TED2016
Alice Rawsthorn: Pirates, nurses and other rebel designers
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In this ode to design renegades, Alice Rawsthorn highlights the work of unlikely heroes, from Blackbeard to Florence Nightingale. Drawing a line from these bold thinkers to some early modern visionaries like Buckminster Fuller, Rawsthorn shows how the greatest designers are often the most rebellious.
Alice Rawsthorn - Design critic
Columnist and author Alice Rawsthorn illuminates the mesh of design woven into every aspect of our everyday lives and communities. Full bio
Columnist and author Alice Rawsthorn illuminates the mesh of design woven into every aspect of our everyday lives and communities. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Design is a slippery
and elusive phenomenon,
and elusive phenomenon,
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which has meant different
things at different times.
things at different times.
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But all truly inspiring design projects
have one thing in common:
have one thing in common:
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they began with a dream.
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And the bolder the dream,
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the greater the design feat
that will be required to achieve it.
that will be required to achieve it.
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And this is why the greatest
designers are almost always
designers are almost always
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the biggest dreamers
and rebels and renegades.
and rebels and renegades.
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This has been the case throughout history,
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all the way back to the year 300 BC,
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when a 13-year-old became the king
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of a remote, very poor
and very small Asian country.
and very small Asian country.
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He dreamt of acquiring land,
riches and power
riches and power
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through military conquest.
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And his design skills --
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improbable though it sounds --
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would be essential
in enabling him to do so.
in enabling him to do so.
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At the time,
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all weapons were made by hand
to different specifications.
to different specifications.
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So if an archer ran out
of arrows during a battle,
of arrows during a battle,
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they wouldn't necessarily be able
to fire another archer's arrows
to fire another archer's arrows
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from their bow.
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This of course meant that they would
be less effective in combat
be less effective in combat
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and very vulnerable, too.
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Ying solved this problem
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by insisting that all bows and arrows
were designed identically,
were designed identically,
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so they were interchangeable.
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And he did the same for daggers,
axes, spears, shields
axes, spears, shields
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and every other form of weaponry.
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His formidably equipped army
won batter after battle,
won batter after battle,
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and within 15 years,
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his tiny kingdom had
succeeded in conquering
succeeded in conquering
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all its larger, richer,
more powerful neighbors,
more powerful neighbors,
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to found the mighty Chinese Empire.
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Now, no one, of course,
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would have thought of describing
Ying Zheng as a designer at the time --
Ying Zheng as a designer at the time --
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why would they?
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And yet he used design
unknowingly and instinctively
unknowingly and instinctively
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but with tremendous ingenuity
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to achieve his ends.
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And so did another equally
improbable, accidental designer,
improbable, accidental designer,
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who was also not above using
violence to get what he wanted.
violence to get what he wanted.
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This was Edward Teach, better known
as the British pirate, Blackbeard.
as the British pirate, Blackbeard.
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This was the golden age of piracy,
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where pirates like Teach
were terrorizing the high seas.
were terrorizing the high seas.
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Colonial trade was flourishing,
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and piracy was highly profitable.
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And the smarter pirates like him
realized that to maximize their spoils,
realized that to maximize their spoils,
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they needed to attack
their enemies so brutally
their enemies so brutally
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that they would surrender on sight.
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So in other words,
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they could take the ships
without wasting ammunition,
without wasting ammunition,
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or incurring casualties.
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So Edward Teach redesigned
himself as Blackbeard
himself as Blackbeard
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by playing the part of a merciless brute.
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He wore heavy jackets and big hats
to accentuate his height.
to accentuate his height.
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He grew the bushy black beard
that obscured his face.
that obscured his face.
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He slung braces of pistols
on either shoulder.
on either shoulder.
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He even attached matches to the brim
of his hat and set them alight,
of his hat and set them alight,
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so they sizzled menacingly
whenever his ship was poised to attack.
whenever his ship was poised to attack.
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And like many pirates of that era,
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he flew a flag that bore
the macabre symbols
the macabre symbols
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of a human skull
and a pair of crossed bones,
and a pair of crossed bones,
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because those motifs had signified death
in so many cultures for centuries,
in so many cultures for centuries,
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that their meaning
was instantly recognizable,
was instantly recognizable,
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even in the lawless, illiterate
world of the high seas:
world of the high seas:
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surrender or you'll suffer.
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So of course, all his sensible
victims surrendered on sight.
victims surrendered on sight.
