Thoughtless Acts Abound
Thoughtless Acts
The goal of this project was to capture thoughtless acts out in the wild. Thoughtless acts are things people do without thinking about it. I think of it as an unconscious accommodation for the way things were designed.
The Flyer Board
The flyer board is a common place where people address a poorly designed situation with ad hoc chaos to suit their needs. The thoughtless placement of as many flyers as necessary to get noticed over the top of other flyers is standard practice. A design improvement would be to create a culture where only one copy of each flyer is allowed.
The Rock Band on a Roof
This rock band was playing on the roof of The Bear's Lair. It may not be a thoughtless act exactly but I found it amazingly cool to have a concert on the roof above an outdoor beer garden in the afternoon. What I consider to be the thoughtless act in this scene are the students sitting on the tables to face the band. They are accommodating for the lack of real amphitheater seating. In this case a design improvement might be a real stage and seating for outdoor performances.
The Dancing Dude
There was a band playing on a roof nearby this guy practicing his dance routine. As I watched him I couldn't help but notice that he was dancing in time with the rock band. At the end of the video I recorded of him you'll notice that he was in fact dancing to his own music. The thoughtless act I saw was the dancing in the public square despite the rock band playing in the same space. A design improvement might be to provide a sound barrier between the space for the dancers and the rest of the public square. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuMXe4xwbtc
The Bicycles without a Bike Rack
It's quite common to find bicycles in racks that are ill-suited for locking bicycles up. It's also common to find bicycles tied to parking meters, trees, light poles and traffic signs. It would be great if there were bicycle racks designed for easy placement wherever someone needed one. Something accessible for business owners to acquire easily would be ideal.
The Students Without a Voice
Are students without a voice protesting together on a campus rooftop a proper example of a thoughtless act? When there is no recourse for students to be heard in any meaningful way they are inclined to be more risky. A better design might be a clear path of communication between those with ideas, complaints or productive solutions and those who have the capacity to do something about it.
The Art Murmurers Without Enough Space for Trash
At the Oakland Art Murmur there were great art galleries and plenty of people trying to enjoy an evening out. This led to an excess amount of trash. Attendees followed the lead of whoever started putting bottles and other small trash on the top of the trash cans. A design improvement could be sleeves on the sides of the trash cans that only have space for beer bottles. The design would make it so bottles have a place to go even when the cans are full.
