For example, the American public settles for poor building standards. It blows my mind that people will pay millions of dollars for a horribly built house that is basically a piece of crap and will not last more than 5 years before it starts to deteriorate. We allow builders to put ridiculous price tags on these crappy houses that they mass produce by thousands. If we would acknowledge them as crap by refusing to buy them, we would force the builder to produce a better quality product. I think this is why I am drawn find places to live in older buildings. Because of my profession, I am trained to notice every detail of construction…good and bad. Unfortunately, there is much more bad than good in newer construction.

Yes, our founders were skilled as well as intelligent. They were inventors, craftsmen, architects and scholars. I think they would cringe at our “fast-food mentality”

I mean this in the nicest way, but I think the majority (not all) of the American public is spoiled and lazy. Maybe we deserve crappy houses. After all, we are stupid enough to pay for them. It makes me sad nonetheless.

Also….for the record….while IKEA is known for inexpensive items, the do have SOME things that are not only built better than most on the market, but also have some nice design thought behind them. Heck, even the things built out of cardboard have better design than most of the houses on the market today…which might as well be made out of cardboard Ok….leaving my soapbox….

‘Quality is the absence of ‘non-quality’ signals’

Sad, but true. It is the saddest thing about our culture. I know people who have never read a book, but they sure as hell know how to send a text message.

Nothing against IKEA, but unfortunately that is the mental framework we live in… and, for you and I design is important, but it tends to be expensive… only because it is not a matter of importance anymore.

Just look at the back of our dollar bill, there are masonry symbols all over it. That is because the founders of this glorious country were…: yep… not only designers… but also builders… it was a pre-requisite for the American club… that is… until we invented fast-food…

Loving it…

What angers me most is that we are teaching people the incorrect definition of true design. “Designer” items are not the only things that are designed or designed well. EVERYTHING must be designed.”

Spot on! Great post.