Yes, this exhibition was in 2015, a few years ago now; so let's call this an (almost) 10 year anniversary celebration.

[Artsy.net: System Design: Over 100 years of chaos in everyday life - MAKK](https://www.artsy.net/show/makk-museum-fur-angewandte-kunst-koln-system-design-over-100-years-of-chaos-in-everyday-life?sort=partner_show_position)

I remember it well. I couldn't believe my luck when I came across this exhibition in Cologne, Germany. A holiday **and** a research opportunity for my thesis!

I bought my plane ticket the same day.

The exhibition explored the tensions at the heart of creating order from chaos amid 100 years of changing consumer behaviours, class, and technological progress.

How can we make things that work better together, are greater than the sum of their parts, are built to last, to grow, to adapt?

Themes explored were: modularity, extensibility, backwards compatibility, planned obsolescence, built in redundancy, design for repair.

And of course, the humble LEGO brick made it into the exhibition too.

I realised that modularity was something I'd unwittingly experienced as a kid while watering the garden and swapping sprinklers for jet hoses. As a more aspirational adult, the 606 shelving system seemed to have solved the sustainability problem yet its price challenges even the most forward-thinkers among us! Evidence of our broken system of consumption or a privileged luxury?

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System Design: Over 100 years of chaos in everyday life - 10 year anniversary

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‘Lorem ipsum’, for too long the de facto choice for designers starved of actual content, will today be replaced (where I can get away with it) by my superior Ipsum, ‘Volvo Ipsum’; a dummy text so safe and reliable that you don’t even need to wear a seatbelt (or have a college degree) to use it.

The house style of coherent incoherence produced by randomly concatenated words really suits me and allows me to disguise my true knowledge of, among other things, Volvo’s in general and cars in particular.

Before we tuck in to a couple of stanzas of Volvo Ipsum, let’s take a glance at the competition.

First up to bat is the unapologetic Cheese Ipsum. Not from a culture of cheese-centric dishes I found the whole thing a little rich for my taste, pausing to rehydrate between sentences. A vegan option would have been appreciated but absolutely not essential. Despite this my favourite excerpt remains ‘when the cheese comes out everybody’s happy.’ I am clearly missing a trick as a host.

Next up, the indomitable Hipster Ipsum with its impressive vocabulary and mouthwatering authenticity. Favourite excerpts include ‘cold pressed vapourware’, and ‘hoodie trust fund hell of a roof party.’ A first class Ipsum.

By no means the runner up we have Online Dating Ipsum. Heavy on the insecurity. A mixture of word soup and direct cries for help. The scrambly nature of Ipsum only adds to the sense of paranoia and anxiety in this case. Favourite excerpt: ‘I love the smell of someone who shares my sense of humour.’

By now, I hope you’ve sensed a theme. While lacking in a banality that makes Lorem Ipsum ‘instantly recognisable yet instantly forgettable,’ they are all cohesive in their fragmented, exaggerated and repetitive way.

Will Volvo Ipsum hold its own? Will it make too much sense, or not enough sense? Will it strike a chord with other Volvo owners or will I be laughed out of the forums from where so many insights were obtained?

> Volvo ipsum krona sit amet, abba brick flying wardrobe corner helvete. Villa, Volvo, vovve, guzzle gas low mileage meatball wagon flat bed. One previous owner, careful seat belt cruise is that your dad’s car? Swedish steel side impact billy bookcase three-point long boat protection system.
>
> Headlamp wipers Val Hala Gothenburg we roll next stop Stocksund. Family friendly long weekend fastest tractor rearward-facing Child Safety Seat. Adjustable lumbar support graduated college. Flatpack crumple zone bullet proof grand luxe executive. Four-door, five-door, tailgate no tow bar active chassis special place for the fuel filler cap. Smart.

To create this Ipsum I would like to thank: One global pandemic, my partner Sarah (an Ikea evangelist), my Volvo ‘Vlad’, Swedish chum Ebba, and various Youtube holes.