The Green Umbrella
27 May 2008
I was in Bencoolen Street today for a meeting with Aun from Ate Consulting at a cafe in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. After the meeting, it started to rain so I stopped by the National Library to avoid getting drenched as the backpack with my MacBook Pro in it isn’t water-proof.
I went up to the 11th floor to use the restroom. One could see the streets below on the upper storey lift lobbies. The rain got heavier and the scene of the streets below me was as though they had been smothered by fog from dry ice. It was pretty and mesmerizing.
I couldn’t wait so I decided to see if I could beat the rain. As if someone knew I needed an umbrella, I found a green one in a trash bin near the taxi stand. It was wet and its handle (the inverted J type) had been almost broken, someone had been using it roughly before and abandoned it. I took the umbrella out of the bin and broke off its handle. It was a little awkward to use as the shaft was considerably shorter, but it could get the job done. The small umbrella finally got me half-drenched and to the other side of the road after I waited at the traffic light for at least half a minute. I thought to myself… the umbrella did its job quite well without its handle which was the interface between it and myself. The handle’s other purpose would be as a hanger. What can be done to make the handle more meaningful and purposeful so people would take better care of it?
Suddenly I recalled an umbrella handle design by Naoto Fukasawa, in which a shallow groove was made over the arc of the handle so people using the umbrella as a walking stick when it isn’t raining can hang plastic bags securely over the groove. It is a simple yet smart design. You can even make it yourself using a round file. Design is a wonderful thing indeed.
Although I am half-drenched, it is better than getting my MacBook Pro wet. I thank the person who left the umbrella at the library. After using it, I left it on a bin in Bugis Junction, hoping it will shelter the next person like how it sheltered me.
I couldn’t find a reference image to Naoto Fukasawa’s umbrella design online but you can find it mentioned in these videos below. The images of the Naoto Fukasawa’s umbrella handle design are from the videos below.