Comments on: Does Form Really Follow Function?

By: gocompare.com

gocompare.com — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:00:13 +0000

A few months ago I went through a similar thought exercise about the relationship between form and function. it really is nice

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 10 May 2007 04:19:42 +0000

A few months ago I went through a similar thought exercise about the relationship between form and function. I came up with six broad categories where forms inspire new functions: Serendipity, Appropriation, Cultivation, Natural Forces, Legislation and Social Norms. Form Inspires Function

By: weaverluke

weaverluke — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 11:02:21 +0000

Perhaps the question of whether form follows function or not all depends on how narrowly or broadly one defines the function of a “task”? If the task’s function is to convey food to mouth in a way that satisfies cultural and social mores, then the form of the implementâ€”chopstick, fork etc.â€”exactly follows function. I vote for the application of Occam’s Razor here!

By: Quakeulf

Quakeulf — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:35:44 +0000

What about the boomerang as a substitute for spears?

By: Johan

Johan — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:03:39 +0000

Design influences culture, and culture gets absorbed in design.

Take Japan. Japan loves trends of the West, but holds strongly to traditions as well. They eat with chopsticks, but play drums in a punk band. Functionality can be extended in that regard.

By: Josh

Josh — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 23:39:00 +0000

nemrut…I think you’re agreeing completely with Petroski’s point…it’s about social interaction as much as specific function.

By: Wayne Metcalf

Wayne Metcalf — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 10:03:13 +0000

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By: nemrut

nemrut — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:36:12 +0000

I havent read the book but from your excerpt example it seems that the author is missing the point. In the case of eastern/western methods of eating and the cultural influences around this activity, the form of knives vs chop sticks did not arise out of function of preparation and serving methods but in a more deep rooted cultural difference of individual vs community eating habits.

The key to understanding this is that in the west, the act of eating was all about maintaining control and ownership of one’s allocated portion of the meal. Whereas in the east, eating was all about openly sharing among others where everyone as the table had equal access to any and all food available.

With this in mind, it’s easy to see how the knife and fork manfested itselfin the west where eating focused more on individual ownership and control, while chop sticks in the east facilitated picking and choosing from various food items in a communal setting.

By: web tasarÄ±m

web tasarÄ±m — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:29:14 +0000

web tasarÄ±m

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:05:30 +0000

Sean…not sure what happened. I activated a plugin and the site went to hell…had to re-apply this theme in WordPress…wacky.

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:01:41 +0000

What happened to the old template? WordPress is great, but everyone uses it.

By: pauric

pauric — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:01:38 +0000

thanks! the to-read pile grows again

By: Eddie

Eddie — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 18:26:45 +0000

I will say though- the amazon comments are pretty dead on…*I* found it interesting to read about the advantages and evolution of things like paper cups and paper bags and the like, but it does go on a great lengths at times- YMMV

By: Eddie

Eddie — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 18:22:53 +0000

pauric- Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design is another great Petroski read that also deals with form/function in design.

By: pauric

pauric — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 12:54:21 +0000

There are any number of solutions to a given problem. There can be an almost religious use of patterns in design.. while this can reduce design errors and familiarity reduces congitive load for users, some try to squeeze designs in to ill-fitting patterns.

If form really followed function life on this planet would not be so diverse.

I’ve put the book on order, thanks Josh, do you have a reading list?