Design can be both the outcome and instigator of social change. Despite Designer George Nelson’s accuracy in claiming that ‘design is a response to social change’, he neglects to mention that it can also trigger it. In contemporary society, all aspects of our environments have been designed for a particular purpose in order to cater to certain social needs or changes. It can be theorized that there is an endless cycle between the influence of social change on design, as well as the influence of design on social change. This is evident through analysis of designs, the social change that influenced them and the social change that resulted from them. This theory can be evidenced through the analysis of skyscrapers and prisons as well as the design of the wheel and smartphones, their social influences such as the Industrial Revolution and the Modernist Movement, and their impacts.
First of all, it is important to acknowledge that design incorporates more than the fashion and architectural aspects that many people believe it to be. Design can be viewed as a part of everything we use and see. Whether it’s the park you visit, the building you live in and all the products and furniture, hospitals, the machinery inside them, and basically everything we use has been particularly designed; not only aesthetically, but also to function the way they do. As such, these designs are potent responses to social change but, as products and designs we use on a day-to-day basis, it is obvious that these designs will concurrently influence social change as well.
Skyscrapers are a prime example of ways in which design can be both a response to and instigator of social change. Skyscrapers began in urban areas in the 1880s as a result to the increase of...
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...fluential designs of time. The social response to the design of the iPhone is potent and undeniable. This instance alone provides enough evidence to suggest that, whilst design responds to social change, social change also responds to designs.
Ultimately, considering the nature of globally renowned designs in this day and age; skyscrapers, the wheel, prisons and smartphones, it can be determined that design responds to social change simultaneously to social change responding to design. It can be drawn that both social change and design are dependable on one another and hence form a continuous cycle. The social changes in terms of materials, demands, desires and beliefs on a global scale, have all prompted designs equally as much as skyscrapers, wheels, prisons and smartphones have instigated social change. The analysis and evidence mentioned has made this evident.
With health and wellness as a topic that is still very relevant as there become more urban developments, it is valid proof that Wright’s and Olmsted’s design principles and theories are useful precedents for contemporary designers.
Lawson, Bryan. How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified. 4th ed. Oxford: Architectural Press, 2006.
Lawson, Bryan. How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified. NY: Architectural Press, 1980, 2007. Massachusetts: NECSI Knowledge Press, 2004.
Avi Friedman. 1995. The Evolution of Design Characteristics during the Post-Second World War Housing Boom: The U.S. Experience. Journal of Design History. Volume: 8. Issue: 2.
I view the world from the sociological perspective of social interactionism, which uses symbols to view human interaction (Henslin, 2013). A symbol can be anything a person assigns a meaning to (Henslin, 2013). For instance, the symbol of a bed might conjure an image the person’s bed at home. My world is defined through a series of symbols and how I perceive those symbols. For example, in my mind, the symbol of a smart phone equates to an image of an iPhone. This view of a smart phone is influenced by popular culture and my own personal experiences. In the United States, I observed that many people have an iPhone for a smart phone instead of a Samsung Galaxy or another type of smart phone. For a while, even I had an iPhone. When my dad informed me that my new smart phone would be a Samsung Galaxy S4, I was upset. I did not want to learn how to use the Samsung Galaxy. I also argued that it would be too big to fit in my pocket. Eventually, I got used to my Samsung Galaxy but I still feel sad that I did not have the latest
A disregard for social consequences: Social constructivist writing explains how technologies come to be, however it ignores the consequences of technologies and the impac...
On a positive note, there are designers who have accomplished what seems like the impossible and created spaces that stand timeless in their place. The Eiffel Tower, Grand Central Station, Sydney Opera House are just a few examples of spaces that provide a unique experience for the people and contribute to the identity of the city.
