In celebration of the last posting for this course and consequently this blog for, er, ever? I have decided to do away with the theme! Sorry folks, that's it! The last batch was posted yesterday! If you can all manage to carry on through the tears of sadness, which I'm sure you all have right now, I'm going to start the actual post. Apparently there was four total reading reflections for this course...? I'm not sure though; I couldn't find that information on the blog site, I just happened to be reviewing grades through Carmen when I discovered a couple of 0's. Oh well I guess. Here is the last segment for that series though, and thankfully, the last assignment for Design 200!
Chapter 9: Contexts
Well, chapter nine begins by discussing where and how design can be found. The field is so broad and diverse that it can't be viewed like a typical professional trade (the book gave examples such as law and medicine). By this I mean, design means so many things, standardized rules and regulations just don't work very well for designers. Never the less, design does have its applications and conforms to some patterns. A prime example would be the business world. Here, there are many, many different ways to structure and organize design, but the applications are the same: a list of rules and criteria are established (guidelines for creativity, if you will) and from there, it is left up to the team of designers to work their magic. Some companies police the designers harder than others of course, but all designs serve one ultimate goal in this realm: to make the company a profit. Of course, business isn't the only field which employs designers. Government (and economies) reflect design as well, on a macro scale to be sure.
Chapter 10: Futures
Where is the field of design headed? The book includes two recurring patterns: variations upon what design means when applied, as well as the effect of technology. Take for example computer software. How many people are graphic designers, working on striking computer generated visuals or designing captivating web page displays? None of this would have been possible in the past without computers and their programs. Industrial systems and process involve complex machinery which need to be designed to work. Even the applied process of design changes with the future; instead of one person or a small team collaborating to do an entire project, tasks are now divided and separated. The chapter discusses in length the effect of the modern world countries upon the 'Third World' countries. Can design help these nations? Can it come up with ways to avoid exploiting cheap labor elsewhere? It seems the chapter focuses heavily on the possible applications of design in the future. Almost as if design has an obligation to create a better and more efficient tomorrow while protecting the very people it serves. And it seems to rely heavily on the technology which we can create today and in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment