I have fallen off the wagon a little when it comes to the readings for this class, but since all the cafes shut down (and with it my job), I’ve had a little extra time on my hands and I have been flicking through the different books and images that Karen assigned to us. In this post, I am going to post a few of my favourite articles, quotes and images that I have consumed in the past couple of weeks.
1. ‘What is a Designer?’ by Bruno Namari
‘The designer is therefore the artist of today, not because he is a genius but because he works in such a way as to re-establish contact between art and the public. He responds to the human needs of his time and helps people to solve certain problems without stylistic preconceptions or false notions of artistic dignity’
This article really went into great depth and detail about the role of. designer in society, offsetting them from the historic role of an artist and their purpose in recording history and following movements at the time. Rather, the designer is one of the people by helping them solve problems and issues through design, working in a sector of human activity.
2. ‘A Living Language’ by Bruno Namari
‘A rose is a rose is a rose. You go up and see it, for the sake of argument, that it is an artificial rose. Then you become aware of the material it is made out of, cloth, plastic or paper. But at first glance you were certain of one thing only, that it was a rose.’
This reading I think is trying to portray the message that in this current age we are so conditioned to everything around us, and we do it without even thinking. Moreover, the rose, no matter real or artificial or what it is made out of, is still simply a rose in the persons mind. In design, we draw on these preconceptions and held notions to create impactful designs.
3. ‘Industrialisation of Print’ by Elizabeth Wilhide
‘The Human Firefly’ by Janice Kerbel, 2007 (source: http://digbeyond.com/readme/PDF/RM_Design_Musuem_Industrialization_of_type.pdf)
I thought this poster was really cool as a recreation of what a printed material would have looked like after the early industrialisation pf print in the nineteenth century. the many different typefaces show the explosion of font that was now available and viewed by the public after the beginning of mass production.
4. ‘What is Design?’ by Charles Eames (1972)
‘What are the boundaries of design? What are the boundaries of problems? Is design a method of general expression? No. It is a method of action.’
These two statements from legendary designer Charles Eames are short but powerful. Design is only limited by the problem that is solving. He asserts that Design is an action, one that a designer undertakes, an expression of the purpose. Interestingly, when asked about the future of the design, Eames simple sent back (no answer).
5. ‘The Politics of Design’ by Paul Rand (1981)
‘Unlike the salesman, however, the designers overriding motivation is art; art in the service of business, art that enhances the quality of life and deepens the appreciation of the familiar world. Design is a problem solving activity. It provides a means of clarifying, synthesising and dramatising a word, a picture, a product or an event.’
Rand, similarly to Namari, connects designers directly with their audience. Designers serve the needs of the population, and are the artists of function, and it is about creating a design that has a purpose - people can look at it and understanding the message or information that you are trying to convey. Design is also se in layers; what may be an obvious interpretation can often have subtle or underlying messages and movements embedded in the visuals.
6. ‘How to Work Better’ by Fischli and Weiss (1991)
(source: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2016/05/how-to-work-better/)
This street installation, which was actually mentioned during the most recent lecture, is text found on a factory in Thailand and has been reproduced all around the world. The steps are simple, but hold meaning. I think everyone can learn from these 10 simple steps, that are easy to implement in our own lives. My favourite is ‘Do one thing at a time’. I am often guilty of switching between projects too quickly, and never getting into that ‘flow’ of work which we all strive for.
7. ‘To Criticise or Intervene’ by Seth Price (2009)
‘Artists rummage through the toolkits of past artists for approaches they may make use of. For those reasons, the modern idea of a renovated ruin may be more relevant for art than the nineteenth-century model of picturesque decay.’
Price holds a valid point in his article comparing historic and modern design. Is it better to look to the past, or look to the future? Price argues that the past can be beautiful, and hold importance which we can learn from, but we must create. Newness is refreshing, engaging, and will become the history of tomorrow. We may look to nostalgia and find comfort in what we already know but we will only succeed in design when we experiment and develop.
