Day: May 5, 2008

art, design, GEL conference, gel2008, Terry Borden

GEL 2008: Terry Borden and Bent Objects

Christa Avampato

I have a fondness for wacky art and the minds that create that art. I’m especially appreciative of wacky art that makes me laugh out loud. Terry Borden is one of those people.


About halfway through Day 2 of the GEL conference, Terry took the stage and talked openly and honestly about all of his failures as an artist. And then he hit upon an idea of Bent Objects, using items found around the house and then making them into “people” with bent wire arms, legs, and accessories, then placed in vignettes. He didn’t, and maybe still doesn’t, have much money so he has to create each art piece for only a few bucks apiece. And that constraint has placed the spotlight on his humor and ingenuity. Again, I am reminded that what makes good art brilliant is the need to work within constraints.


I’d describe them verbally, though the laugh is much more easily shared by just visiting his website. http://www.bentobjects.blogspot.com. One of his works “Paying Respects” is pictured above. Several peanut-people bringing flowers to a jar of Jif. I love this guy.

design, GEL conference, gel2008, Oxo

GEL 2008: Alex Lee, President of Oxo

Christa Avampato

You may not know the name “OXO“, though you undoubtedly have seen their products in the kitchen gadget aisles. And their anonymity shouldn’t surprise anyone – after all, their CEO, Alex Lee, believes that designers should be overshadowed by the simplicity and beauty of their own designs. Whether it’s making an incomparable salad spinner or an ingenious measuring cup, the reaction OXO is always looking for from users is their lack of notice of the object. It should be so intuitive and easy to use that its use should go unnoticed, like walking, like breathing.

Alex also made several points about dignity. OXO seeks to design products that are usable by the greatest percentage of the population possible. The goal is to design beautiful products without increasing cost, while maximizing functionality, and never making a user feel like “I’m using this easy-to-use product because I am unable to use another one that is more complicated.”

He and the talented design team at OXO have several axioms that they work and live by. Products should be:
Easy to use
Easy to understand
Use honest language
Instructions not required

As far as finding inspiration for worthy design projects, OXO also makes that search simple. They find objects that cause people some sort of pain or frustration, even if they don’t know that they are frustrated. And then they develop a design remedy to alleviate the pain. For example, why should I need to get my eyes down to counter level to observe a meniscus to see if the liquid I’ve measured is at the right level? I should be able to comfortably observe it from overhead. I didn’t realize that, but OXO did. Design so brilliant you wonder how you ever did without it…

Alex Lee at Gel 2008 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.