Assignment 3 - beauty+utility

“Construction should be decorated. Decoration should never be purposely constructed”

–Owen Jones-

I think what Jones was saying is that ornaments are not supposed to be purposely decorated because it helps the beauty of the object. Rather than disguise the construction, if crafted well then the ornament itself becomes a structure. I agree with Jones’ idea because I believe that design can have a real life feel when it is used properly and decoration is confined to be appropriate for the object and use. For that reason, I think good design is more about function and decoration is used for helping the object to look pretty rather than to try and hide the object, despite most of things these days looking like what it's not.

The image of the Glass Sink above is designed by a company called Cogliati-Cogliat (cool name) and I think this is a good example of showing that construction dose not have to be decorated. The Sink is designed really simple but it does not mean that this is bad design or it looks ugly. It has a simple shape and the sink's structure itself is an ornament. The decoration is in harmony with the object which does not hide the object (well it kinda dose I guess) nor is it ornament constructed.

Image sourced from "Simple Design Glass Sink and Faucet made by Cogliati-Cogliat" - http://www.parehe.com

Assignment 2 - The Continuing Curve

The picture above is of a Corvette C6R made by Chevrolet in 2005 for the race tracks in the Le Mans 24 hour and the American Indy 500. This style of the chassis (body of the vehicle) was developed and reached a peak point in the 1990's. I believe that this type of car is a result of “sensuous impulse” because it shows the traits of rococo style which is themed on sensuous impulse. “Sensuous impulse” is based on nature as a model including the S-curve which is asymmetric, irrational and emotional. The chassis of these vehicles are crafted in an almost natural style which benefits both look and performance, these curves and sinuous lines show aesthetic design and elegance. These details can be seen from the front to the back of the car as the curves give the whole design a simple flow which is both beautiful and helpful. You can tell this design is very elaborate and this emphasises emotional and feminine beauty traits (since cars are usually referred to as females). 

picture from - autosmug.com


note: I realise having a Race Car as my subject for this blog may seem far fetched but I grew up with cars like these and to me there is nothing that can really compare (call it a family peeve I guess)

Assignment 1 - Introduction

well it's the start of a new trimester and that means new courses

to start this course blog off I was to write what I believe is an important moment in design history

personally I believe the creation and continuous development of 3-D computer animation is an important part of design history
this statement is probably really bias as I am a huge admire of all 3-D animation works from the earliest works to the latest techniques which copy human expressions and emotions better than some human actors. The main reason I believe this is a big part of design history is that it has become such a huge contribution to modern design with movies, games and other mass media.

 an example of how technology can replace humans as idols is the Vocaloid program made in Japan. It became so popular that they developed a holographic screen and made a live concert staring 4 of the characters