C15 Knowledge of history of design
Although my degree was fundamentally a design based course we never really learnt about the history of design. I think that this was probably because we were not really designing or creating products like the ones you tend to produce and generate in Design and Technology. Therefore for this reason, I have marked this section of the audit as '1' meaning no knowledge or little knowledge. I hope to be able to develop this further within my time on the course and understand why this area of the audit is relevant to the subject of Design and Technology.
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My initial understanding of the term 'KNOWLEDGE OF HISTORY OF DESIGN'
As I have already mentioned I have not past experiences in this area of the audit but I can almost understand what it may entail. I would say that this area generally translates to the following areas;
I think as a Design and Technology student or teacher it is important to be aware of these things because designs and products are constantly changing, I would say that it is important also to conduct research into how your proposed concepts have change throughout time especially if set a Design innovation project or brief. If you look at existing projects it can allow you to not only see the change over time but also hopefully understand how you can create a better outcome.
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As I have already mentioned I have not past experiences in this area of the audit but I can almost understand what it may entail. I would say that this area generally translates to the following areas;
- How design has change over time
- How designs have influenced change
- The different movements that have occurred throughout time and the ways in which they have altered designs and products
- How new advances in technology has shaped designs
I think as a Design and Technology student or teacher it is important to be aware of these things because designs and products are constantly changing, I would say that it is important also to conduct research into how your proposed concepts have change throughout time especially if set a Design innovation project or brief. If you look at existing projects it can allow you to not only see the change over time but also hopefully understand how you can create a better outcome.
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What I have learnt and what I now understand
We had a taught session today about the history of design and I have without a doubt learnt a great deal already about this area of the audit. I think that my initial understanding of this area was not exactly wrong at all but there are other aspects that I think I did not even consider. For example I learnt that War has a huge impact on design, as it creates jobs for designers to create better products than their enemies. In the second world war for instance designers and engineers were employed to create better and faster weapons and planes in the bid to win. I have also learnt and discovered that good designers can really impact a countries development and economic growth and a good example of this would be the rise of America in the 1930's. There were a number of designers that belonged to the Bauhaus group in Germany who moved over to America and their designs were then created and developed even further from furniture to architecture.
I found the lesson today helpful but what I wanted to find out more about the timeline itself and see if I could understand more about it without looking at a Powerpoint presentation. I decided to research online to see if there were any videos about this and found a very good interactive website that focused on designs events and movements from the 1900's to 1959.
This really helped me understand and learn more about the history itself and because of it's easy functionality and the way in which it displays the information visually and as a result of this I was able to gain more out of it as a learner. Here is the link http://designhistorytimeline.com/
As I have progressed with exploring this area of the audit I have also realised that the different movements and eras of design were and can be communicated in various ways. Advertising, marketing, commercial artworks, packaging, cinema and posters are all aspects in which designs can be introduced and influence future design.
So far I have learnt about the importance of design history, how it has changed and the various issues that can effect and impact movements and designs themselves such as the Second World War. Whats more, I now apprehend by researching and seeking inspiration about these different movements or generally being aware of the content, it can inspire and influence you as a designer within your own work, in turn it can also aid development in your initial ideas.
We had a taught session today about the history of design and I have without a doubt learnt a great deal already about this area of the audit. I think that my initial understanding of this area was not exactly wrong at all but there are other aspects that I think I did not even consider. For example I learnt that War has a huge impact on design, as it creates jobs for designers to create better products than their enemies. In the second world war for instance designers and engineers were employed to create better and faster weapons and planes in the bid to win. I have also learnt and discovered that good designers can really impact a countries development and economic growth and a good example of this would be the rise of America in the 1930's. There were a number of designers that belonged to the Bauhaus group in Germany who moved over to America and their designs were then created and developed even further from furniture to architecture.
I found the lesson today helpful but what I wanted to find out more about the timeline itself and see if I could understand more about it without looking at a Powerpoint presentation. I decided to research online to see if there were any videos about this and found a very good interactive website that focused on designs events and movements from the 1900's to 1959.
