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Universal Design
Universal design is an approach to designing a one-fits-all environment, whose origins lie in ancient Rome with Vitruviusâ notion of the ideal man. Humanism is the worldâs ongoing search for the âidealâ human, and with an ideal human, architectsâ would them be able to create a space that accommodates all deviations from the archetypal human. Essentialism parallels this notion of archetype, of finding objectivity in all empirical experiences; an idea derived from the mind of Plato who believed this universal truth and was found in geometric proportions.
I find it interesting that the author blames this fixation of this idea of universal design on an overdue discovery to evolution; I highly agree with Henry that this mode of thinking tragically carried itself into the twentieth century and modern design. We should have long ago realized that as humankind continues to discover variation, the level of specificity with which we design should increase, meaning we should go in the complete opposite direction of the one-fits-all approach to design. I believe thatâs why the author suggests the architectural curriculum should be embedded with classes regarding social sciences â it would give the designers of environments a better idea of who theyâre design for based on the variation theyâre designing for. In the article, there is this talk of mass customization, and I think it would be great if thatâs the direction architecture proceeds. Because something is customized, it doesnât mean we canât build with the same efficiency, economic, and structural precautions we normally design with.
A great example of a place that could highly beneficial from mass customization would be specialized clinics and rehab facilities, and that ties into inquiry on the mental status and condition of the patients being housed. But the design would also consider the most efficient process to recovery for said patients. Overall, mass customization seems like a more feasible idea â in some situations â than universal design.
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Journal 7: Le Courbusier
Charles Edouard-Jeanneret was a swiss-born architect and designer whose standardization of materials enabled the mass production of, predominantly, residential projects. He had carried out his five point of architecture through the duration of his career, constantly emphasizing the use of columns, resulting in open floor plans and opportunities to extend design to the roof. This was complimented by natural light through horizontal apertures, a new way of thinking about a façade free of the weight of the structure. The negative effects of World War 2 required that there be new infrastructure, and the population growth of the twentieth century had demanded an abundance of residential buildings; Institutions and governments greatly invested in new infrastructure, culminating the brutalist style of architecture. This style heavily favored modularity whose whole created distinct masses representing distinct function in that area of the building. The use of concrete was common, and there remained a concern for functional architecture. Le Corbusierâs Unite de Habitation is a great example of what resulted from this movement. Built in 1952, this project housed 1,600 residents in a network of necessities; one that provided living, shopping, eating, exercising, and recreational spaces. It became a precursor to, what is now common, mixed-use infrastructure. It reflects his five points in the buildingâs use of columns, voluminous communal areas, rooftop space, horizontal windows and free façade. To Le Corbusier, this building represents a âvertical garden cityâ: an idea belonging to architect, Ebenezer Howard.
        The functional tones of modernism remain visible throughout design today. The hollow masses formed from the juxtaposition of architectural elements are still commonly used in residential projects across the Hollywood Hills. The integration of nature as being physically partial to the building is highly praised, and as predicted, there is a large concern for natural light, not in re-contextualizing urban sites but in energy preservation. 0-14, a building standing in the midst of Dubaiâs business district utilizes its façade as the primary load-bearing structure, freeing the interior of any spatial limitations. Contemporary works always find ways to use techniques of earlier works.
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Journal 6
        Itâs no rumor that female and African-American graphic designers have been underrepresented throughout history. April Greiman and Cey Adams fall under this category, and their work remains pivotal to American and European graphic design history. Greirman, a New York Native, took interest in the International style and was imperative to the New Wave style of design; the type face is the main driver with inconsistent spacing and line weights. Overall, the type itself tends to deviate from a grid, often leading to a work that seems to give off a messy, but complete appearance. The text normally appears top-down, in variations of sans serif. New Wave gradually introduced collage as a medium, which was largely due to the introduction of the first Mackintosh computer. As oppose to rejecting it, she embraced the technology and all of the methodologies that followed its creation.
        Another underrepresented designer in the fieldâs brief history is Cey Adams. Like Greiman, Adams is a New York Native and a product of the graffiti movement, which launched him into the emerging hip-hop culture of the 1980âs. I find this most interesting because his work as a graphic designer parallels the current response to unknown pioneers in the design field. His work became a visual gateway to the lyrics of rappers and artists â those who essentially pioneered the genre of hip-hip/rap. His work for Violatorâs album cover is an accurate representation of the perception of black Americans both in the past and present. He accentuated characteristics such as the subjectâs lips and nose; the groupâs name is written in large, red sans serif with smaller and lighter sans serif below. This suggests a hierarchy in text, and more specifically in what the designer â and musical artist â wants you to be attentive to.