The essence of modern architecture lays in a remarkable strives to reconcile the core principles of architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society. However, it took “the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification, to establish modernism as a distinctive architectural movement” (Robinson and Foell). Although, the narrower concept of modernism in architecture is broadly characterized by simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose; the visual expression of the structure, particularly the visual importance of the horizontal and vertical lines typical for the International Style modernism, the use of industrially-produced materials and adaptation of the machine aesthetic, as well as the truth to materials concept, meaning that the true nat...
Design has established itself as core elements in societies helping countless communities build infrastructure, invent new ways to better living conditions and create design desirable for consumption hence bettering the economy. Though this is a positive, most designers of the 21st century use their skills and their designs alike for those who can afford it; designing for what’s in fact the minority, 10% of the world’s population. The reason why developmental aid and design for development is essential to improving standards of living for those who live in developing countries, but to also bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. Ilse Oosterlaken (2009, p.100) equates most designs for development that use a `participatory' process as having a limited, user-centred approach; and suggests instead a more universal design approach, which she calls ‘capability sensitive design’. This essay will illustrate designs that have contributed to developmental design through capability sensitive design approach, considering sustainable design that are not only better the environment, community health and social welfare but the country’s economic standing. Through evaluating each example’s potential for real, sufficient, diverse and lasting value for the targeted users we can determine each design’s efficiency.
The realisation that design is far too important to be left only to designers is a significant issue among design educators and designers. So its no surprise that there has been a notable change in the way designers create, approach a brief or problem. Evolving from working individually into a process that involves a more collaborative method of discovering, exchanging and understanding among a number of people that are not just designers. Such methods are now being largely taken up by various design communities, such as participatory design. IDEO's CEO, Tim Brown is well known for the discussion and championing of his thoughts on participatory design and various linking concepts in his book 'Change By Design'. With further contemplation and researching on this particular approach, it becomes evident that it is closely linked and is able to play a significant role in creating universal designs. I find this a very interesting concept that has been growing in popularity; in which the aim is to appeal to everyone and exclude none. It seemingly sounds like a difficult task, with the philosophy of designing a world that can be shared, accessible to all, regardless of ability, disability and age. This brings to me to question how attainable universal design is and the issues in chasing this goal. Thus this paper discusses and questions how so is the participatory design method suitable? What are the issues and if is this approach is effective to help create a product that can be acknowledged as a universal design?
Hegeman, J. (2008). The Thinking Behind Design. Master Thesis submitted to the school of design, Carngie Mellon University. Retrieved from: http://jamin.org/portfolio/thesis-paper/thinking-behind-design.pdf.
Design has major impact with concerns to environmental qualities. This field is a direct study of the relationship between behaviouristic actions of its inhabitants. Designers constantly interact with people and communicate to solve the needs of their clients regardless of large or small scale projects. Analysis is key in combining creativity with managerial design solutions. These outside-of-the-box designers have the ability to create beautiful, safe and functional and aesthetically pleasing spaces using common factors, designing for communities as well as,
... architectures would led to a more organic organization beneficial to the people that choose to make their lives in this city. Although this model of a sustainable city is not a perfectly closed loop, it lays the foundation for one that is. Over time, with constantly evolving and improving technology and new methods of design from the scale of products to buildings, the gaps in the loop could be closed, and a “true” sustainable city could be fully realized.
However, architecture is not just the future, after all, buildings are intended to be viewed, traversed and lived by us, people. Despite this, many architects today rarely think deeply about human nature, disregarding their main subject matter in favour for efficiency and an architecture of spectacle. In this there seems to be a misconception that underlies much of architecture, that is, human’s relationship with the city, the building and nature. In much of today’s architecture, people are treated with as much concern much as we treat cars, purely mechanically. The post-modern search for the ‘new’ and ‘novel’ has come to disregard the profound affect design has on our lives, impacting our senses, shaping our psyche and disposition.
...But however some engineers often love to challenge themselves by making plans that balance functional value of aesthetic appeal. In communities they emphasize contemporary design structure, engineers often renovate or rebuild more creative structures where older, more traditional structures once stood.