This really helped me understand and learn more about the history itself and because of it's easy functionality and the way in which it displays the information visually and as a result of this I was able to gain more out of it as a learner. Here is the link http://designhistorytimeline.com/
As I have progressed with exploring this area of the audit I have also realised that the different movements and eras of design were and can be communicated in various ways. Advertising, marketing, commercial artworks, packaging, cinema and posters are all aspects in which designs can be introduced and influence future design.
So far I have learnt about the importance of design history, how it has changed and the various issues that can effect and impact movements and designs themselves such as the Second World War. Whats more, I now apprehend by researching and seeking inspiration about these different movements or generally being aware of the content, it can inspire and influence you as a designer within your own work, in turn it can also aid development in your initial ideas.
For design and make I was in some sense influenced by Andy Warho's work where he takes ordinary objects such as a soup can, or a bottle of coke and creates a piece of art from them.
For my storage cabinet, I decided to use various brands of fizzy drinks to create a piece of art. So in some sense although it does not necessarily display a clear movement or particular time frame to users at first. Andy Warhol was an artist that was a key influence within my making and designing.
For my storage cabinet, I decided to use various brands of fizzy drinks to create a piece of art. So in some sense although it does not necessarily display a clear movement or particular time frame to users at first. Andy Warhol was an artist that was a key influence within my making and designing.
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Analysis of new gained knowledge and the next step
Now that I have had the opportunity to engage in this area further I feel as if I understand it much more and hopefully this section of the audit has documented this evidence of development.
I can now understand the importance of the history of design and it's role in the subject of Design and Technology. What's more I also comprehend how design has changed because of movements, economic growth, war's and also technology itself. It is clear that design movements and periods can have a major influence on students own work and also is a good way to seek inspiration as part of your development within a new design and make project.
I felt that as a learner I was most successful when I researching this area, luckily I found some very useful sources such as the design timeline. This helped me so much when learning as it allowed me to interact with the content even more. I know that I learn better through visuals, although Bhav's sessions helped me learn and was a very good introduction to the area, I felt that I needed to go away more and find out what it was all about myself. I think that this in itself has made it more clear to me that in order to obtain a better understanding in a unknown area you must explore and research effectively. I knew this from the start but with this area it is less practical so in some respects you need to look in other ways and make allowances.
During this time I think I was less successful in displaying a strong link to a particular movement within my own work, although this was not necessarily specified within the brief set, I feel that could have made it more clear to my users and audience as to how I obtained my influence. I never documented it within my portfolio which almost makes it unclear as well to any examiner or tutor. I feel that what I need to do as well when faced with such a vast area like this is to understand the basic principles of it or at least recognise what is important and not. In my opinion, There is no point in spending huge amounts of time reading about the history of design and what happened when, why it happened and how, its being able to identify the key concepts and the importance of it within the subject of Design and Technology.
My next step now to develop further I feel is to be able to illustrate within my designs how I got to the final design. This can be achieved through my own documentation and portfolio. I would also like to understand the principles in design and progress in technology as well as the effect of Design and technology on our own lives. I think that these two areas are most important when it comes down to this part of the audit.
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Analysis of new gained knowledge and the next step
Now that I have had the opportunity to engage in this area further I feel as if I understand it much more and hopefully this section of the audit has documented this evidence of development.
I can now understand the importance of the history of design and it's role in the subject of Design and Technology. What's more I also comprehend how design has changed because of movements, economic growth, war's and also technology itself. It is clear that design movements and periods can have a major influence on students own work and also is a good way to seek inspiration as part of your development within a new design and make project.
I felt that as a learner I was most successful when I researching this area, luckily I found some very useful sources such as the design timeline. This helped me so much when learning as it allowed me to interact with the content even more. I know that I learn better through visuals, although Bhav's sessions helped me learn and was a very good introduction to the area, I felt that I needed to go away more and find out what it was all about myself. I think that this in itself has made it more clear to me that in order to obtain a better understanding in a unknown area you must explore and research effectively. I knew this from the start but with this area it is less practical so in some respects you need to look in other ways and make allowances.
