Computers and hi-fi equipment does not provide any respite from the onslaught of bad design. Most electronic design is annoyingly fiddly and shows a mismatch between the product and the human. Yet it is accepted and even paraded as good design. VDU's and computers are glaring examples of degrading design and, in addition, they are unrelated to the furniture they must sit on, incapable of correct positioning, and have keyboards not related to hands, and so on. In the home, half of all kitchens are left handed and half right, yet only 8 per cent of us are left handed. The latest books on kitchen design concentrate almost entirely on style and where they propose planning, they show concepts such as the 'work triangle' which has been obsolete for years. It can be shown, however, that both the strategy and detail of products exhibit similar worrying characteristics. The reality of design problems appears to be ignored in spite of the top design and ergonomic talent. I believe design has failed us and it is time to say, 'The king has no clothes'. A new direction of design is needed which enhances rather than degrades the human. Awkward questions arise such as, what should we do to ensure enhancement rather than degradation? What do we need to know that we do not already know? Why has design gone so wrong? Can all the above really amount to a valid criticism of the whole basis of conventional design? The answer requires us to look back over our own lifetime. Babies enjoy beautiful bodies. The perfect spiral poise,

naturally evident in children, is a great joy at which we never cease to marvel. As young humans we 'understand' the natural, efficient way to move. Unfortunately our seniors do not. We are placed in badly designed furniture from the year dot. While our bodies are growing and flexible, we are moulded into postures at school which hamper our development - which, to reiterate, degrade instead of enhance. Clothes restrict our movement - we are all familiar with the sight of 'builder's bum' caused by people insisting on wearing jeans. We are taught to 'stand up straight', encouraged to partake in exercise such as cycling and swimming, which place the head in grotesque positions. Later at work this 'dis-ease' continues, resulting in various deformities. Even Michelangelo incorporate body misuse in his sculptures which we admire and perhaps emulate. We have become faulty. We shaped the man-made world - now the man made world shapes us. We often do not realise what has happened, can no longer sense what is right and can no longer choose. This is the situation in which new design is now created and why the judgement of design is faulty in these areas. 'The most important thing in life is health' was our finding in a recent survey conducted for an American research organisation. Assuming they pay lip service to the idea that products should be 'healthy', the current design process is that designers examine a problem and ergonomists advise on human factors. Designers ask ergonomists