Digital Design Blog

Design Annuals: Where is the Web?

The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston is showcasing the exhibition Design Life Now, a Cooper-Hewitt original, which focuses on design highlights of the last three years across architecture, new technologies, furniture, product, animation, graphics and more.

Wandering the galleries I was waiting to come across at least one contribution from the Web, but the only digital offerings I found were the the iPod nano, a snow and ice-themed game trialed on burn victims, and the PC game The Sims 2.

While the hardware and user interface of the nano was beguiling, and the execution of The Sims 2 is gorgeous, and the immersive experience of the snowbound game is incredibly valuable, I was surprised that no online properties had been recognized as achieving ‘innovative contemportary American design’.

Design Life Now aimed to capture four themes that characterized the last three years of design: “emulating life, community, hand-crafted and DIY, and transformation”. Did someone say Web 2.0?

Similarly, the recent New York Times Magazine Style issue feted architecture, furniture, products, art…yawn, the usual suspects really. There was little recognition of the digital design innovation that we see every day.

Is it a question of the art or design establishments overlooking the state of the digital arena, or is it a case of the criteria for great digital design being little known or agreed upon? Perhaps the curators and journalists simply don’t have access to convincing examples?

Digital design boundaries are being pushed every day: more traditional media and art organizations have a lot of opportunity to showcase the growth. They should start now — or maybe we should do it for them?