blog assignment 7: selected posts

[excellent detail and use of personal experience] from Eric Sun:

Culture is the essence of a nation. The fine art of the culture has profound relation with contemporary design. With different culture background, design has slightly different meaning and means of expression for everyone of us. As a Chinese, the centuries-old culture is undisputed influencing my “design”.

The cultural fine art spread all over China is one of the most important parts of the national culture. With the progressively cultural exchange between China and western world, Chinese national fine art aroused enthusiasm of the art circles with each passing day. Due to the increasingly interchange and mutual learning, various new design styles have been created. These new styles which fused with the cream of the Chinese classical art and western modern elements formed a tide that is unconsciously influenced many people’s especially we international design student’s taste.

However, this kind of infusion, at a certain extent, is just very superficial, like a body without soul. Chinese national art is found on the literae humaniores. Chinese art advocates artistic conceptions of nature and harmonious. Unlike some magnificent and unrestrained design of western, Chinese national art widely uses highly pure colors like red, yellow or blue, spaced with white and black, giving an absolute and united color structure. Such as Dunhuang fresco, it indicates an effect of harmonious of holistic color, which just match the philosophy of Chinese culture – golden mean and harmony.

The way of joining two design styles is to understand the cultures. As an international design student from China, I understand the culture of China and fused it in many of my works. But to create new style of mine which fused with western art concepts, I need to learn not only the exterior, but also the deep meaning of the culture, in that case, maybe in nearly future I can have a clearer understanding of “Who I am” as a designer.

Above image is one of my first year design works.

[reflective and thoughtful in discussion of a complex issue] from Mata Freshwater:

As a designer, I feel that there is no tangible answer for me. My approach strives to be one that is a fluid process of discovering and cultivating passions, from any influence. And perhaps, this in itself is a reflection of my individual ethno-psychology. I am a female ‘Celtic Melanesian’ (a title my family made up to put on census forms), I’m a New Zealander of Solomon Island and English/Irish racial descent – so I have cultural ties to the West and the ‘other’ and I’m an agnostic (leaning towards atheism but agrees with a variety of religious ideals) who likes to play the devil’s advocate. But I don’t think these labels are appropriate reflections as who I am as a designer, but influence my perceptions and understandings of approaches and ideas.

Having and culture from a Pacific Island, ideas distinguishing between art forms aren’t there. Carving, weaving, and even being an orator aren’t separate in Roviana culture. As a result, I have intrinsically believed ideas of western craft distinctions, as forms of art and design. Like the arts and crafts movement, and the original ideas of the Bauhaus, I advocate a discourse that transcends specific realms of art, and combines a variety of influences into the creation process.

I think my interests propel me to learn about design histories, identities of other designers and approaches, in which I can assess and encompass into my ever-changing world view. This approach has me sitting on the fence, grabbing beliefs, ideas and inspiration from an abundance of contrasting viewpoints. It means that I’m constantly critiquing and re-evaluating my understanding of design and thus my approach.  I associate myself with minorities, or at least those who oppose the norm, because of a dual background of cultural shifts between gender roles, racial ideas, and religious codes. This is an influence of what I think design should be, something that isn’t lost with the modernistic conformity of Westernisation, Globalisation and Nationalism. Design shouldn’t just be a language that rises above identity, stripping out culture and individualism. But should also be a discourse that allows for individuality and the variety of the human condition to be expressed.

blog assignment 6: selected posts

from Oliver Evill:

The one and only Bauhaus

There is no doubt that The Bauhaus has been a major influence on design institutions all around the globe. Founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar 1919, the Bauhaus combined crafts and the fine arts and was well known for the approach to design that it publicized and taught.  The ideology, philosophy and pedagogy behind the Bauhaus were revolutionary in its approach to teaching design. By Unifying both the arts and crafts the Bauhaus was able to redefine the aesthetics of design.

The pedagogy of the Bauhaus varied over time however; there are several relations to the first year design program at Victoria University. For example Johannes Ittens who taught at the Bauhaus always encouraged his students to develop their own style and interest through experimentation. We see the exact same encouragement by our teachers and tutors at Victoria especially in more hands-on papers like DSDN 141, where we explore and experiment with various materials. Johannes Ittens also taught the Vorkurs or ‘preliminary course’ that was basically the introduction to the ideas of the Bauhaus. During this course students would spend a semester together and learn the different ideologies of the Bauhaus. The Vorkurs is similar to first year design at Victoria, where students would have to take different compulsory design papers that not only taught the fundamentals of design but also give them a feel of the different specializations that Victoria has to offer in second year (industrial design, Media design and Culture and Context).

