Social Design Problem II Status Report and Creative Caffeine

For my second social design problem the issue that interested me that I wanted to focus on was obesity and/or nutrition. I decided to narrow the field to the American issue of obesity and nutrition. For my creative caffeine I surfed the web checking out facts as well as just observing the general public. I google'd "American Obesity Epidemic" I found a great sight with lots of information such as the percentages of the population that is obese and what areas obesity is most prevalent (the south). Check it out www.obesityinamerica.org

Once I had some facts I began to think about design. I got a little bogged down in what I have the ability to create in relation to the field because I don't have a lot of of science or technical background. So I kept googling. Wikipedia's entry about industrial design is what set my mind at ease and got me on the right path. The entry stated, "Products design was about asthetics and usability and not so much about the technical, that is for the engineers." Whew.

Then looking for inspiration from great designs I google'd famous product designers designs and flipped through the images. I found the egg chair and lots of great designs that in my head said, keep it simple, just get some ideas flowing and let it go from there. I found two great quotes in some more reading. "If you want to build a better mousetrap, what can you do on the first night to make sure the world needs one?" If I am going to make something I need to make sure the world needs it. That it is going to have an impact and do something good. For me to be able to do something like that seems like a pipe dream then I came across the second quote that struck me. "It's tempting to sit on a bench and dream of a better world, but better worlds don't come to those who are unwilling or afraid to put their dreams to the test. They come to those who are willing to ask the questions and do the work." Check out this guys blog to read more:http://andrewhargadon.typepad.com/ there is alot about desing and entreprenuership on his site.

Another great blog that helped me more when thinking about the attitudes that surround obesity : thegreatfitnessexperiment.blogspot.com
The author makes a great point in the past it was difficult to be round because food was scare, so round was beauty. In the present it is a feat to be thin when food is found in plenty. It got me thinking. It's not about fat or thin. It's about fit. Because when the apocolypse or the epedemic comes it will be the fittest that survive. I guess that's just the way I think about it. From there I started to brainstorm. Because I brainstormed in pencil it wouldn't really scan from my scanner but below are a couple of the things that sort of came through. I got a little stuck so I am hoping the group brainstorm tomorrow will help hone me into my goal.