        Both April Greiman and Cey Adams deserve an overdue acknowledgment to the design community for accepting new mediums and new ideas, ultimately leading to new creative cultures.
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Journal 5: Ubiquitous Design
Itâs no surprise that Art Nouveau found itself in most of Europe as well as America; a direct response to the ubiquity of mass production. This response was long lasting, and we still interact with everyday objects that reflect conventions found all throughout the decorative arts movement. One example comes from my very own dining room: the lighting fixture is composed of several curved, steel arms that all meet at a common point. The curves resemble those labeled the âwhiplash curveâ, which constitute the whole design in addition to the egg-shaped, glass covers for the lights themselves. The whiplash curve is the predominant non-linear element to express the organicism in Art Nouveau. The simplicity is also an emphasized aspect of art Nouveau, described as, âItâs radical simplification did not exist in a vacuum, but represents a direct rejection of the ornamental complexity of Art Nouveauâ. [1]It completely parallels the design elements used to compose Henry Van de Veldeâs Candelabrum, in 1899. Made from silver, the objectâs base emphasizes the metamorphic qualities of the art Nouveau movement, with chromatic concave and convex surfaces. It extends into the main arm and primary structure for the additional arms that hold the candles. The main arm reflects the art Nouveau metamorphic quality in form but driven by peaks that run the length of the arm, resulting in the type of verticality seen in art deco. The same pattern is seen in the in the arms that hold the candle only in a configuration that, again, expresses the curvilinear appearance seen in decorative arts. As much as this object exemplifies multiple facets of the decorative art movements, Van de Velde had no interest in advocating the succession of the decorative art movement to the standard of high arts, ââŚvan de Velde did not share the same commitment to raising the standards of everyday, mass-produced objects though communal workshops professed by Arts and Crafts designersâ.[2]
The other work is a cabinet that holds a stained-glass design. It doesnât have the iridescence seen in Favrile glass, but it uses a vivid, complimentary color palette that goes. Stained glass became highly sought in modern architecture, as seen in many of Frank Lloyd Wrightâs residential work as it was often used to establish an environmentâs innate connection to nature.
[1] Stephen J. Eskilson, Graphic Design: A new History: 100
[2] Stephen J. Eskilson, Graphic Design: A new History: 108
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Journal 4: Poster Art
Bradford R. Collins documents the rise of poster art in the late nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century. The epoch of mass, industrial production and capitalism called for a means of communicating what exactly was being sold; lithography was the most common medium for this communication. However, the actions made to prop poster art amongst the high arts were done by French designer Jules Cheret. From various firms in Europe, he developed romantic Charteris tics in his work, and then continued to gain a strict functionalist sensibility from the Royal Academy of the Arts in France. He diverged and began taking interest in pop culture, which was greatly emphasized by an accredited nineteenth century critic, Joris-Karl Huysman. As oppose to the Aesthetics mentioned in lecture, his work â along with other modes of literature at that time â asserted a strong opposition to isolating high arts as Aristocratic behavior. I believe itâs Collinâs aim to emphasize the egalitarian efforts to make poster arts an expression of the common person. Collins furthers this idea stating, âThe academic notion of a hierarchy of the arts was also opposed at this time by the decorative arts, but they also wanted to elevate designers of these arts to the rank of painter or sculptorâ (Collins22). His work is especially exemplary of the organic structure of his subjects, as well as the text within them, in âBangres De Luchon Fete des Fleursâ. Its text has a color gradient and there is a wide use of color on the poster in general, but the most prominent use of color acts in a radial gradient, starting at the center of the page in a deep blue and slowly fading to white as it moves towards the edge of the page. This work even gives the viewer a slight sense of movement, which is a noticeable but less common characteristic in that time.