Another good example is Laszlo Moholy Nagy who had more of a technology based approach when it came to design. He emphasized how technology can improve design by producing more versatile materials as appose to more traditional materials. This ideology definitely reflects in papers like DSDN 104 Digital Creation and DSDN 142 Coding. Both these papers are heavily based on computers and programs that help aid designers but also help create design that were not possible in the past.

In conclusions there are several similarities and methods that were present at the Bauhaus, which can be seen throughout my first year at Victoria University.

 +Image

http://facesofdesign.com/event/bauhaus-conceptual-model

from Devon D'Aoust 

Technology & Progress: FYD and the Deutscher Werkbund

The Bauhaus, and Deutscher Werkbund (German Arts and Crafts Society) were proponents of architecture and design reform in Germany during the 1920s through to the 1930s. Bauhaus was especially significant to modernist design and architecture, and continues to be influential in design and architecture education today. Since it is so influential in design education, are there similarities between the methods and philosophy of Bauhaus and modernist design and the first year design (FYD) programme at Victoria University of Wellington?

The answer is: yes; very much so. One of the main aims of the Deutscher Werkbund was to "help form to recover its rights", essentially placing emphasis on good use of form and craft, and using form only when it is appropriate to the function. The FYD programme places a great deal of emphasis on craft, something that can be the difference between a high quality design and one of a low quality. Much emphasis has also been placed, not only on craft, but on the concept of designers as craftsmen. The idea of creating craftsmen is one shared with the Bauhaus, who believed that it was important to break down the barriers between artists and craftsmen, integrating the two. The FYD programme has, effectively, done just that this year, with a hands-on approach to design that emphasises creation, and the idea of 'making'.

Blog assignment 4: selected posts

from Hans Kim:

Contemporary Craft: Relics

What is craft? Is it attention to detail? The fact that something is hand made? skill and experience of the builder? Materials or Methods used? I think all of these aspects can contribute to a "craft" of an object but not one can define it.Craft is more than just the tools, materials or tradition. John Ruskin describes craft as “the work of the fingers joined with good emotion and the work of the heart" but the definition of craft is left ambiguious. In my mind craft cannot and should not be defined. It should be felt.
Featured above is a brand new fender Stratocaster crafted by the most experienced master builders of the world famous fender custom shop. Costing over $7000USD per piece these "Relic" guitars are made to replicate 50 years worth of wear and tear - A process that involves meticulous calculation of every detail down to the smallest of dents and its reason for being there.
I think this represents a contemporary expression of craft because firstly the "relic" processing of guitars is a recent invention, and hence is literally a contemporary craft. And secondly because of the extraordinary consideration, care and skill that goes into ruining a perfectly fine instrument. Never before has a craft of destroying been celebrated and studied to this extent.
I think this really goes to show that craft can exist in any environment where a creative process is involved to achieve a goal. Whether to make or destroy, in space or cyberspace, for you or everyone.

from Cici Yang:

 
Craft VS. Design
Craft is the making of objects by hand while displaying great skills and mastery.  It is largely believed to be a labor-based, backward-looking and vocational activity as oppose to having the qualities of being intellectual, forward-looking and academic as found in art and design.  Despite this stigma, the status of craft in society has ebbed and flowed.  One example of this is the Arts and Crafts movement, where William Morris famously opposed the mechanisation of objects found in the Industrial Revolution.

The paper cut work shown in the picture above, created by Japanese artist Hina Aoyama, is a good example of contemporary craft.  The skills and process of making these crafts do not vary greatly from that of traditional Chinese/Japanese paper cut craft.  On the other hand, the approach of embracing contemporary typography into this traditional form of craft is very modern and refreshing.   It “re-introduces the connecting to the making that we lost with the über-designer handing off things for production to a typesetter or lithographer. It’s come full circle” - as Malcolm McCullough, the design educator puts it.

