Our Head of Design, Orlando is obsessed with design. It pervades all aspects of his life; from his outfit to his pen.
His obsession with design has no barriers, from digital design and visual arts to architecture. Engage him in a conversation about any era of design and he will impress you with his depth of knowledge.
We’re not kidding. He even worked as a design lecturer but was lured back to the dark side when he realised he couldn’t live without the diversity of client work.
One specific design theorist that has captured Orlando’s heart is Bruno Munari. (Don’t question who he is, that to him would be akin to asking what a Post-it note looks like).
For those of you that need a “reminder”, Bruno Munari was an Italian artist, designer and inventor who contributed to the fundamentals of many fields of visual arts (painting, sculpture, film, industrial designs, graphic design) in modernism and futurism.
He created his own individual own approach to design, centred on providing simple, but not basic, solutions.
It was through his research of didactic methods, movement, creativity, tactile and kinesthetic learning that this method came to be.
Hailed by many in the design world, Bruno Munari allows us to think about projects in a simplistic but effective way.
From his own experience, Orlando believes, “…we can use [Munari’s] design theory about simplicity and apply this to all aspects of our lives. From cooking, thinking, work and even living…it really works!”
Don’t believe us? Munari’s design theory can be explained as a simple cooking recipe commonly referred to as “The Green Rice Problem” as follows.
The Green Rice Problem Recipe
P = PROBLEM
Green Rice
Actually what we are trying to solve?
DP = DEFINE THE PROBLEM
Green Rice with spinach for 4 people
What is the exact problem and what are the main constraints?
CP = COMPONENTS OF THE PROBLEM
Rice, spinach, ham, onion, oil, salt pepper and broth
What limitations, components, techniques or tools should be used when refining and designing a solution?
CD = COLLECTING DATA
What other similar recipes are out there?
What did other people do when they had the same problem?
DA = DATA ANALYSIS
What can we learn from the research we conducted?
What can we learn from?
C = CREATIVITY
Add your own ingredients.
Add your own flair. What is our personal approach to this problem?
M = MATERIALS
What type of rice? Which pot?
What material will we use and what constrains do they give us?
TOM = TESTING OF MATERIALS
Tests and tastings
Make the prototype and trial
M = MODELS
Final sample
Build the final version
V = CHECK
Good for 4 people
Has everything been tested and ready to go?
CD = CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS
This is how you do it!
Make sure you document the project and include full specifications.
S = SOLUTION
Green Rice served on a hot plate
Resolved!