assignment 8 :)

1. In the Raizman reading this week we learned that Hannes Meyer, the Swiss-born architect appointed director of the Bauhaus in 1928, argued that design is a product of “function x economy”, aligning design with a scientific model driven by new technologies and manufacturing potential. Considering this week’s lecture and readings respond to the following question (approximately 150-300 words, as needed):

Do you agree or disagree with the position that design is a result of “function x economy”? Do you think design today an ‘art’ or a ‘science’? Should it be one or the other, or can it be both?

I believe that design today contains aspects of both art and science in some form, with most designers utilizing the latest technologies within their creative process. Science has created new possibilities within our design world, giving more people the ability to create, and allowing individuals to create new shapes out of interesting and unique materials.

Through science designers have also been able to calculate how to improve the function of an appliance or layout of a room. The method of standardized elements has helped produce objects/rooms of high accessibility, which is in high demand in today’s society. The science of technology is what has greatly increased the production rate of an object as well as the variety in the methods of design.

I also believe that an aura is created and surrounds the new technology that companies are placing within their designs. Largely it is this creation of aura which motivates and influences the targeted individual into purchasing the design.

Furthermore this mash up of science and art is needed by companies within our world today; as new products are compete against one another. Thus this competition leads to research, research about the science behind improving the user friendliness of their design. The design is required to be unique yet be convenient for the user or apply to their desires.

An example of designers creating objects which appeal to a targeted audience this is the eco-friendly water-powered clock. Here you can see the designer has utilized science to help create this device (as shown bellow is two examples). This clock appeals to the environmentally friendly as well as aesthetically appealing.

week 10 assignment 7

In this week’s lecture we discussed the concept of the “symbolic universe” as a cultural “structure of legitimation” capable of organizing the social world as comprehensible and connected. The structure of the symbolic universe then, places the individual in a known and knowable space. Such social structures are critical for societies in transition. Can you identify the creation of any “symbolic universe” today (or in recent years)? How might media and design be implicated in the construction of these social universes today?
Post your response in your DSDN171 blog (with an image if appropriate—not required. But if you use an image, be sure to address this image in your response.) Don’t forget you MUST also use APA referencing

Symbolic universes are seen everywhere within our world today, advertising, television shows, and gaming just to name a few.  Through the use of the gaming industry individuals are able to enter symbolic universes, and become anything they desire. These worlds are both unknown and known; an example of this is the Gran Turismo [1] series.  However these games can become so addictive that users become ‘trapped’ within these virtual worlds, playing the games for hours on end.  

With these types of symbolic universes the user gets to become anything they want, from the hero to sometimes the villain. The games allow individuals to use playing their games as an ‘escape’ from their own world. The virtual, symbolic universes created in these games are often seen as a utopia within the gamers’ eyes. The media often portrays this utopia world during the advertising of the product.

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[1] A  well known PlayStation game, where individuals are able to purchase and race cars around tracks around the world; http://www.gran-turismo.com/

week 9 assignment 6

Considering this week’s lecture and reading, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Walter Benjamin, respond to the following question;

In this week’s reading Benjamin argues, “To an ever greater degree the work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproducibility. From a photographic negative, for example, one can make any number of prints; to ask for the authentic print makes no sense.” Do you agree or disagree? Do you think there is a role for the ‘authentic’ in an age of digital design and manufacture?

Answer;

I deem that Benjamin’s belief that from digital design and new manufacturing techniques our society’s creations will begin to lose their aura and authenticity, is true to a certain extent. In order for someone to class an object as authentic it depends how harsh the viewer wants to be, as there is always an original of every work. However that mass production of the piece is what makes the individual object lose its authentic quality.

However I do believe it is becoming increasingly harder to come across a true authentic piece. As our world develops ideas are repeated, and expanded thus making it exceedingly difficult to come across and produce a piece that is 100% original. Every idea and creation comes from something, from a single thought which links one creation with another. However then you could argue on the other side, as one of the popular views in today’s world is that every object is different, as it has gone through those different experiences, perhaps has a stain from a spilt drink/food, or a rip, repair, making that object arguably “authentic” from another.

I trust that even through the ever advancing digital technology there will always be a role for the authentic. In our world today companies are utilizing authenticity in order to produce motives for individuals to purchase their goods. Introducing factors such as “Limited edition”, collectables and simply placing a brand name labelled across the product. It is also the type of manufacturing that a company chooses to embrace that affects the amount of aura (authenticity) that is associated with their products. This mass production that is occurring contradicts this whole view that people are able to express their inner self through their clothes and what they choose to decorate their home with. With people feel obliged to follow along with the trends of today in order to stay “cool”, more and more people are choosing to decorate their homes with similar designs, thus losing their own authenticity