OUGD601 - Primary Research Responses
Response 1
Malcolm Barnard, Author and Theorist in Visual Culture
Barnard, M. 17th December (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
What do you think drives design forward?
This assumes that there is a ‘forward’ and
that we know, or someone knows, what it is. I don’t think there is a ‘forward',
in the sense of progress towards something better or ideal. Mostly what drives
design is capital and capitalism, and capitalism has a very limited and
specific understanding of what ‘forward’ means. It means a very few people
making money out of a lot of other people, with all the divisions and
inequalities that follow.
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
Which principles?
Principles tend to come in and out of fashion and enjoy different statuses at
different times. So ‘form follows function’ might be a principle (do you think
it is a principle?) and it will be in and out of fashion at different times. It
will be in fashion in some areas of architecture at some times, (Bauhaus,
1920s, for example), and out of fashion in other areas at other times (anything
by Gaultier, for example).
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
What are rules? Are they
different from principles? Do you mean what Rick Poynor means by rules? Of
course, there are always things which people will identify and promote as rules
and the point of design education is to learn what they are in your time and
place, so you know whether, when and why you might break them. In this sense,
they are like principles, coming in and going out of fashion, and you can treat
them similarly – know what they are so that you know whether, when and why to
break them.
Response 2
Peter Hall, Design Writer
Hall, P. 15th December (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
Economy; Desire for societal/environmental/cultural
change; Desire for celebrity
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
Yes; the reference to "no more rules" is to an
outdated idea of a design profession & practice. Rules are governed by
various cultural regimes and are constantly being tested & renegotiated
Response 3
Steven Heller, Author, Art Director, Critic and
Journalist
Heller, S. 15th December (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
That’s a big question because EVERTHING design touches is
an influence in what drives design. The major drivers are economy, politics,
culture, technology, and to put it briefly NEED. Add to that the aesthetics
that emerge.
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
Standards of quality always remain constant but those of
taste (i.e. style) change with the spin of the earth.
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
There are always rules to break, because there are always
rules to make. Total freedom never exists in a vacuum.
Response 4
Zoe Patterson, Programme
Director of Graphic Design at University of Edinburgh
Patterson, Z. 21st
Decemeber (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
Risk takers. Unique collaborations. Creative people in
unusual positions – within unexpected places such as NHS, banking etc.
Parameters and restrictions. Experimentation.
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
I believe the old adage of learning the rules/principles
to break them is still relevant. GD has less of a history within Art and Design
so it needs these rules to underpin the discipline. Gives the subject more
authority.
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
Of course. They are not necessarily aesthetic rules as
fashions come and go but perceptions and responding to contemporary life are
massively open to interpretation and exploration. As the world develops so
should the designer’s idea of a rule and what breaking it means.
Response 5
Mike Inglis, Practicing Artist and Lecturer of Graphic
Design at University of Edinburgh
Inglis, M. 15th Decemeber (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
Innovation sometimes / technology sometimes / anger
sometimes / idealism sometimes / utopianism mostly.
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
Principles in design - underlying fundamental and
established approaches or rules are always present in design usually in process
if not end result. but this is a huge area of discussion and I'm not too sue
what aspect your interested in discussing.
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
Students are obsessed with
rules or breaking them - I don't care about this anymore although I did when I
was in your position -it goes with the territory I guess when being constantly
judged or marked or assessed. i only care about the purity of the visual
communication and its success in messaging - for instance contemporary trends
in stretching type and including digitised obscure imaging is only a through
back to the deconstruction movement of the early nineties (David Carson etc.) -
most of it is interesting but I'm not sure its contributing a great deal other
than to the visual language its adding to. more interesting to me is designers
rejecting mainstream working patterns or social norms to push for a fairer
society or an alternative to the current state of capitalism that we have all
been complicit in creating is the real rule breaking I'm interested in.
Response 6
Clinton Cahill, Senor Lecturer of Graphic Design at
Manchester School of Art
Cahill, C. 15th
Decemeber (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
Technology (not just digital technology), innovation -
the desire to just do new things or old things differently, creative play,
youth.