It is clear it takes a vast amount of time and effort to construct such a complex and intricate piece of work, all made with just a pair of scissors. The emotion that went into this hand made craft is self-evident and it adds an extra dimension of beauty that goes deeper than just the aesthetics of the object.  As critic Louise Schouwenberg puts it: “Craftsmanship can be valued for the psychological effect it exerts on its user.”  In addition, there are a lot of thought in integrating the modern and the traditional that went in making this unique piece of work allowing the craft to tell a narrative in its own way.  This is the perfect example where the line between craft and design begins to blur, even for the two to become in-distinguishable from each other.  

Blog Assignment 2: selected posts

from Jaz O'Donnell:

The Sensuous Impulse

The ‘sensuous impulse’ has connotations associated with the curve – feminine, seductive, unobtrusive, emotive, mysterious, sensual and playful – and a desire to appeal to the senses. Embraced and celebrated during the Rococo and Art Neuveau movements, the sensuous impulse was seen by some as the unnecessary, frivolous embellishment of design that would function perfectly well – if not better – without the curving rocaille and seductive detail added by designers of both movements.  This can be seen in the restrained, rational and rigid approach taken during the Neo-Classical and Bauhaus movements. However, despite today’s culture of mass design and mass production, the sensuous impulse is still alive – often simplified and streamlined, curves are abundant in our everyday lives. A prime example would be the coca-cola bottle – reminiscent of a woman’s silhouette, the design employs organic shapes and a sensuous impulse to create a simple, functional object. Similarly, the Cirrus Seat designed in 2008 by Zaha Hadid employs the curve as a basis for design. Like the Rococo artists of the 18^th Century, Hadid has taken the curve and used it’s sensuous qualities to create and inviting, yet aesthetically interesting design – albeit in a much less decorative way. The undulating curves of the Cirrus Seat seem to embody the modern ideal of the sensuous impulse in today’s design, creating a enigmatic, yet strangely appealing piece of design.

Cirrus Seat, 2008 - Zaha Hadid

from Wolapong Lertpisitkul:

Throughout the history of design, the sense of two different impulses is constantly opposing each other. One is the idea of straight line, rational, logical and philosophical which can be seen in Classical and Neo-classical period. Oppose of that is an idea of curves, imagination, manipulation and romance which can be seen throughout Baroque period (in-between Classical and Neo-classical) and Rococo (After Neo-classical period). The movement between these two ideas is compare able to the pendulum swing.

In the modern day this phenomenon is still occurring.  We tend to think that the object with a very little design is simpler, cleaner, stronger and functional. Therefore logically they are the best design idea to go forward into the future. However some artists, architects and designers are opposing to that idea. One of them is the architect of Disney Concert Hall (image above). His name is Frank Gehry. Frank doesn’t think that all of the building should only use geometric shapes because they make building look boring. He approaches his work with a random shapes but many people dult that the building could function properly. In the end it doesn’t matter that this building will work or not. The pendulum is still swinging.

Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Disney_Concert_Hall_by_Carol_Highsmith_edit2.jpg

Blog Assignment 1: selected posts

[The posts below were selected as an excellent examples of responses to blog assignment 1]

from Ben Pexton:

Re-usable Shopping Bags: A Shift in Design Thinking

Re-usable shopping bags are an important example of design, not only as an alternative to environmentally harmful plastic shopping bags, but as a widely used and available design item that reflects growing change in design thought. Change from cheaply produced, disposable items to those with an emphasis on re-usability. While Dieter Rams stated “good design is concerned with the environment” it is only now, as we discover the full effects of humans on the environment, that this idea takes on far more importance for designers.

from Philip Belesky:

Bernard Tschumi’s Parc de la Villette

Images from Cinegramme: Folie le Parc de La Villette (1989 Princeton Architectural Press)

This design is important as it reconsiders the conventional relationships between landscape, architecture, and urbanism. It demonstrates that architecture can operate at an urban scale without resorting to the traditional rules of composition, and that architecture finds its praxis in events, as much as space and form.

Assignment 1: brief

Sample: Assignment 1

The Eames Leg Splint: Design Innovation

Developed and designed in the early 1940s by the American industrial designers Charles and Ray Eames, the moulded leg splints (pictured on the left) are important both historically and technologically. The Eames splints represent a significant advancement in the technology and technique of bending plywood. Designed for the US Navy, the splints set an important precedent and the technology used to develop them, was applied by the Eames to the design of chairs, including the signature Eames molded plywood chair for Herman Miller. Moulded plywood is a common technique used in furniture design and manufacture today.