Essay Undergraduate 512 words

Design, Consumerism, and the Everyday: Hunt's Critique

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Abstract

This paper analyzes Jamer Hunt's essay "Just Re-Do It: Tactical Formlessness and Everyday Consumption," focusing on his critique of consumerism-driven design. Using the World Trade Center as a symbol of the monumental, Hunt contrasts iconic architecture with the numbing ubiquity of everyday consumer spaces such as fast food restaurants and chain hotels. The paper examines how McDonald's recent design overhaul responds — however imperfectly — to the tensions Hunt identifies between form, function, and consumerism. It considers whether redesigned spaces can transcend the mundane or merely create the illusion of exclusivity, concluding with a reflection on how franchise design might engage more meaningfully with its local surroundings.

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What makes this paper effective

The paper grounds its analysis in a specific theoretical text, using Hunt's concepts — the "abyss," the "rupture," and the "corrosive" power of the everyday — as interpretive lenses applied to a real-world example.
It moves fluidly from abstract theory to concrete visual evidence, connecting academic argument to the observable redesign of McDonald's restaurants.
The paper maintains a critical perspective throughout, acknowledging the redesign effort while questioning whether it can truly escape the mundane quality Hunt critiques.

Key academic technique demonstrated

The paper demonstrates applied textual analysis: it introduces a theorist's argument, extracts key concepts with quoted support, and then tests those concepts against a contemporary real-world case. This technique — using theory as a diagnostic tool rather than merely summarizing it — is a hallmark of effective humanities and design criticism writing.

Structure breakdown

The essay opens by establishing Hunt's central contrast (monumental vs. mundane), then elaborates his framework for everyday consumer design. It pivots to McDonald's as a case study, first describing the redesign positively, then critiquing its limitations through Hunt's lens. The conclusion gestures toward a constructive alternative: franchise designs that respond to local context. The argument arc moves from theory → observation → critique → possibility.

The Monumental vs. the Mundane

Jamer Hunt offers a critique of consumerism-driven design in Just Re-Do It: Tactical Formlessness and Everyday Consumption. Using the World Trade Center as a symbol of the extraordinary, Hunt reveals the "abyss," or the "rupture between the monumental and the mundane" (57). The World Trade Center twin towers were essentially everything that Walmart is not. Even on a purely visual level, the two structures differ fundamentally in principle: the twin towers were astonishingly vertical, in stark contrast to the unrelenting horizontality of a Walmart store (Hunt 57). Building on this imagery, Hunt provides a compelling explanation for how design can either conform to the "corrosive" power of the everyday or literally rise above it (71).

Everyday Design and Consumer Culture

The first few paragraphs of Hunt's essay provide the foundation for his argument. Referring to fast food restaurants and chain hotels as everyday design elements, Hunt states, "They may not represent the apotheosis of Western Civilization and yet they are — through their numbing ubiquity — the essence of our consumer society" (57). Designers straddle a fine line between form and function. All design must ultimately be functional, lest it transform itself into art. Yet when design descends into the mundane mess of consumerism, it becomes as aesthetically impoverished as a McDonald's.

McDonald's Design Overhaul

Interestingly, McDonald's and other fast food chains appear to have taken note of what Hunt and other design theorists are saying. McDonald's has undergone a significant makeover in recent years. Without the golden arches displayed prominently, a viewer might scarcely recognize the space as a fast food restaurant. Instead, the décor resembles a typical corporate lounge or an airport waiting area. Gone are the old-fashioned swivel chairs; in their place are comfortable, colorful cushioned seats with personal tables. This fast food restaurant redesign reflects a broader industry trend toward more inviting and visually sophisticated consumer spaces.

2 Locked Sections · 150 words remaining

The Limits of Redesign · 80 words

"Why redesign cannot fully escape the mundane"

Beyond the Ubiquitous: Local Design as a Path Forward · 70 words

"Franchise design adapting to local context as solution"

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Key Concepts in This Paper

Everyday Design Consumer Culture Monumental Architecture Tactical Formlessness Design Critique Franchise Aesthetics Form and Function Ubiquity Local Context Consumerism