Selection of Classic Works on Foreign Design and Art (Volume 1--Volume 2)

Author: Li Yanzu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: What is "good design" and how to present it? Today's design awards and competitions seem to be based on the so-called "good design," treating it as the highest standard of quality in industrial aesthetics. However, people have diverse ideas about "good design." As an objective concept, when evaluating whether a design is "good design," people tend to develop some principles derived from the ideals of the romantic reformers of the Arts and Crafts Movement, which more focused on craftsmanship rather than aesthetic standards. Later, based on utilitarian considerations, the principle of form definition was added to the evaluation of "good design." Thus, industrial standards emerged, and eventually, the concept of controllable form quality was formed. "Good design" expresses principles that determine standards where beauty and utility are combined, based on an objective aesthetic attitude toward industrial product quality. "Good design" is a mixture of various ideals and a magical formula. Although "good design," at least so far, cannot be compared to any well-formed theory, many aspects of this concept originated in the 19th century. For the classic modernist ideas that have developed to this day, "good design" once aligned with image-oriented philosophical concepts, but its meaning has expanded beyond that. Therefore, although the evaluation principles of "good design" are diverse, its origins can still be very clearly analyzed. A total of five key figures laid the foundation for this concept. First are John Ruskin and William Morris, who sought beauty through the idea of "nature's nature" by starting from the worker organizations of industrial society. Their theories later clashed with Christopher Dresser's "nature adapted to scientific research" (botany), which sought to discard religious, moral, and social considerations and instead adopt geometric forms in decoration; his theory was based on an analysis of plant morphology. The decisive factor in defining "good design" was expressed by Charles F. A. Voysey's puritanical view: "happy poverty," which comprehensively updated the definition of "good design," pointing out that composition was merely a function of utility, thus actually foreshadowing an undecorated, modernist purist ideal. The last figure was Charles R. Ashby, whose craft school and guild combined the two fundamental concepts of the time. On one hand, Ashby advocated returning to collective, cooperative production forms, continuing the medieval production model; on the other hand, he supported that the teaching of decorative arts should be completed through concrete workshop practices, like the training of craftsmen. In addition to the above five, one person's role cannot be forgotten—that is, Hermann Muthesius, who keenly observed and followed the transformations taking place in Britain. From these pioneers, he ultimately developed a set of regulations suitable for German needs. After spending some time in Britain, he planned to establish the Deutscher Werkbund. He and others, along with Henry van de Velde,