Assignment 3

Substantiating claims

My theme is ‘Everyday Design’ and for research my question is ‘what role do everyday objects such as toothbrush play in today’s world?’ This question is interesting to me because almost everyone use objects in their daily life without realizing, how important they are for us. So considering my research question I found some material related to my question. The most interesting and amazing book I found in concern to the question is ‘Ordinary Lives: studies in the everyday’ by Ben Highmore. In this book the author has elaborated the everyday objects in such a good way that it makes a person to think of everyday objects differently and importantly. The author has provided quite few examples in regard to the importance of everyday objects. One of the examples from the book is given below:

Ben Highmore says that “As human beings we attach ourselves to the thingly world: our ordinary lives are lived out in the midst of things. We often surround ourselves with keepsakes and mementos; we arrange our intimate spaces with furniture, tools and utensils; we simultaneously hide and reveal our naked bodies with clothes” (Highmore, 2011, pp. 58).

Ben Highmore used above example to show that how a person is connected to the objects around him/her. The objects around us are our need and they play important role in our everyday life such as- we put furniture at our place because we need it, to sit, rest and sleep. Without furniture it would be hard to perform those functions. Similarly, tools and utensils help us to make our routine tasks easier. Especially the utensils help us in cooking and consuming the food. The most important are clothes, without which we can’t even imagine our lives, as they act as our basic necessity. So through this example Ben Highmore proves that the everyday objects have a very important role in our lives.

The most interesting example provided by Ben Highmore is that how the everyday objects reveals their history. The author wrote that, “Tools subtly weathered by daily human contact demand to be held and used. Soles of shoes scuffed smooth like pebbles seem to yearn for our feet. Tables scratched and scorched by the paraphernalia of cooking tell us their histories” (Highmore, 2011).  

The author talks about the tools used every day that how the marks and traces on them represent their history and use. Correspondingly, the shoe soles signify their everyday use and essentiality in our lives. The fascinating part in this example is that how the marks, scratches on a table tells its history and everyday use. The table is used for several purposes such as cooking, as a desk etc. and it also narrates the history of things, it has been used for. So through this example Ben Highmore shows that everyday objects not just act as an important part of our lives but also reveals the history, related to the object and reminds us of our ancestors.

References:-

Highmore, B. (2011). Ordinary Lives: Studies in the Everyday. Great Britain; TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall.