Reflection Blog 10
Today’s session of “Design and the Human Condition” revolved around the interrogative word, “Why?”. The discussion was based on the interrogation of why we like certain things and why some things prove to be unlikable by us. What is it that qualifies our judgments to decide what we like or not?
The discussion initiated with people having different tastes in music, it reflects that likability is an acquired taste; it is not something that solely comes naturally with birth perhaps it is majorly acquired from the conditioning, number and types of encounters, and experiences one has with it in his/her life. We usually assume people inherit interests and skills. This makes me wonder about the Qawals, “Sabri Brothers” who were famous worldwide for a certain genre of music i.e. Qawali, and later their legacy was taken forward by one of their sons and the famous Qawwal, Amjad Sabri. Pondering over this fact, I wonder why did Amjad Sabri practiced Qawali and not other sorts of pop or rock music. This is because of how he was conditioned in an environment where Qawali was practiced, he was trained by his father since childhood and closely experienced this genre than any other. Therefore, his taste and skills were shaped according to it. This shows that how we feel and what we desire is determined through our conditioning.
Interaction and exposure play a vital role in acquiring likability. It is not possible to like something until we interact with it. However, it is possible that we interact with something and still don’t like it. Here, exposure is significant. We must be able to comprehend something to decide whether we like it or not. The example that perfectly explains this to me, is my IVS journey so far. Being a graphic design student, I have been studying various design elements, typography, etc which now reflects in my choices. I usually point out common mistakes in typography, identify different types of fonts for e.g Egyptian, transitional, etc and appreciate or crit the design elements from our daily life that previously I didn’t even pay attention to. This is because of the exposure IVS has given to us. And due to this exposure, we have been gradually inculcated into an aesthetic regime without even knowing.
Other important factors that affect interests are the social, economic, and cultural conditions that one experiences belonging to a group or class of people. But with the advent and advancement in technology, it won’t be incorrect to say that the restriction of accessibility and availability has been impacted. And people belonging to different backgrounds can easily experience things they were previously unable to. This raises a whole new perspective on the question, “Why?”.
As compared to the past, in today’s era accessibility is not a major factor affecting likability because of the technology; perhaps conditioning still plays an important role. One is highly dependent on his/her experiences to acquire a certain taste. The question, “why?” has no definite answer and can change with the evolution of time. Technology may play an important role in determining the answer to this “why?’’ in different eras. This makes me think that technology is changing the material world and equally affecting the design world and thinking as well.
