The Genius of Design

Blue Prints for War.

This episode looks at how World War 2 and how
this had a direct impact on how objects were designed
and built. It looks at how demand for certain objects
such as tanks, aircraft and machine guns were a necessaty
during this time but that the need to produce them quickly
and make them better was put to everybody who had an eye
for design adn see what ways things could be improved quickly
with minimal resources.
This period of time also saw an explosion in graphic design
in terms of propoganda but also in explaining to people
how to keep safe.

Are there criteria for distinguishing good works of art from bad ones?

Art is objective, there is no such thing as good art or bad art. Art is whatever inspires or provokes an emotional response from the audience.

In the issue/debate surrounding good art versus bad art there are some measurables by which critics may deem art as either good or bad. Good art is communicated clearly and sincerely, also it should focus on one emotion: to do otherwise would confuse the audience with mixed emotions. Other distinguishing features that may be applied to "art" in the debate is that it should have: 1. Appeal: that it should hold beauty for the viewer; 2. Timeless: beyond fads or fashion; 3. Endurance: should reward contemplation, repetition and continued absorption; 4. Message: art containing a message, has added complexity and allows it's audience to engage with it on multiple levels.

To summarize, art should be viewed objectively, and a good critic, while the art may not appeal to them, should be able to appreciate the concept and emotional message being portrayed by the artist.

"Bad painting, good Art."



"Weeping Woman" Picasso

Museum of Modern Art, Vienna

3D Max Render

Render of Sea with floating objects.

Overall multiplier levels reduced to affect the overall brightness of the environment.

Image rotated and horizontal rotation of HDRI backround altered.

Rendering Water in 3D Max

Test rendering of water in 3D studio Max.

Use of HDRI Sky and backround.

Floating objest added to show buoyancy.

Blondel, Rococo - Rationalism

Rococo

The word Rococo is derived from the French word rocaille, meaning stone, and coquilles, which means shell.

Rococo is an 18^th century style and is mainly associated with the reign of Louis XV and is a post-Baroque development in France.

Characteristics of the style are lightness, asymmetry, elegance and a minute attention to detail. Decorative accents inspired by organic forms such as plants, shells and flowers are quite prominent in the Rococo style.

Marie Antoinettes Private Room, Versailles
One of the first significant appearances of the style was in the bedroom of Louis XIV at Versailles which was redecorated in 1701, a step away from the Baroque grandeur of the palace.

 One of the lasting elements of the Rococo style is the cabriole leg which was a common feature in Rococo furniture. 

Louis XV Console Table


Jacques Francois Blondel, 1705-74

The theory behind Blondel's move away from the Rococo style was of conservative thinking and rational design with an ordered structureIt was a campaign against self-indulgence and idealogical decoration in Architecture

This new way of thinking brought about the end of the Rococo style and moved into a more ordered and serious Neoclassical eraThis was done through education in his school of Architecture and Arts "École des Arts", he also compiled a number of encyclopediasRationalism and simplicity formed an element of the decline of the Rococo Style, they also formed the basis for the new emerging style, Neoclassicism, which was much lighter and less ornate in appearance. this era was also known as the Age of Enlightenment.

The Genius of Design - Review 2

This second chapter 'Design for Living' explores the 1920's and 1930's. This era saw a move towards design that joins things together. A move that employed functionalism with asthetics. It was to deepen the exploration of what things should be, whether a home is a mans castle or a machine for living in?, if the kitchen is the heart of the home or a factory for cooking in? These are just some of the archetypal questions thrown up by the move and change in thinking.

In 1919 a center for new thinking was opened in Germay - the Dessau Bauhaus. It was a school that combined crafts and fine arts. Here, the boundries of design were broken down and the result was modern furniture. Each era developed new methods and new technologies and for this era the signature technology was tubular steel. This era moved away from Art Nouveau which was in vogue at the turn of the century and geared towards avant-garde design which was able to provide the most for less for the greatest number of people.




  

With this shift in design along came fitted furniture. The first fitted kitchen, known as the 'Frankfurt Kitchen' was designed by Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky and was a response to the need for cost efficient housing in Germany after World War 1. 

Le Corbusiers' fitted house was also featured as an extremely advanced design for its time. But what became evident from his design is that the house became a machine for living in but also that people had to become machines.  

Other features in this chapter included;

• Georgre Carwardine's anglepoise lamp of 1937 which shows the engineering functional workings of the lamp.
• The 3 piece suite was developed in the 30's which was to open up a whole new level of comfort for people.
• Also reiterated was the self expression of design amoungst european designers against the American's pragmatic approach and reliance on capitalism.   

The Genius of Design - Review 1

The Genius of Design - A chaptered documentory that looks at design from the 1900's to the 1970's. It explores the numerous different design styles in this short period of time and examines the developement of the design process. It also looks at how design impacts on and influences peoples lives. 

The first chapter 'The Ghosts in the Machine' looks at the industrial revolution up to World War 1. During this era great advances were made in terms of production. With the advent of mass production ad consumerism on the rise due to affordability, this delivered a blow to traditional methods of manufacturing crafts to which William Morris was an advocate. He tried to resurrect the Arts & Crafts Movement but failed on the basis of cost and simply could not compete. Another aspect to suffer in this era was variety in design. While objects and products were produced in bulk everything began to look the same. This was felt by Henry Ford, inventor of the assembly line. At first this was a great achievement but it didn't take long for other manufacturers, particularly car manufacturers to realise that people wanted variety in products. Unfortunately for Henery Ford, he was late in realising this and his company suffered massive losses due to his short sightedness in this area.

        

Further to this era and more so towards the end of it, it became obvious that design had become a servant to capitalism. Also the American system of design and production had won over their European counterpart.

This has been put down to European designers being 

too 'involved' with their design while for the Americans',

it was all about capitalism, the comsumer and the bottom dollar.