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Put like that,
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it's easy to see why Edward Teach
and his fellow pirates
and his fellow pirates
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could be seen as pioneers
of modern communications design,
of modern communications design,
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and why their deadly symbol --
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(Laughter)
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there's more --
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why their deadly symbol
of the skull and crossbones
of the skull and crossbones
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was a precursor of today's logos,
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rather like the big red letters
standing behind me,
standing behind me,
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but of course with a different message.
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(Laughter)
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Yet design was also used to nobler ends
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by an equally brilliant and equally
improbable designer,
improbable designer,
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the 19th-century British nurse,
Florence Nightingale.
Florence Nightingale.
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Her mission was to provide
decent healthcare for everyone.
decent healthcare for everyone.
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Nightingale was born into a rather
grand, very wealthy British family,
grand, very wealthy British family,
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who were horrified when she volunteered
to work in military hospitals
to work in military hospitals
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during the Crimean War.
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Once there, she swiftly realized
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that more patients were dying
of infections that they caught there,
of infections that they caught there,
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in the filthy, fetid wards,
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than they were of battle wounds.
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So she campaigned
for cleaner, lighter, airier clinics
for cleaner, lighter, airier clinics
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to be designed and built.
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Back in Britain,
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she mounted another campaign,
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this time for civilian hospitals,
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and insisted that the same design
principles were applied to them.
principles were applied to them.
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The Nightingale ward, as it is called,
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dominated hospital design
for decades to come,
for decades to come,
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and elements of it are still used today.
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But by then,
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design was seen as a tool
of the Industrial Age.
of the Industrial Age.
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It was formalized and professionalized,
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but it was restricted to specific roles
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and generally applied in pursuit
of commercial goals
of commercial goals
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rather than being used intuitively,
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as Florence Nightingale, Blackbeard
and Ying Zheng had done.
and Ying Zheng had done.
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By the 20th century,
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this commercial ethos was so powerful,
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that any designers who deviated from it
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risked being seen as cranks
or subversives.
or subversives.
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Now among them is one
of my great design heroes,
of my great design heroes,
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the brilliant László Moholy-Nagy.
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He was the Hungarian artist and designer
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whose experiments with the impact
of technology on daily life
of technology on daily life
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were so powerful
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that they still influence
the design of the digital images
the design of the digital images
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we see on our phone and computer screens.
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He radicalized the Bauhaus Design
School in 1920s Germany,
School in 1920s Germany,
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and yet some of his former
colleagues shunned him
colleagues shunned him
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when he struggled to open a new
Bauhaus in Chicago years later.
Bauhaus in Chicago years later.
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Moholy's ideas were as bold
and incisive as ever,
and incisive as ever,
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but his approach to design
was too experimental,
was too experimental,
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as was his insistence
on seeing it, as he put it,
on seeing it, as he put it,
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as an attitude, not a profession
to be in tune with the times.
to be in tune with the times.
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And sadly, the same applied
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to another design maverick:
Richard Buckminster Fuller.
Richard Buckminster Fuller.
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He was yet another
brilliant design visionary
brilliant design visionary
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and design activist,
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who was completely committed
to designing a sustainable society
to designing a sustainable society
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in such a forward-thinking way
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that he started talking about
the importance of environmentalism
the importance of environmentalism
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in design in the 1920s.
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Now he, despite his efforts,
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was routinely mocked as a crank
by many in the design establishment,
by many in the design establishment,
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and admittedly,
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some of his experiments failed,
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like the flying car
that never got off the ground.
that never got off the ground.
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And yet, the geodesic dome,
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his design formula to build
an emergency shelter
an emergency shelter
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from scraps of wood, metal, plastic,
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bits of tree, old blankets,
plastic sheeting --
plastic sheeting --
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just about anything
that's available at the time --
that's available at the time --
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is one of the greatest feats
of humanitarian design,
of humanitarian design,
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and has provided sorely needed refuge
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to many, many people
in desperate circumstances
in desperate circumstances
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ever since.
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Now, it was the courage
and verve of radical designers
and verve of radical designers
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like Bucky and Moholy
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that drew me to design.
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I began my career as a news journalist
and foreign correspondent.
and foreign correspondent.
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I write about politics, economics
and corporate affairs,
and corporate affairs,
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and I could have chosen
to specialize in any of those fields.
to specialize in any of those fields.
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But I picked design,
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because I believe it's one of the most
powerful tools at our disposal
powerful tools at our disposal
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to improve our quality of life.
