Recently, my dad visited to the World Expo 2010, which is now being held in Shanghai, China. He was proud to show me the photographs he has taken through internet although he complained a lot about the crowdedness and the bad weather in Shanghai. Interestingly, almost all my friends who visited to the World Expo2010 said they would never go there anymore as it was so crowded there and they lost many chances to visit those popular theme pavilions. “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded,” That’s funny, as Norman (2005) reminds us that if too many people like something, there must be something wrong with it. Back to my friends’ cases, if too many people are interested in the world expo, there must be something “wrong” with it!
The world expo exhibits the latest achievements of human civilization, and promotes the modernization of human civilization. It is also regarded as the science and technology Olympics. Back to the world expo history, the great inventions which already exist and are currently widely used in our daily lives but not “new” for us, such as steam, telegraph, telephone, the phonograph, film, automobiles, planes, TV, computer, typewriter, robot, had been shown in the world Expos during the past 150 years. This Olympic is like a showcase that informs us “what’s new” and allows us to dream “big” what will happen to our lives. It is a pity that I haven’t any chances to go to the World Expo2010, as I probably miss some new items that will change our life styles in the near future, and I could not say any more wonderful things about how well the “low carbon” concept advocated by Expo2010 will make a “better city, better life”.
“Product designers and marketing executives know that wants can often be more powerful than needs in determining the success of a product.” (Vicente, 2006) If the expos in the era of industrialization (1851-1938) were especially focused on those technological inventions based on human’s needs, then I would say today’s expos in the 21st century are more focused on human’s wants. In other words, user-centered invention or design plays the most important role in the world of design. I also believe that if we concentrate on the human factor and make it central to the technological world in which we now live, that the world would be safer, healthier, more productive and sustainable, and more humane (Vicente, 2006).
References,
Vicente, K. (2006). The Human Factor: Revolutionizing the Way People Live with Technology. Taylor and Francis.
Norman, D. (2005). Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things. Perseus Books Group.
1 comment:
It does amaze me the number of things promised by world expo's/fairs of the past. Where are the monorails, the flying cars, and the geodesic structures? This is the vision of tomorrow that never came.
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