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Journal 3: Design Thinking
        Design Thinking gives its readers a good idea of what processes make up contemporary design. I believe design in a contemporary sense is the culmination of industries, fields of study, and people who represent all levels of the organization administering the design process. Itâs a user-driven discourse that tackles a problem/scenario from various, credible perspectives, which then outputs an optimal solution. Tim Brown notes that the design process in business usually focuses on recreating services and service delivery, however, he utilizes examples from other industries: the hospital, for example, changed the way in which nurses transition in and out of their shifts and the system with which they organize their information, allowing their nurses to more efficiently pass on that information at the end of their shift. This decreased the time it took to brief the nurses in between their shifts and attributed to the overall well-being of the patient. An example that uses deign thinking in my personal life would involve a camera bag I recently purchased. My old bag is canvas and consists of one compartment with a laptop sleeve; pockets are located on each side of the bag as well as the front. The recently purchased bag is still made of canvas, but this time it has two compartments with one space completely sealed off from the space below it. Design thinking was used in designing my bad: there is more space for more equipment, allocated space for my camera and its smaller accessories, and a zipper which unfolds a nylon sleeve that covers the whole bag to keep it from water damage. The contemporary design process addressed problems of accessibility, of space and environment. Another example in which this contemporary process is used is within the Coalgate toothbrush I use twice a day. By changing the design and placement of the grip, it made the toothbrush a much more convenient tool â the design team must have compiled data recording the way in which people hold their brush. IDEO exemplifies the contemporary design process because they consist of a group of generalists whose objective is to help specialist in the process of designing an optimal product, or a product that is more effective otherwise. On the topic of the end goal of the design process, Tim Brown states, âThe design process is best described metaphorically as a system of spaces rather than a predefined series of stepsâ (Brown88). This is important because in a design process, most people are obsessed with this idea of a finished product which takes away from the level of innovation the designer is trying to output.
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Journal 2: Gothic Revival
On the subject of Decorative Arts, William Morris created two pieces that respond to the idea of modernity in its entirety. It was a response to mass-production, the advent of new and accessible technology, and the rapid growth seen in the world economy. Established in 1964, Oakwood Hall is a Victorian-style manor that utilizes masonry as its structural system and aesthetic; giving a heavy yet narrow appearance. Itâs connection to nature is represented in the landscape around the manor as well as directly on the concrete, an additional connection to nature lies within the amount of natural light the manor absorbs, due to the repetitive nature of the apertures on the façade.
A closer look at the stained glass on the façade is where the work of William Morris is manifest. He produces lines both rigid and curved to create geometric forms and patterns, as well as abstract archetypal figures. This is what Morris refers to as âornamental worksmanshipâ; he thoroughly believed a return to careful developments of aesthetic is what will bring fourth truly authentic craft. Another work of Morrisâ that pushed back on the ubiquity of the industrial revolution is a wallpaper design titled Hyacinth pattern #480. It holds the conventional organicism that the Decorative Arts movement brought on. The forms and colors are mostly flat with a subtle layering to give the appearance of depth; this one is especially rebellious in its configuration: the forms extend outward in a radial manner giving the work an unorganized appearance. Morris even hints, âThere is a great deal of sham work in the world, hurtful to the buyer, more hurtful to the seller, if he only knew, most hurtful to the makerâŚâ (Morris 36). Here he exploits the lack of appreciation between the buyer and the seller, which extends a rather complicated (and meaningless) hand to the creator of the work as well. Hyacinth pattern #480 is a direct response to the false sense of organization emanated by the industrial revolution; this is emphasized in the radial composition that pours from one end of the textile to the other â less geometrically organized than his previous works of art.
Overall, William Morris had a cynical perspective on effects of technology and the drive for capitalism had on design, production, and labor. It had directly affected what a true sense of designing with aesthetic merit truly was, which is why I believe he had every reason to be cynical about capitalism; even through his own ventures (as hypocritical as it was), Morrisâ focus was on helping everyone to distinguish what craftsmanship was in this Gothic Revival.
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Journal 1
My name is Marcus Morrow and Iâm taking Art and Design 124 because of my interest in contemporary design. Iâm from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and Iâm currently studying architecture at UW-Milwaukee; Iâm in my fourth year and I plan to graduate in the fall of 2019. Iâm also interested in reading, photography, snowboarding, and wrestling. I think my interest, in the sense of contemporary design, is emphasized by my interest in architecture and solving problems with design. Graphic design, prints, photography, architecture, etc. Theyâre all developed in a process that consist of constant reiteration.Â
My interest in design is also emphasized by my love for history. I like looking at art and architecture movements and their meaning relative to events going on in the world at the time. Iâm constantly gaining inspiration from the modernist movement of architecture and use Frank Lloyd Wright and Oscar Niemeyer as project precedents. Now, the events going on then versus now may be a bit different, but to study the impact that historical events have on the right brain is an interesting thing to study; everyone from Picasso, to Dali, and Le Corbusier.
My most recent experience where the design of an object has benefited me greatly is when I bought a new desk for my home. The desk comes in two pieces and is connected by a third piece, which can be used as additional surface area once the desk is assembled. When I recently moved, I realized I wouldnât have enough room to fit the desk, fully assembled, in my room. The simpleness and modularity of the design helped me in being able to have a writing surface in my room, as simple as that sounds.
Overall, Iâm excited to say Iâll be able to strengthen my knowledge in various movements spanning various disciplines and many different mediums in AD 124.
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