Stylized Layout Design -- High Trick 1

Author: Wang Shaoqiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-31
Features: Design behavior is a process of conveying a concept, an idea, or a problem-solving method through specific visual means. Due to the differences in design objects, the content of design varies greatly, making it difficult to discuss them within a single category. Of course, from the perspective of semiotics or philosophy, "design" can be discussed, but as those who are practically engaged in design, concrete discussions are easier and more in-depth than abstract ones. It is undeniable that art and design are closely related. Systematically speaking, design education extends from art education, with a genetic relationship between the two, complementing each other. However, the distinction between them should not be overlooked; they are a unity of difference and connection. The first person to emphasize the importance of design and design education was the British art critic and art historian John Ruskin. At that time, Westerners only recognized one type of art and valued only one type, believing that art had only one category, which is "art" in English. Ruskin believed that in reality, there were two types of art coexisting: one was "high art," meaning fine arts; the other was "minor art," which is what we discuss today as "design." The issue of design does not lie in the details of specific product design but in the design system—a system for cultivating talent. It was precisely because of Ruskin's theories that design education gradually created a certain distance between design and pure art. Design teaching should have scientific and logical teaching methods, its own internal system, and specific design objectives, including social, applied, market, and aesthetic purposes, in order to construct a complete design teaching system. Designers should be concerned with the concrete expression of design. Studying design from a more applied and specific perspective often promotes its development more effectively than merely approaching it from a definitional angle. We will discuss this specifically from three aspects: basic design courses, theoretical courses, and the cultivation of design taste. The basic courses consist of two main components: one is visual expression techniques, and the other is the principles of form, such as the relationships between points, lines, and planes, the relationship between space and three-dimensional forms, and the content and mutual relationships of color. The second aspect is the group of theoretical courses. Design should be diverse, and design theory courses are not static but rather inspirational thinking training, a process of attempting to solve specific problems. So, what is design? Design is an idea, a creative concept, that transforms this idea and concept into a product through visual expression. The functions of a design work are multifaceted. First is the practical function. Design is for human use, so it must meet human usage requirements. At the same time, design products also have social functions, symbolic functions, and so on. Design differs from art in its functionality, and here, functionality refers to a comprehensive and broad sense. At the same time, design must comply with various constraints. Therefore, design is not just pure personal creation. What designers do is very tangible. For example, when introducing the various exhibition posters designed for the Macau Art Museum, Director Wu mentioned that these posters were not published to participate in poster design exhibitions but to promote their exhibitions and attract people to visit the museum. Therefore, poster design has a very clear social function. When they checked whether the posters could fulfill this promotional function, experts, staff from various departments in the museum, and even the lady in charge of providing hot water in the museum were invited to evaluate. This highly targeted design, this method of testing whether the design achieves its purpose, is very practical and very specific. The targeting of functional purposes is the core of whether design is successful. Otherwise, it is merely a design with a hollow name, an artwork without the ability to communicate. In addition to cultivating the ability to solve problems, there is also the issue of cultivating design taste. The importance of design education lies, on one hand, in educating students to form their own methods of solving problems, and relatively speaking, this aspect of cultivation is relatively easy. What is difficult is the cultivation of design taste. I do not believe that design taste has standards of right or wrong; one can only say that this student has not reached the ideal height you envision. For quantifiable functional problems, we can have absolute standards to measure, but in terms of aesthetics, it varies from person to person and cannot be evaluated absolutely. In terms of form, style, and taste, I tend to the view that "it can be better"—as in English, "can be better"—if handled this way, it would likely be "better." This series of design books guides students on the path of design from multiple aspects, including design history, basic theory, and taste, to improve their design literacy. It is hoped that Chinese design can overcome some existing problems, develop its own style, and gradually move toward an internationalized process.
About the Author: Wang Shaoqiang is a lecturer and master of art and design at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. He has been teaching at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts since 1995, dedicated to design teaching, research, and design work. He serves as the artistic director of San Du Culture Media and a director of Packaging and Design. He has authored books such as Design Forms, Creative Spaces, Design Positioning, and edited the China CI Design Yearbook and served as the main editor of China Trademarks and Logo Design Guide.