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The Zen Of Form
(The Function of Form)FUNCTION DESIGN DETAIL ABILITY
Detail Ability
function Design
In the shaping of any form, there is no more clear practical example than the simple Lego Brick. It demonstrates the functionality of form. It is in essence
, the ZEN of FORM and embodies all that is form, both in the practical concrete world, and the abstract theoretical world. The basic Lego brick demonstrates in simple clear lines the elements necessary in all forms and tools.
In all forms of technology one can find these 4 elements, though very rarely in equal proportion.
- A Basic function (building connecting function)
- A Design function (proportion)
- A Detail function (precision)
- An Ability function (versatility)
Every form created contains these 4 elements. No form can be created without these elements
Take away one of these elements, then there will no longer exist any concrete form. These four elements are the fundamental building blocks in all models
.
The Pen above demonstrates these elements
Basic function…a tubular hollow object 15 cm long .
Design function… it is made of Metal and it is possible to open it in the middle and place another object in it. The pen has a pattern on it with different colours . It also has an extra piece of metal added on to the side of it. This design function has a practicality in that it can slide onto paper, board, or the edge of a pocket in a shirt for example.
Detail function… It holds ink and can transport it in small amounts with a little pressure from fingers onto paper or similar surfaces. Attention to the raw material and design involved gives it a "Quality" a Value which could be for example, a Fun Value , a practical Value
Ability Function.. it is a tool with the ability to help communicate ideas into words or drawings, written on paper material which can be read or looked at by one or many people. It has a container within (cartridge) which holds enough ink to write between 15 - 30 pages of around 300 words written on each paper
-sized A4.The Pen is not a model but a multi-model, built from a series of smaller separate models, or forms, each containing the( 4 elements)
.There is a metal spring, a metal ball
, a metal cone hollowed, a plastic tube, a plastic circular top, the ink, a metal top, and other smaller plastic objects all adding up to the construction of a simple Pen.
The Pen can no longer function as a pen if one or more of these objects are not there . The pen is a multi model. (form), It is not a model (form) and is far removed from being a Meta Model (Form)
All forms are models , All Models are Products
Multi Models have a high detail and ability value/factor
Multi models have a very low function and design value/factor when one or various models are no longer there or have broken down
Such as a computer
:
Here is a Lego cup designed for a Lego Figure
This cup is a model, it is not a multi model, or a meta model. It is more what I call in a fun way, an
"add on" created to give detail and add design to an already multi model Lego figure Technically, it has a high detail and design value/ factor, and a low function and ability value/factor
It is a model and therefore has a limited range of function in comparison to a Multi Model or a Meta Model
Meta models are completely different to any other form of Model or Multi model
Models and Multi models shift their parameters between a low and a high "relativity" factor. Multi models can also be highly complicated
Their value is "relative" to their function.
A Meta Model is "highly dynamic" even at its most functional level
Here lies the difference., meta models are open-ended, (one can always add to them ) Even though they are a product, they are process orientated. And this is dynamic
Models which are "relative" clearly have limiting functions ( such as the Lego cup)
Models which are "dynamic" have unlimited functions, They have immense potential and value which shifts way beyond what is relative – they are dynamic, and are highly successful. They are not only capable of changing and adapting they are "highly dynamic" in this change. This change is so powerful they are capable of transforming beyond their form without losing their fundamental elements.
A meta Model which appears and functions as "highly detailed" , can break down and transform into a form which now has a "high design" function. It can then breakdown again and transform into a "high ability" function.
Most importantly, the "cleverness " of a Meta Model is that it can breakdown, without damaging its fundamental elements, and transform into something else. No model or multi model can do this.
The Zen of Lego
The 3 basic Lego (Meta ) brick bricks as illustrated above demonstrate the various scales possible in size of a normal brick. The Nano brick has not yet been designed by Lego but it illustrates clearly the range of scale which can take place. In the development of a New Lego Brick (for future reference, be named as a Meta Brick in for the lego system ( Meta - meaning it is behind,together and changes, and able to interlink at least with one or both of the other Lego Systems , which a basic Lego (Meta) brick is capable of doing)
A nano (Meta) brick is not a "more-detailed" brick. It in fact offers no more detail than a basic Lego (meta) Brick, the only difference is in scale. Although the size of this brick is smaller, (half the size of a Lego brick) it in no way distracts from the fundamental philosophy of the Lego Company. The Nano (Meta)brick enhances the Lego philosophy of basic
, design, detail, ability , and takes it into a new scale, a new world.No matter what scale of lego (Meta) Brick each Lego ( Meta Brick) added to the original Lego (meta) Brick strengthens all the four elements;
- Function
- Design
- Detail
- Ability
The Basic Lego (meta) brick has all the 4 elements equally
Ability
Function
design
detail
Dynamic (meta)models are exciting to be around, they offer a far greater range of possibilities than models or multi models They are far better at expressing the optimal, the excellence of form.
The optimal model is a Meta Model. It is "dynamic" highly creative and innovative. In reality a meta Model is the "Mother" of all other models and Lego clearly illustrates this:
model
multi
Model
Back to Basics The Meta Model – How to Learn
From the creation of the Basic (meta) model Lego Brick, has come the Lego success we know today.
There is a difference between a box full of model bricks and a box full of multi model bricks, and a box full of meta model bricks
.Meta models stimulate the ability to learn to maintain interest due to the variety of possibility rather than a finished product . How to create is more important than what to create . To grasp how to learn is more important than what to learn. The basic Lego Brick and fundamental philosophy of Lego is about how to Build and how to breakdown and how to transform
The key to success for Lego In any future development is maintaining a balance of Lego bricks which are (meta) Model bricks.. Serving the child with a variety of various multi Models (such as a castle complex) may at first hand have the appearance of being creative, but due to the limited range of basic (Meta) Bricks available in the package, the creativity is more relative than it is dynamic
.As Lego moves to ever more detailed model pieces in their products
, a new scale of Lego Meta Brick could be introduced into this world so it can compensate for such detail. By focusing on the Basic design and introduce the Meta Lego Brick in a new Scale "the Nano Brick", which is a direct descendent of the original meta model Brick, will offer dynamic new possibilities and will attract eager attention simply because it offers everyone the ability to learn how to learn, on another scale. The Nano brick takes nothing away from the original concept and philosophy of Lego it only offers more scope. More function, more design, more detail, more ability.(A lego brick is about how to build, how to create, how to express, how to master, how to play. This how to is mirrored in the brains activity. This Playing activity is a form of intelligence. It is a Meta Intelligence, which we all are born with. Without this Meta Intelligence we would not be able to develop. Lego matches our brain activity by mirroring the neurons functions in the brain. Grasping new experiences or information, and then imitating them to strengthen their value and then organizing them into a world meaning. Lego offers all this and is one of the the most intelligent toys in the world (How to Play) and one of the most intelligent tools in the world (How to Learn).
Lego is the Zen of Form Function Design Detail Ability - in all its simplicity and complexity - just like the human brain which is playing, with its meta activity, it’s meta intelligence Function Design Detail Ability
.James Findlay, The Play Foundation . June 2008
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