Geek Day Out: Californian design
Explore the past, present and future of California’s iconic counterculture – and Silicon Valley – at London’s Design Museum
The link between the state’s culture and tech.
What does California’s historical counterculture have to do with Silicon Valley’s technological dominance? Even after touring the Design Museum’s exhibition considering that idea, we’re not entirely convinced there is a link – but there’s plenty of incredible hardware and tech ephemera from all decades on show to keep any computer fan distracted.
The exhibition traces a line from the hippies of San Francisco to the iPhone, with classic hardware on display alongside LSD tablets, Barbie dolls and skateboards, suggesting all have the idea of individual freedom at their core. That argument is easier made with the original Silicon Valley firms – where founders quit jobs to make ideas real in their garages – but tougher for digital companies designed to hoover up our data.
PC Pro readers won’t need to be reminded that the so-called freedoms offered by the devices and platforms on show come at a cost: surveillance, invasion of privacy, addiction. But the downsides to the products made by companies such as Google, Facebook and Apple are hardly mentioned. Each section – under bright banners extolling you to “Go Where You Want” and “Say What You Want” – opens with an introductory text, in which the museum manages just one line each suggesting that Silicon Valley is anything but sunny. It’s a missed opportunity for a museum of design to not consider ideas such as ethical or responsible design.
Despite the exhibition’s sunny tone, there’s plenty of fascinating bits and pieces to examine. Sat next to a motorcycle, Google’s Waymo selfdriving car opens the show – the first in the UK, but ironically locked up in a museum and not on the roads. Other items offer a sense of the vibe in Silicon Valley. There’s a collection of “motivational” posters from Facebook’s head offices, designed by staff who are given print-making classes as a benefit, and Larry Page’s stool from Google’s offices (no, you can’t sit on it).
The highlights of the show are the classic hardware borrowed from California’s Computing History Museum, including a Palm V, Newton tablet, Powerbook 100, Osborne 1 and Grid Compass laptop, as well as an original Apple 1, but there are newer devices too. iPhones and their ear phones have been dismantled to show their inner workings, and there’s a handful of prototype Jawbone wearables.
Don’t miss artwork from Blade Runner, a VR simulation used to treat PTSD, and the first hand-sewn gay pride flag – again, we’re not sure there’s a link between those exhibits, other than their Californian origins, but Designing Freedom offers a timely reminder of how much influence the US has had on the rest of the world. The only shame is it’s a frothy glance rather than a deeper consideration of what it means for the rest of us. California: Designing Freedom runs at the Design Museum in London until 15 October. Tickets cost £16 for adults and £8 for children. Head to
designmuseum.org for more details.
The exhibition traces a line from hippies to the iPhone, with classic hardware on display alongside LSD tablets