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Thank you, fellow TED design buffs.
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(Applause)
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And greatly as I admire the achievements
of professional designers,
of professional designers,
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which have been extraordinary and immense,
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I also believe
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that design benefits hugely
from the originality,
from the originality,
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the lateral thinking
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and the resourcefulness
of its rebels and renegades.
of its rebels and renegades.
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And we're living at a remarkable
moment in design,
moment in design,
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because this is a time when the two camps
are coming closer together.
are coming closer together.
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Because even very basic advances
in digital technology
in digital technology
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have enabled them to operate
increasingly independently,
increasingly independently,
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in or out of a commercial context,
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to pursue ever more ambitious
and eclectic objectives.
and eclectic objectives.
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So in theory,
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basic platforms like crowdfunding,
cloud computing, social media
cloud computing, social media
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are giving greater freedom
to professional designers
to professional designers
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and giving more resources
for the improvisational ones,
for the improvisational ones,
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and hopefully,
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a more receptive response to their ideas.
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Now, some of my favorite
examples of this are in Africa,
examples of this are in Africa,
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where a new generation of designers
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are developing incredible
Internet of Things technologies
Internet of Things technologies
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to fulfill Florence Nightingale's dream
of improving healthcare
of improving healthcare
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in countries where more people
now have access to cell phones
now have access to cell phones
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than to clean, running water.
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And among them is Arthur Zang.
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He's a young, Cameroonian design engineer
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who has a adapted a tablet
computer into the Cardiopad,
computer into the Cardiopad,
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a mobile heart-monitoring device.
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It can be used to monitor the hearts
of patients in remote, rural areas.
of patients in remote, rural areas.
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The data is then sent
on a cellular network
on a cellular network
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to well-equipped hospitals
hundreds of miles away
hundreds of miles away
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for analysis.
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And if any problems are spotted
by the specialists there,
by the specialists there,
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a suitable course of treatment
is recommended.
is recommended.
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And this of course saves many patients
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from making long, arduous, expensive
and often pointless journeys
and often pointless journeys
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to those hospitals,
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and makes it much, much likelier
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that their hearts
will actually be checked.
will actually be checked.
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Arthur Zang started working
on the Cardiopad eight years ago,
on the Cardiopad eight years ago,
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in his final year at university.
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But he failed to persuade
any conventional sources
any conventional sources
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to give him investment to get
the project off the ground.
the project off the ground.
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He posted the idea on Facebook,
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where a Cameroonian
government official saw it
government official saw it
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and managed to secure
a government grant for him.
a government grant for him.
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He's now developing
not only the Cardiopad,
not only the Cardiopad,
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but other mobile medical devices
to treat different conditions.
to treat different conditions.
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And he isn't alone,
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because there are many other
inspiring and enterprising designers
inspiring and enterprising designers
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who are also pursuing
extraordinary projects of their own.
extraordinary projects of their own.
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And I'm going to finish
by looking at just a few of them.
by looking at just a few of them.
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One is Peek Vision.
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This is a group of doctors
and designers in Kenya,
and designers in Kenya,
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who've developed an Internet of Things
technology of their own,
technology of their own,
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as a portable eye examination kit.
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Then there's Gabriel Maher,
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who is developing a new design language
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to enable us to articulate the subtleties
of our changing gender identities,
of our changing gender identities,
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without recourse
to traditional stereotypes.
to traditional stereotypes.
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All of these designers and many more
are pursuing their dreams,
are pursuing their dreams,
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by the making the most
of their newfound freedom,
of their newfound freedom,
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with the discipline
of professional designers
of professional designers
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and the resourcefulness
of rebels and renegades.
of rebels and renegades.
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And we all stand to benefit.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alice Rawsthorn - Design criticColumnist and author Alice Rawsthorn illuminates the mesh of design woven into every aspect of our everyday lives and communities.
Why you should listen
As a columnist for Frieze and a writer for the International New York Times, Alice Rawsthorn explores the world of design, seeking projects that fit their function "while also being responsible, ethically and environmentally, and desirable." In 2015, Rawsthorn launched a daily Instagram diary to demonstrate how social media could enrich the collective conversation on design.
In her acclaimed book Hello World: Where Design Meets Life, Rawsthorn demonstrates the influence and impact of design on our lives and culture. She is active with various arts organizations, including London's Chisenhale Gallery and Michael Clark's contemporary dance company (where she chairs the boards of trustees).
Alice Rawsthorn | Speaker | TED.com