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
I've never really understood or bought into the idea of
design principles. They are too often dogmatic or used as a way of pretending
that creative curiosity can be readily and easily taught and applied. They
should always be questioned. Many bad things in the world have been made by
simply following design principles and designed principles.
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
We don't seem to break as many rules as we used to - in
some ways the design climate has become quite conservative and less
permissible. Look how safe illustrative imagery has become. But this is also
linked to question 1. Design (like any creative field) must always seek to
unfold beyond parameters set for it. Just because a rule is broken in one era
doesn't mean that it will not reappear in another. Perhaps you should look at
what you mean by rules and think about who sets them and why? Are they societal,
professional, aesthetic? How creative might designing rules be? What are your
own personal boundaries - who wouldn't you work for, what wouldn't you depict
or say through your design? Shock may be a cliched manoeuvre in design, but
sentimentality or intellectualism might be interesting to look at.
Response 7
Dr Jamie Marsden, Lecteur of Graphic Design at University
of Leeds
Marsden, J. 15th
Decemebr (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
Design, in a generic sense, is mostly driven by needs,
which are subject to continual change.
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
Depends on context. Depends upon who places value on
design principles (i.e., designer, client, audience, society).
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
Principles of ‘good’ design are a framework, not a
straight-jacket. The adherence to principles would surely depend upon the aim
of the design.
Response 8
Professor M. A. Hann, Chair of Design Theory at
University of Leeds
Hann, M. 15th Decemeber (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
Consumer demand.
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
Low status.
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
Loads.
Response 9
Ryan Doyle, Founder of Graphic Design Studio - DR.ME
Doyle, R. 15th December (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
Fresh ideas and new approaches to design, design changes
rapidly all the time due to a number of factors, technology advancements,
cultural changes, and design can also seem dated very quickly so the need to
constantly think of new ideas and techniques is forever pushing design forward
and into unknown territory.
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
I think there is still design sensibility within
contemporary design but I feel more and more people are starting to reject what
is the “right way to design” and creating there own set of design principles.
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
Always.
Response 10
Alec Dudson, Editor-In-Chief and Founder of Intern
Magazine
Dudson, A. 16th
December (2016)
What do you think drives design forward?
Tough one, I think for different designers there are
different influences. Anyone can influence the industry in turn so this could
become a bit of a wormhole (I’m sure you’ve got it covered though). Two big
factors for me are technological advances and youth culture. New processes and
possibilities encourage designers to experiment with what was previously
outside the bounds of possibility, or at the very least, was difficult or
complicated before. As long as we live in a capitalist society, youth culture will
have a big influence on design as young people are a highly desirable customer
base. As such, design often looks to second-guess and respond to trends that
they are catalysts for.
What do you think the status is of design principles in
contemporary design?
Again, it’s tough to answer as different designers have
different principles and reverence for principles. Undoubtedly though, in the
last five years the most popular principles have been that of minimalism and
simplicity. I often hear it described as clean design. Like anything though,
when it becomes so widely used, there becomes a point at which it loses agency.
There are already designers who eschew that approach and go in a completely
different direction, some with great success (Kate Moross). I think that we’ll
see that minimal approach go back out of fashion at some point soon, I’m just
not sure when.
Do you think there are anymore ‘rules' left to break
within design?
I guess so, but they’re probably relatively unspoken
rules. Recently it’s been technological advances that have shaken up things
more than stylistic innovation. 3D printing is a good example here of something
which has allowed people to design things with a material that they previously
couldn’t or would have had to produce on mass scale. Visually speaking, it’s
certainly becoming harder to create work that doesn’t reference something
that’s gone before, but as ever, we’re creatures of our environment. The last
big set of design rules came about in part due to the new material process and
built environment that emerged. Imagine modernist or minimalist visual culture
without concrete, fibreglass and steam bent plywood! A copy of Kinfolk/Cereal
would look a whole lot different, believe me.
