Best Consumed within 24 Hours is a film exploring assumptions surrounding modern-day design practice. Between craft and design with a capital ‘D,’ there lies a range of everyday activities that are not so different from publicly and institutionally accepted design processes. By looking at the activity of design rather than its end product, it is possible to achieve a baseline understanding of what design is and expand its definition beyond its appearance. This is highlighted by “designerly” practices that are contingent on the use of ephemeral materiality, which complicates our perception of them as being designed. Materiality such as makeup or ingredients that go into the making of a flan are just part of the design process, which includes ideation, negotiation, and actualization; however, these materials form designed “things” that are washed off or eaten at the end of the day. By looking at the practices of applying makeup and cooking under the umbrella of design discourse, we are forced to challenge traditional ideas that the final product of design must be objectified. Such everyday activities represent an elastic and personal design practice taking place in the imaginative spaces of the home and other transient spaces rather than the studio or the workshop

Contributors: James Casteel (camera and lighting), Lindsey Manas (makeup demo), Alicia Pan (slipcasting demo).

Author Affiliations

Claudia Marina
MA Design Studies alumna, Parsons School of Design