Comments on: the exactitudes project

By: exactitudes, part deux | bits and bobbins

exactitudes, part deux | bits and bobbins — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:01:20 +0000

[...] post exactitudes, part deux, because, whatdaya know, it seems i wrote about the exactitudes project way back in early 2008…but it seems to be making the internet rounds again. and for good reason, as the project is [...]

By: Fenke

Fenke — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:04:06 +0000

that is so funny – to see that even people who think of themselves as ‘indie’ end up wearing some sort of uniform.

By: Alexa

Alexa — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:11:15 +0000

Moooi (a Dutch furniture/lighting/accessory design company) uses these exactitudes in their catalogs and as part of their philosophy. http://www.moooi.com

By: Els

Els — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:45:11 +0000

The book “Exactitudes” is available for less money at the Dutch book supplier http://www.bol.com price is Euro â‚¬ 32,50

By: c.lorraine

c.lorraine — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 04:06:13 +0000

Thanks for posting about this! I read about Exactitudes a few years ago and have thought of it often since but could not remember the name!

By: hoyan

hoyan — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:12:28 +0000

i remember seeing some of these a few years ago- they’re even more powerful in person. the one with the red pants really makes me laugh, i know a couple of guys like that!

i really like this exactitudes project because it shows that even though these people are so similar, they are so individual. and i love looking at the language of their appearance which they can fine-tune because of those similarities.

By: Katrin

Katrin — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:28:04 +0000

I love the wide range of ages and sizes (and genders, ethnicities, etc). Much as I like to look at street fashion photos and always find something to admire, the limited range of physical types leaves little for some of us to identify with. these and these are some gorgeous examples that I can aspire to. I just wish there were larger versions I could print out for inspiration.

By: Gwen

Gwen — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:23:59 +0000

This is very interesting. I consider the human mind’s tendency to categorize to be one of humankind’s greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses simultaneously.

It is a strength, because it allows us to “know” a lot of information about things and situations without having to start from scratch each time. You go into a new restaurant and you automatically have a set of expectations as to what is going to happen, in roughly what order, what you need to do and what you are going to get. That’s because your mental category of “restaurant” is full of relevant information that you can apply in this “new” situation.

We’d never get anywhere in life if we had to treat each new instance of a thing and each new, slightly different situation as if it was completely foreign and we were clueless about its properties, uses, likely events, etc. Imagine if you couldn’t apply anything you know about driving your current car to a new car, because they aren’t the same car. The reason you can hop into a new car and drive it is because your brain categorizes.

Once you know enough about something to assign it to a category, all of the information in that category gets applied to that thing and you get all this advantage / benefit for “free” – you don’t have to put in the effort to gather additional information and learn about that thing before you can interact with it.

At the same time, it’s this inherent drive to categorize that leads to some of humankind’s most shameful atrocities – like prejudice and genocide. We don’t see individuals, we don’t see other people who share things with us (like loving our children and wanting the best for them) – we see members of another group and once we associate negative things with that group, it’s easy to justify (to ourselves) doing something horrible to a person who belongs to that group…

Thanks for bringing this up – it’s a thought provoking topic and I’m looking forward to seeing what others have to say about it too!

–Gwen

By: jesse

jesse — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:54:27 +0000

Wow, that’s crazy. I would love to see it in person.

By: Angie Montreal

Angie Montreal — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:53:44 +0000

Wow, I find this sooooo interesting! As I travel a lot for work, I find I often notice various subcultures in each city, and from an outsiders perspective I definitely see their outfits as a sort of uniform.

I personally don’t feel as though I fit in any one group, although I feel there are certain groups I am definitely NOT part of. (ie. I am NEVER preppy or goth, not to put them down, I’m just not). Some of the categories I would consider myself to be a part of are “vintage girl”, “minimal girl”, “dreamy pastel girl” or sometimes “retro tomboy girl”. Amongst many others I guess. I like way too many styles to limit myself to one!