smalltalk on toilets – for interesting08
2008.07.02 - 09:07june 20th was the interesting day! thanks to russell, i got a 3-min talk slot in exchange for the ticket to the event. the day was full of inspiring and interesting talks, thanks to all speakers and participants who made the day shine bright. some video clips seem to be available through the Guardian, if you want to taste the flavour of the day. personally i was glad to get a chance to push myself to poke at some old piles of photos i randomly collected on toilets for the past couple of years.
why am i interested in toilets? my banal explanation is that toilets are the mirrors of culture with their prominence for everyone’s life in the society. the design of toilets can be a powerful element in providing anyone’s happiness, a sense of wellbeing, or even a feeling of small everyday achievement.
i am always shy about putting any work related slideshow on my weblog but as this is my hobby – the slideset from the day is downloadable in this page for anyone who’s interested in the topic & promises not to get offended by any part of the content. it’s a powerpoint file with brief explanation on each slide found in the ‘notes’ window.
download: small smalltalk on toilets (powerpoint, 2.2mb)
Loved your talk! If you ever get to go to the Netherlands, I think you’ll find them to have an interesting shape for their loos.
“The odd shape of the toilet incorporates a shelf that rests above the waterline and acts as an examination table, as it would appear the Dutch pay more attention to their meals after they eat them than when making them.”
http://www.expatica.com/nl/life_in/feature/toilet-inconvenience-87.html
Fantastic. Toilets are great fodder for design and cultural stuff, and always seem to end up on our blog
http://www.portigal.com/blog/fair-warning/
http://www.portigal.com/blog/do-this-dont-do-that/
http://www.portigal.com/blog/brand-equity/
http://www.portigal.com/blog/the-toilet-flusher-that-comes-with-an-explanatory-memo/
And in a recent issue of interactions, I explored the problem-solving nature of travel toiletting http://www.portigal.com/blog/ask-for-our-latest-article-the-journey-is-the-reward/
[...] Younghee Jung » smalltalk on toilets Download the small PowerPoint file for some really great shots of toilets around the world, with just a bit of explanatory text. This was for a 3-minute talk; very tantalizing stuff. More stories! Tags: none « Core77 Show+Tell video: Steve investigates the bathroom EMail This Post var blogTool = “WordPress”; var blogURL = “http://www.portigal.com/wp”; var blogTitle = “All This ChittahChattah”; var postURL = “http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-253/”; var postTitle = “ChittahChattah Quickies”; var commentAuthorFieldName = “author”; var commentAuthorLoggedIn = false; var commentFormID = “commentform”; var commentTextFieldName = “comment”; var commentButtonName = “submit”; No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> [...]
I found your blog accidentally, but you have packed here with great articles and pictures. At the moment I am staying in Rovaniemi, Finland; it seems you are in Japan. Might be hot?
It is seldom to find a good blog like this.
May I sometimes visit and take some of your articles?
I just started my blog, and don’t know what would it be.
There’s always that lovely post by Jan Chipchase after going into the wrong toilets in Iran. Not sure of the link but worth a google for the bearded fella observation.
Younghee is probably one of the smartest young women inside the blogsphere, everything is so interesting in what she write, even toilets!
[...] Younghee Jung » Blog Archive » smalltalk on toilets – for interesting08 “…toilets are the mirrors of culture with their prominence for everyone’s life in the society. the design of toilets can be a powerful element in providing anyone’s happiness, a sense of wellbeing, or even a feeling of small everyday achievement.” (tags: youngheechung toilets sociology culture society presentation interesting08) [...]
Lovely presentation! Thanks for sharing it.
One of my favourite examples of toilet signage can be found in Singapore where shiny new facilities often include signs instructing people not to stand on the toilet seats. Singapore has such a large multi-cultural and migrant worker population that many residents come from countries where squat toilets are still the norm. Using ‘proper’ toilets with seats must be quite the shock. (To be honest I find that when i travel in Asia I often prefer the older squat toilet + bucket of water arrangement…)
Was simultaneously horrified and enchanted by this talk when I heard it at interesting08. Best thing ever.
Hey!
really loved your talk at Interesting08!
Thanks for sharing.
The RSA just announced the winners of their Design Directions competition for young designers. One of winning entries was for toilet for which the height an be adjusted. A simple, courageous and elegant solution.
You can find a description and pictures of a prototype here: http://www.rsadesigndirections.org/design-directions/2007-08/exh/artist/viewer.php?projid=010&workid=010_SD&imgid=010-SD-01.jpg
I saw this review in the Times today and thought of your talk: The Big Necessity by Rose George:
hei, hope you’re familiar with slavoj zizek’s contribution to the topic of toilet and different national cultures.. :)
Hi! Great stuff, I truly enjoyd this power point -presentation. Thank you also for your inspiring input in Grid 08, Stockholm. It was a real pleasure listening to you there.
Another one to ad to the collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crisbils/2579769835/in/set-72157606607608128/
Taken in Gothi -a village about 4h north of Mumbai.
Cris
[...] things like the height of the toilet paper dispenser from the ground requires some getting used to. Younghee Jung works at Nokia and her job seems to be simply observing humans. I wish she would blog more, but [...]