During this time I think I was less successful in displaying a strong link to a particular movement within my own work, although this was not necessarily specified within the brief set, I feel that could have made it more clear to my users and audience as to how I obtained my influence. I never documented it within my portfolio which almost makes it unclear as well to any examiner or tutor. I feel that what I need to do as well when faced with such a vast area like this is to understand the basic principles of it or at least recognise what is important and not. In my opinion, There is no point in spending huge amounts of time reading about the history of design and what happened when, why it happened and how, its being able to identify the key concepts and the importance of it within the subject of Design and Technology.
My next step now to develop further I feel is to be able to illustrate within my designs how I got to the final design. This can be achieved through my own documentation and portfolio. I would also like to understand the principles in design and progress in technology as well as the effect of Design and technology on our own lives. I think that these two areas are most important when it comes down to this part of the audit.
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Further Development
Previously when I last explored this area I mentioned that I would like to deep digger into the principles behind the changes of design and progress in technology and the effect of design and technology on our lives. I have in fact been able to research further into this area and as a result I have learnt a great deal more and because of this my understanding is better.
Previously when I last explored this area I mentioned that I would like to deep digger into the principles behind the changes of design and progress in technology and the effect of design and technology on our lives. I have in fact been able to research further into this area and as a result I have learnt a great deal more and because of this my understanding is better.
Changes in design and progress in technology
Just through my own research and looking at examples of products I know that the things we use today have evolved from products first produced a long time ago, and developments have often been slow because of the strong influence of existing designs and also because people are sometimes reluctant to accept major steps forward and change.
A good example of this can be seen in the motor car. It illustrates how design has evolved over many years. Changes from year to year may be small but the difference between current models and the carriage-like originals are now very marked.
I have been able to understand that change is controlled by two basic principles:
- The development of technology which presents new opportunities for design
- Social changes in society, this are the changes in the needs of people who buy the products
Therefore it is clear that design is influenced and shaped by the demands of people and the changes in technology. I would say that these are a key principles within this area of the audit. Another factor to consider that contribute to change is materials, as new materials immerse into the industry as do the change in products. - Bhav actually mentioned something about this when we were looking at a section of old cameras that she had brought in.
The effect of design and technology on our own lives
Through my own research and projects I have identified, that in deciding how to use the resources available to use, the design must sometimes make decision which could potentially change lives. For instance, we must choose between the conservation of open spaces and the need for more homes, factories and roads. Design and technology has the power to make or destroy the future, because the results of a mistake when tackling projects of this size could be catastrophic.
In our own projects this is not really applicable, but when a project becomes bigger then this is when it can increase the changes of mistakes happening. For example, in the 1950's decisions was made to re-house thousands of people in high-rise blocks of flats in the bid to save land, which in turn would provided more open spaces and prevent towns getting ever larger. In some places this was proved as a mistake - not only were tthe buildings more complicated and more expensive to build than initially expected, but they often failed to provide the good low-cost housing which was needed and were unpopular with people who lived in them.
As a result many people blame these type of housing as result in the increase of social problems such as vandalism, benevolence and so forth. Now, less people are willing to live in these types of flats and in some cases some buildings that are only a few years old are knocked down.
As I have mentioned this particular case is not necessarily applicable in terms of our work and the schemes of work students would be doing. But, I now realise that it is important for students to understand that the decisions designers make will impact users overall all and this highlights the importance of not only the users, but also the impacts and effects new technology and materials and even change can have on the society dynamics of society.
Referring to Design history within my own work...
In my own projects I have completed a lot of research into chairs, and it has been useful to see how chairs have changed in time. The same principles apply, but the demands of the users change and as new technology and materials are introduced to the market. With that the chair needs to meet the demands of both the user and also the market.
Although the designs have change gradually, the chair still includes and meets the same principles. It has base for the person to seat on, a back to support someone's back whilst seating and some sort of frame to allow it to stand alone. .
In my own projects I have completed a lot of research into chairs, and it has been useful to see how chairs have changed in time. The same principles apply, but the demands of the users change and as new technology and materials are introduced to the market. With that the chair needs to meet the demands of both the user and also the market.
Although the designs have change gradually, the chair still includes and meets the same principles. It has base for the person to seat on, a back to support someone's back whilst seating and some sort of frame to allow it to stand alone. .