I was immediately sparked by the idea of MAYA when it incorporated the idea of consumerism. In the article it was stated: “Loewy believed that consumers are torn between a curiosity about new things and a fear of anything too new.” I have worked at American Eagle for an extended time and correlated this idea to both my shopping experiences at the store and recollections from other customer experiences. Many of the clothes – shirts, jeans, leggings – are sold to the consumer at seemingly high prices (i.e. 49.95 for a shirt, $59.95 for a jean). Yet, what many consumers neglect to notice is that they are purchasing the same clothing item year after year but with a slight variation in the appearance or texture of a material. For instance, a plaid shirt might have a different color scheme, or a jean may have a different location of a hole. This shows that consumers keep purchasing the same clothes due to reputation and familiarity but try to branch out occasionally in their clothing choice, so as to keep up with the evolutions of fashion choice (i.e. transition from a t-shirt to a crop top). In addition, upon graduation I hope to utilize my engineering degree within a manufacturing environment. When I think of the term ‘manufacturing’ I correlate the word to automation, assembly lines, and factories. But what really stands out are assembly lines – where products are made in bulk to be sold to a consumer with little or no variation. A specific example is a motor company, Chevrolet, which produces cars in mass. There may be slight variation in the color or interior design of a car, but over the years these cars continue to have the same working mechanisms – an engine, steering wheel, seat belts, etc. These functions of a car continue to remain the same, as producers feel they are the most reliable and safe for a consumer market. Loewy’s statement, “One should design for the advantage of the largest mass of people,” is clearly articulated and represented in this fashion.
Another idea in the article that touched home was the popularity of individual’s names. For instance, my name is a spin-off of a widely used four-letter identifier – Eryn. Is the pronunciation common? Yes. It is unique? Yes again. When naming me, my parents chose a name that was acceptable to everyday culture yet gave it a unique flare as well. Hence, many people call me “Erin with a y” versus just “Eryn”. Also, I found it interesting that over time names become less popular while others sprout up and become widely used. I think of my grandparents, whom were named Jack, Clement, Esther, and June. On a daily basis, I rarely hear those names in context or used as identifiers for individuals. But, their middle names – Allen and Elizabeth are still used today as middle names for both myself and my brother. Potentially, a middle name could represent one’s lineage and may be less “popular” while an individual’s first name succumbs to the culture and common names that are used today.
Further, MAYA has applications to both public and professional writing. I find it more profound in public writing, where authors write to a specific audience with an intent to appeal and draw the reader in. Many novelists utilize the same plot, where the damsel in distress falls in love with the prince or the hero saves the day and the city is saved. Authors have seen what works well and what the public’s eye is keen to, so when focusing on a plot, they tend to add their flare of drama mixed in with the same general message. This idea has worked though, where audiences flock to movie theatres to see Nicholas Sparks’ new romance or the next Star Wars sequel. Although, I do have a little more difficulty finding the unique aspects in professional writing. I correlate professional writing to resumes, cover letters, and proposals, where many of times it is the same format. It is difficult for a writer to expose him/herself to an employer and convey the best portrait of themselves in such a specific format. Over time this may evolve, and admissions/employers may accept a variety of submissions, but as of now individuals need to stand out by the small amount of ink found on a white page.
I found your comparison to American Eagle and shopping extremely relatable, as I was a culprit of such an act…buying a ‘fall collection’ version of a shirt I had bought from the ‘spring collection’ months prior.
I agree with your stance on resume and cover letter writing, as I’ve been told a set of specific rules for the past 8 years on how to write mine and hadn’t strayed from it until this year. But…this accusation of a norm in our professional personal writing made me think of the Max Planck quote, where he said: “a new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.” Would the slow introduction of more design elements into this robotic, bland process of resume-making help by progressively allowing these sorts of ‘professional writers’ to show some of themselves through design? — I may only be asking this because I am in the process of applying to graphic design jobs currently, and in my case, a ‘normal’ resume and cover letter wouldn’t show the recruiter any of my abilities and would most likely be thrown in the trash.
But nonetheless, I think that a slight change such as in structure of a resume, or the typeface you use, or utilizing a bold or italics feature would fit under the idea of unique aspects in this sort of professional writing.
I love what you say about people still buying things in their comfort zone. I have always been comfortable with specific styles of clothing and only in the past couple years have been trying to wear things that I enjoy but are not like the norm of what I would wear. However, even when I try to stand out from my old style I still fall into the familiarity and comfort of colors: i.e. I enjoy wearing dark colors specifically black because it makes me more comfortable since I am used to it.
It is also weird to me that companies mass produce jeans that have holes all in the same place even though the product is made as such to look like it was different from everyone else. There are some clothing items that I have noticed recently that are marked “hand dyed” this would be a shirt that is mass produced in an identical color and style and then dyed over (supposedly) to be individual from the rest of those shirts. They would all have a similar design but small differences to show that they were done one at a time.
I think this was a good way to discuss MAYA and how its system relates to our modern day society and our everyday choices: we don’t even realize these things when we go shopping!
I never thought about middle names that way, but I think you could be right! They are sort of “hidden” so people don’t really care about an “audience” for such a name–that is, they name out of tradition or whatever reason. We decided to have our daughter take my last name and have her middle name be my partner’s maiden name.
I appreciate the skepticism of how MAYA applies to professional writing–and especially the types you mention. Let’s hold onto that for class discussion. All models are flawed- and for models applied to different data then it was designed for, this is very much true. Is professional writing a sort of data-too-different? Why?