Design: Representation and Semiotics Essay

But in contemporary society, there is no single definition that covers design completely, or even fields of professional practice as graphic or industrial design that adequetly cover the diversity of ideas and practices as once existed. (pg3 wicked problems in Design thinking book THE IDEA OF DESIGN)

The core concept behind ‘Design Thinking’ revolves around attaining a goal rather than simply fixing a problem at hand. Since focusing on an objective already helps address any unmet needs, goal-oriented solutions lay the groundwork for other improvements including future ‘Design Thinking’ solutions. As such, solutions of this nature need to be socially fluid, tangible in nature, and broadminded in approach.

In a consumer society design is used in many ways including as communications tool, as in exhibition design. A common communication technique is to appeal to visually literate and sophisticated audiences through the use of fashionable finishes and materials.

Design has become “commoditised, prettified, overcommercialised and safe.” These are the words of perhaps one of the most important graphic designers of the 20th century, Neville Brody, given in a 2010 Design Week interview with Jim Davies. All it takes is a brief interaction with Brody’s monstrous portfolio of design work to see that he has not contributed to design becoming “safe.” Brody’s work shouts at you; on the whole, it is bright, bold and loud. Brody effortlessly blends chaos with simplicity, resulting in seamless unification.

Today, people can feel the changes that have happened to the design, and how the design is different from what we used to know. The design is not merely about how the product looks, but also it is about how the product works. The success of the design process depends on new and creative ways of thinking. In her article " ZIBA Design and the FedEx Project," Maggie Breslin describes the changes in thinking and working ways that being done by ZIBA design, which is a product design company that provides consulting about design and innovation. The article relies on the FedEx project as a case study on ZIBA design to illustrate the idea that design process might shift. The change in the design process periodically focuses on three major subjects:

A design can be a blueprint, the physical outlook or it is a representation that catches the consumer attention and also influences the consumption patterns. The stigma of design in today’s world is so strong that a well-designed product can even be sold to a non-potential customer like selling a hairbrush to a bald person. Good designs makes the customers

Even though it is probable that technology will be able to mimic the design process of the traditional graphic designer, it is still uncertain that it will be able to replicate and produce aesthetic value that can be transferred into feelings of luxury, harmony and elegance that a traditional designer can. A study analyzing the personalities of graphic design students from the University of The State of Mexico, concluded that the designer considers usefulness and wellness of others during their creation process. Designers were defined as

2. Technical/functional – these designers have to constantly consider the issues that may arise when consumers use their product, and how to make the product as user-friendly as possible.

This design-thinking course is available to student to prepare them for the future obstacles that we might face as designer. It’s purpose to get students thinking about their careers and interest. This course is a great opportunity to have guests speakers who are already employed as designer come in and inform us about the life after college. The professor searched for designers mostly one that graduated form our program to explain what it is that they had to do in order to be successful. Every single speaker was unique in his or her own way. The last speaker we had was Manfred Westreicher who talked about his experienced, his freelance work, and gave tips to improve our designing skills. Even though these designers are different in their own way Manfred had similar ideas as Mary Beth Backman and Jon Worlery.

oday, graphic design has taken over the entire world. “In recent years, design has become an international phenomenon affecting an increasing number of countries from the developing world and designers play a major role in the process of cultural and sustainable development” (Sasaki, Sali). Some may think it’s just a simple color or a logo, but it’s not just that. It’s a way of persuasion. Graphic designers alter the way an individual goes about their daily life. Most don’t realize the effects that design has within their changing lifestyle. One may not know that, “many graphic designers are hard-wired to control their environment” (Heller, Steven). Graphic design all starts with color and color always starts with psychology. A simple

Created in 1964, the original ‘First Things First’ Manifesto called for “more lasting forms of communication” to become the focus in design over commercial advertising for products that the author’s deemed unworthy, such as “striped toothpaste” and “stomach powder” . Thirty six years later another group of designers re-released their own version of the manifesto under the same name, again calling for a new kind of meaning and purpose for design . They stated that “consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part through the visual languages and resources of design” . According to the manifesto, the world saw designers purely as advertisers, and called for more worthy focuses of design to be encouraged, similarly to in the original manifesto. In this essay, how consumerism was running uncontested will be examined, particularly in terms of advertising and the commercialisation of culture when the two different manifestos were written (1964 and 2000). Also, the essay will highlight how this is being opposed through anti-consumerist works, including works made by those who created both the original and

Meredith Davis’s book “Graphic Design Theory” was published in September 2012 by Thames & Hudson. This book blends a study of historical thinking of design with contemporary / modern approach to it. It also suggests students to critically analyse their work and asks them to adopt the design theories to embellish their practical design work as it will help them construct better work. This book also helps in understanding the consumers and the history of Graphic Design and also talks about a range of theories and introduces a collection of concepts and sources for future use and reference. In this book, Meredith Davis talks about the relationship of visual representation to the contexts of design. It talks about focusing on the broad and long term aftereffects of design and not to design only for the moment and responding to prompt needs.

    Uses "Design" in a different way; but one must add that a universal language is being constructed daily. design is understood here as a phenomenon which affects everybody. design is characterized by a dual alliance with both mass production and mass consumption and that these two phenomena have determined nearly all its manifestations .Industry

Semiotics influences signs by modifying the way we see them when certain aspects are changed or enhanced to convey or evoke certain meanings or feelings, when words are italicized or bolded our eyes immediately focus more on them than the other words, when messages are presented to us in strange or noticeable fonts we are drawn to them, they stick in our minds, they make a certain impact. As Ferdinand de Saussure stated and is quoted on a University of Vermont educational website, “All signs have two aspects: the signifier and the signified. The signifier is any material thing that signifies, e.g., words on a page, a facial expression, a picture, a bit of graffiti. The signified is the concept that a signifier refers to. In most cases the signified is in relation to the signifier in order to ensure the signified is able to relate to it’s signifier. I/e, men smoking looking as though they are enjoying themselves, the signifier is the man smoking the cigarette, and the man, and the cigarette, seeking to signify men or masculinity” (Saussure p.2).

According to Fuad-Luke, (2009) Design activism is the process of ‘design ideas, creativity and technique that carried out intentionally or unintentionally to develop a counter-narrative intended at creating and managing constructive social, institutional, ecological and/or economic revolution.’ The Design Activists have a prominent effect on the society in a way that the designs produced by them have a deep relationship with the culture and different kinds of people perceive their ideas in a different way. The design ideas could range from a very small advertisement to a large signage system to save lives of people in critical situations. As designs also have a greater impact on our thoughts, so everything appears to us through a different angle, thus revealing the nature in different ways as well. The concepts of design, which are to be used for activism, are still very narrow and it has created many problems and confusions in the minds of the people. By having conceptualized designs any designer can promote activism for social movements, whereas misleading design ideas can create a lot of social and economic problems. By having accurate and robust designs the ideas of people will get clear and design activism will be easily accessible within the field of design. The vision lies in the motion and therefore a lot of design activists are enhancing their designs to a benefit the communities and improving the environment and on the other hand the designs, which