icon | 027 | boring

ipods

everything that can be said about them has been said, hasn’t it? And they’re beginning to look a little dated, don’t you think? And isolating yourself from the world in a perpetual personal sound bubble is getting boring.



Boring.
modernism

Creative industries.
People who talk about the creative industries are attempting to package something messy and ephemeral as something quantifiable, like, say, the steel industry – thereby bureaucratising it and, inevitably, rendering it uncreative.
And boring.

glass buildings

All-glass buildings are great for growing tomatoes in, but rubbish for living and working in as they get really hot. Unless you fill them with air-conditioning units, of course. But that’s not very “sustainable”, so now architects are covering their glass buildings with clever-clever shading systems … so you can’t see the glass. Or see out of the building. Why not return to good old walls and windows? The obsession with glass is getting boring.

interactivity
This means touchscreens basically, doesn’t it?
It is one of those euphemisms that became fashionable as people felt the need to join the 21st century. As internet jargon, “interactive” emerged as a techno geek’s way of saying “you can use it” – take Roget’s online “Interactive Thesaurus”. Then suddenly there was “interactive design”, a new and cleverer-sounding term for web design. But now the notion has invaded our museums and galleries, where it feels even more redundant. What’s more interactive than looking at a painting? Must we go to the touchscreen and see how the Mona Lisa looks with a moustache as well? Down with interactivity – it’s boring.

barcelona
Barcelona is the new Paris – an expensive, schmaltzy tourist trap with rude inhabitants. The latest urban “improvements” at Diagonal Mar are hideous, the Olympic Port is full of lapdancing bars and its creative scene seems to have completely fizzled out. Yet people still bang on about Barcelona as if it’s some kind of urban paragon. Why? It’s boring.

trends
We’ve spotted a hot new trend – people spotting hot new trends. They’re multiplying exponentially and are asking us to PAY for their observations! And the more clients they sign up, the more trends they have to spot to stay in business. Erm, boring.


http://www.icon-magazine.co.uk/issues/027/boring.htm