Topic 6 Classic Design
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Topic 6 Classic Design A classic design is not simply defined by how well it functions or its impact. Classic designs can be recognized as from their design movement/era. Yet, originality— whether it is evolutionary or revolutionary—seems to be the trait that makes a product “timeless”. A design classic is an industrially manufactured object with timeless aesthetic value. It serves as a standard of its kind and, despite the year in which it was designed, is still up to date. For an object to become a design classic it takes time and what lasting impact the design had on society and what influence on later designs it had plays a large role in determining whether something is a design classic or not. Thus design classics are often strikingly simple, going to the essence, and are described with words like iconic, neat, valuable or having meaning. A modern label which seeks to identify the enduring objects of 20th Century design - those which have stood the test of time and critical approval. These objects reflect a set of approved models and sit outside the vagaries of fashion, but classic can also have other very different meanings. In the 19th century, when scientific materialism was having a profound intellectual impact, Darwin’s theory about survival of the fittest was applied to design, with the idea that certain objects deserved to survive on merit alone. although the word classic was not used by the victorians, its sense was implied, and this viewpoint underlay Nikolaus Pevsner’s book Pioneers of Modern Design. The modern movement also subscribed to this view that leading architects and designers selected objects they felt embodied the values of excellence. Le Corbusier, for example revered Thonet’s mass produced bentwood chair, and from the 1930’s onward this attitude was also reflected in the collecting policy of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The concept of classic was also used to commercial ends by manufacturers who saw a reproduction market for the work of 20th century designers such as Charles Rennie Macintosh and Marcel Breuer. In fact, the furniture company Cassina has produced a series of reproductions, which include Gerrit Reitveld’s Red-Blue chair and some of Macintosh’s furniture. This category of classic however, is still reliant on contemporary taste rather than on some absolute standard. None the less, classic implies that the object has stepped out of the issues of style and fast and that its integrity survives within a wider context of the century, These qualities are strong marketing tools, and in the 1990’s there is a proliferation of designer shops selling ‘classic’ products. The Museum of Modern Art Shop in New York is an interesting example; objects ranging from pens to tableware are automatically granted classic status simply by appearing in the shop. Classic design is sometimes interchangeable with Cult Objects. Perceptions of design within business have evolved and are now key in the corporate arena as companies find that investment in design gives returns on investment. A carefully designed and marketed product can bring iconic status to a company or designer. It can also offer unique stance in a highly competitive world. Products are designed with particular considerations valued by the designer, client, or end user that are then communicate through the product’s purchase and use. Products help us interpret our positioning in the world. This can lead to a skew toward social context in product design Image How image makes a classic design instantly recognizable and provokes emotional reactions. Image Definition: the general idea that the public has of a product, brand, or company. Classic Designs are not simply artifacts, they also project lifestyles. Lifestyle is expressed in both work and leisure behavior patterns and (on an individual basis) in activities, attitudes, interests, opinions, values, and allocation of income. It also reflects people's self image or self concept; the way they see themselves and believe they are seen by the others. Lifestyle is a composite of motivations, needs, and wants and is influenced by factors such as culture, family, reference groups, and social class. Products can evoke a wide range of emotions, both negative and positive. On the negative side, the complicated interface of a high-end music player might evoke irritation or dissatisfaction, while on the positive side, the same complexity might evoke fascination or pride. In terms of behavioral impact, these positive and negative emotions are fundamentally different: Whereas negative emotions stimulate individuals to reject (or withdraw from) the object of their emotion, positive emotions stimulate individuals to accept (or approach) the object. Emotional Research In consumer research, effects of positive emotions have been found that are in line with this general tendency: • Positive emotions stimulate product purchase intentions (Pham, 1998; Bitner, 1992), • Repurchase intentions (Westbrook & Oliver, 1991), and • Product attachment (Mugge, Schoormans, & Schifferstein, 2005). In the field of ergonomics, positive emotions have been demonstrated to have additional beneficial effects during product usage. When using complex technology, positive emotions decrease usage anxiety (Picard, 1997; Helander & Tham, 2003) and contribute to the experience of usage comfort (Vink, 2005) and to general usability (Tractinsky, Shoval-Katz, & Ikar, 2000). In other words, products that evoke positive emotions are bought more often, used more often, and are more pleasurable to use. It is therefore indisputably worthwhile to design products that evoke positive emotions – products that make users feel good. All designed technology, products, services, and systems evoke emotions, and not considering these emotions in the design process is a missed opportunity at best. To this end, design theorists have produced various approaches and frameworks that support designers in conceptualizing positive product experiences. Jordan (2000) discussed four sources of product pleasure, Norman (2004) introduced three cognitive levels of pleasurable product experiences, and Desmet (2008) proposed nine sources of product appeal. In my view, a main limitation of these approaches is their focus on generalized pleasure: they do not differentiate experience beyond the basic positive-negative distinction. In reality, products can evoke a diverse palette of distinct (positive) emotions, for example, pride, contentment, admiration, desire, relief, or hope (Desmet, 2002; Desmet & Schifferstein, 2008). Although all positive, these emotions are essentially different – both in terms of the conditions that elicit them and in terms of their effects on human-product interaction. For example, whereas fascination encourages a focused interaction, joy encourages an interaction that is playful (Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008), and thus someone who is fascinated by a product will probably interact differently with it than someone who feels joyful in relation to the product. The Four Pleasure model The Four Pleasure model (Jordan) is a framework that can be used to help evaluate how pleasurable a product will be use and own. It can also be used to identify and generate opportunities to enhance a product. • Physio-pleasure • Psycho-pleasure • Socio-pleasure • Ideo-pleasure PHYSIO-PLEASURE PSYCHO-PLEASURE SOCIO-PLEASURE IDEO-PLEASURE Physio-pleasure is a sensual pleasure Psycho-pleasures are pleasures that Socio-pleasures, as the name Ideo-pleasures then are pleasures that that is derived from touching, smelling, are derived from cognition, discovery, suggests, are concerned with pleasures are linked to our ideals, aesthetically, hearing and tasting something. It also knowledge, and other things that derived from social signifiers of culturally and otherwise. conveyed by an objects effectiveness in satisfy the intellect. belonging, social-enablers and other enabling an action to be performed. social self-identification factors. Examples of physio-pleasure Examples of psycho-pleasure Examples of socio-pleasure Examples of ideo-pleasure A refined and well engineered tool such as a The first time that you pick up an Facebook is a tool that enables people to I have a mug from Ikea. It is largely Wüsthof cooks knife has a pleasing weight iPod/iPhone/iPad and start playing with it have a greater sense of community and unremarkable and utilitarian, however I and balance that is noted immediately upon you quickly get an idea of how it works. involvement with one another. Often always glean a small moment of using the tool. It also conveys a pleasure to Even if you don’t get it straight away, it is geographically disparate friends can still ideo-pleasure when I wash it and place on the user of being highly effective — making learnable, memorable and pretty consistent retain a foothold in one another’s lives. the draining rack as it has a really elegant light work of the often mundane tasks for — you soon get to know the ropes. This For most web designers, especially a few design feature. It has grooves scored into the which it is employed. leads to a certain sense of satisfaction years ago, owning an iPhone was more or base so that all of the water on the base runs When we close a car door and it makes a because, largely, ‘it just works’. less de rigeur in the same way that a off when it is placed upside down. Lesser satisfying clunk we experience a certain Blackberry is for crack dealers and bankers. mugs pool this water, often leading to a pleasure. This is a combination of the At school, wearing a pair of Adidas-like ‘one suprise when the mug is taken from the acoustic feedback that the door is definitely stripe too many’ trainers in PE would lead to draining rack. This reflects my own closed, combined with an aesthetic mockery. No-one was suggesting that the ideological standpoint that everything can be enjoyment of the sound itself. The sound shoes were of a lesser quality, simply that made better, often through very small and will have been engineered to produce this they said couldn’t afford the “real” ones.