History Of Design

AY2018/2019 Semester 1

This introductory course covers key movements and events in the evolution of Interaction Design, Product Design and Visual Communication. In Interaction Design, you will survey the work and ideas of artists and designers who have explored interactive media, as well as the scientists, engineers and mathematicians who have developed information technologies. You will study the histories of certain technologies which have come to define the medium of personal computer and human-computer interaction. For Product Design, you will explore how design trends and movements are formed in the contexts of history, emphasizing human relationships between designed objects, visual imageries, art & design movements, science, technology, culture and society. In Visual Communication, you will gain a historical awareness of graphic design and its relationship to technology and industry practice. You will analyse design and designers from various eras through practice and theoretical research projects. This course will equip you with a solid foundation in design history and theory, and inform further study in contemporary design practice. Course Introduction and overview At the introduction to this course you will be introduced to an overview of how Interaction, Product, and Visual Communication each contribute to the history of design. You will then attend three sections where you will study each of these areas in 4-week blocks. Interaction Design In History of Interaction in Design you will explore the key principles of interaction. Firstly, the reciprocal exchange between the viewer and the artwork with the ability to manipulate media and objects intuitively. Secondly, The non-sequential linking of information, events, and discrete media. And thirdly, the experience of entering a multi-sensory representation of three-dimensional space. These three themes will be referred to as Interactivity, Hypermedia, and Immersion. ? Interactivity: This topic explores the evolution of the graphical user interface and the technical, aesthetic, and cognitive concepts behind human-computer interactions, and their influence on the art, design and application of interactive media. ? Hypermedia: A discussion of the evolution of hypermedia and the non-linear association of information resulting in the changing spatial and temporal boundaries in interactive media design. ? Immersion: An exploration of the evolution of virtual reality and 3D virtual space: multimedia as an immersive experience that engages multiple senses. Product Design In History of Product Design you will explore how objects and the built environment are produced in response to changes in thinking and ideas. These ideas evolve according to human values, contexts and conditions. Rationales and qualities of objects change, with new relationships being formed with individuals, societies and ecology, over the flow of the significant timelines: ? The Industrial revolution ? Design Reform Movements in Europe and America ? Modernism & Post Modernism across the Atlantic ? The Conceptual in Art & Design ? Discursive & Immaterial Frontiers Visual Communication In Visual Communication you will focus chiefly on the history and development of graphic design. This course facilitates you in locating, critically evaluating and presenting a variety of historical information from a variety of sources. Through an active learning strategy this course intends to engage you with design?s vast visual library and its social, political and technological contexts in order to underpin creative practice. Contemporary designers take inspiration from many sources and exploring graphic design?s past is one proven method of expanding visual vocabulary. The course will provide a concise overview of Graphic Design history focusing on the following periods: ? The Visual Word ? The Industrial Revolution ? The Modernist Era ? The Age of Information Student Presentations In each section, Interaction, Product, and Visual Communication, you will deliver a 10 minute group presentation supported by a handout.