Objects & People:
Anthropology in Industrial Design

Humans have made everything we have ever needed, wanted, or the means to any end since the beginning of our existence. The resulting objects become archaeological time capsules containing all information not only about themselves and their creation, but also about the people (as individuals and as a collective) involved, including information about elements of human intelligence, society, and changes and evolutions that these undergo. Put simply, we make what we are and need, and we are and need what we make. What we make contains our reality because we imbue a part of ourselves in everything we create. The resulting object, this container of data about humans, is the technical artifact.

 

Most fields will argue that the element of humanity they study is our je ne sais quoi. While I’m not entirely in opposition, I have explored the question of “what makes us human?” in the context of making, and have found that the technical artifact lies at the center of our species’ essence, as evidenced by its presence both throughout our species’ existence on Earth and in all behaviors which we consider fundamental to our experience. Extending this line of thought further, I believe the technical artifact to be humanity’s je ne sais quoi. In particular, I have found evidence that our innate purpose for existing as a part of nature is to address perpetually more complex challenges through the creation of technical artifacts.

 

In this book, I combine the academic exploration of technical artifact creation for complex problem solving, with making as a form of applied research.