Design During The Middle Ages

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During the Middle Ages, didactic design considerations emerged that were of great importance – often having a strong link to historical events at the time. Some of these designs also have an influence on contemporary product design. This essay will show, through analysis and discussion of several designs from the medieval era, as well as some historical background to the time period of the designs, how morally-instructive (didactic) design considerations came about during the Middle Ages and of what importance they were during this period. This essay will also discuss how contemporary product design is influenced and affected by the designs from that time period.
This essay will focus on the following examples of design to support discussions: …show more content…

During the medieval period, stained-glass was not considered as a mere building material, but rather a medium for portraying a theme, much like painting on canvas (Saint-Saens, 1995; 127). Commonly these windows depicted Biblical parables, allegories and figures (Korzilius, 1999).
The image of an early 13th century stained glass window in the Trinity Chapel of Canterbury Cathedral depicts one of St Thomas Becket’s miracles. The story is shown starting in the bottom, read from left to right, then continues in the top row and finally in the middle row (Web Art Gallery; 2016).
Just like the architectural and decorative symbolism of the rest of the cathedral, stained-glass formed an integral part of the didactic design considerations at the time. The importance of its role lies in its help to those unable to read (Saint-Saens, 1995; 127). As was often the case in the middle ages, many – especially those of lower classes – were illiterate and were therefore unable to read the Bible. By depicting parables and morally-instructive stories for the Bible on a simple, understandable level, stained-glass windows showed how to live a “holy” live.
DIDACTIC DESIGN IN FURNITURE – The Cathedra of Bishop Elias …show more content…

No longer is it used by designers to instruct others about the morality as was done in medieval times. This is likely due to the shift in focus from conforming to a single religion – with this religion forming to core a person’s life – to a focus on individuality and accommodating all religions and cultures. That said didactic design may affect us in ways free from the religious aspect. The idea of using imagery and symbolism to convince others to agree with us is quite common in our time. It is often used by graphic designers in an advertisement of a product or in the design of an eye-catching poster. It is also used by satire cartoonists meaning to spread their opinion – for example “Zapiro” and “Madan & Eve” that reflect political

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