward to compiling a comprehensive and annotated bibliography 
on all aspects of the artifact, both in Designer's mind and once it is out 
there in the social milieu. 

In addition to few entries already in my files, like some of Ken's references 
and Lubomir's recently published paper on "(...) The Social Nature of Design 
Objects and the Implications for the Profession" (Popov, L., in the Journal 
of Design Research, vol. 2 (2) (http://jdr.tudelft.nl/), I shall warmly 
welcome more contributions from other list members. 

With many thanks in advance.




François-X. N.I. NSENGA
Independent Scholar

Teacher and Researcher
in Sociology and Industrial Design


Box 643, Snowdon
Montréal, Québec
CANADA H3X 3X8


Phone&Fax: (514) 737-8300