Introduction to Design Aesthetics

1. Introduction to Design Aesthetics Dr Tan Wee Hoe

2. Lecture Outline • Defining design and aesthetics • Description of beauty • The object—subject of beauty debate

3. What is design? Rekabentuk? 设计？ • A planor drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is made. • A decorative pattern. • Purpose or planning that exists behind an action, fact, or object. • [transitive verb] decide upon the look and functioning of (a building, garment, or other object), by making a detailed drawing of it.

4. What is design? - Etymology • Late Middle English (as a verb in the sense ‘to designate’): from Latin designare 'to designate', reinforced by French désigner. The noun is via French from Italian. • About 15th Century, during the Italian Renaissance period, the concept of ‘design’ emerged through ‘Desegno’, which initially means sketching and drawing, literally means “the creative idea expression of the artists’ mind”. • After Industrial Revolution in Europe, the meanings of ‘design’ evolved to form the current concept of ‘design’, i.e. moving beyond the confinement of fine arts and drawing

5. What is design? Rekabentuk? 设计？ • MenurutPusatRujukanPersuratanMelayu, takrif ‘rekabentuk’ ialah: • Rancangan (corak, bentuk, dsb) ygmenunjukkansusunan, strukturatauaspek-aspeksesuatu (binaandsb); • Merekabentuk:membuatrekabentuk (gambaran, lukisan, dll); • Perekabentuk:orangygmerekabentuk.

6. What is design? Rekabentuk? 设计？ • 设：制图、计划。《周理 · 考工记》To draw. • 计：计划、考虑。《管子 · 权修》 Plan. • （古代）谋略；（现代）工作计划。 • 设计：通过分析、创造与综合达到满足某种特点功能系统的一种活动过程。 • 将使用者或投资者的使用要求综合科学、技术、经济和各项方针政策以及当时、当地的客观条件，设计出可以实现的蓝图和文件以作为制造或施工的依据。 • 【动】指在正式做某项工作之前，根据一定的目的要求，预先制定方法、图样等。 • 【名】指设计的方案或规划的蓝图等。

7. What is design? If you take “Aesthetics” course in Arts programme, you focus only on this dimension of design Arts & Philosophy Dimensions of design Psychology & engineering Social Sciences That’s why we accept students from both art and science streams

8. Dimensions of design • Functional dimension • The outputs are aimed to be useful (different from artwork, which should not be ‘useful’) • The outputs of design are intentional (same as artwork) • Aesthetic dimension • The visceral level of affect (reflexive, immediate) • Direct link to arts • Economical dimension • Concerns with the production cost, the demand and supply issues, the consumption of raw materials, tools, machines and technological constraints. • Social-political dimension • Concerns with human-human relationship, e.g. in production, marketing, consumer-retailer, etc.

9. What is aesthetics? • From the design-centric perspective, aesthetics is one of the dimensions of design. • Aesthetics is a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty (Oxford Dictionary). • The branch of philosophy which deals with questions of beauty and artistic taste. • Should read Schiller’s (1795) On the Aesthetic Education of Man ------------------------------------------------------------- • Alexander Baumgarten (1735) introduced the term ‘aesthetics’. The Greek word originally means ‘I perceive, feel, sense’.

10. What is aesthetics? • The principles of arts are strongly related to daily living and culture, thus to understand the expression of critique, one must describe the way of life. • Therefore, it is necessary to study culture and life in order to understand the rules and meaning of terms and phrases used in arts and art critique . • MUST read book for every designer: • Donald Norman’s (2004) Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things

11. What does aesthetics study? • Beauty • The philosophy and theories of arts • The science of aesthetical relationships ------------------------------------------------------------ • Truth is constructed by many components. Thus it could be approached via different perspective, different ways, different questions, different needs. • The levels and facets of approach can be different, and the intended objectives of approach can be different. • The differences in the approach can support and complement each other. (Li Zhehou)

12. What does aesthetics study? • Multiplicity means there will not be ONE perfect structure or uniform system, which could encompass and explain everything about aesthetics. • Aesthetics has become an open-ended family, which will continue to grow and prosper through subdivision, diversification and specialisation. • In specialised branches of aesthetics, unique terminology, language, concepts and formula would be developed by specialists, and only those who get involved and understand the branch are interested.

13. (Li Zhehou, 2001)

14. The multiplicity of aesthetics (Li Zhehou, 2001)

15. Reflexion time (5 minutes) • Up to this moment, what do you think aesthetics is? • How would you define aesthetics? • How do you feel about aesthetics? • Write down your reflexion in the Learning Journal

16. What is beauty? • A combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form , that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. • A combination of qualities that pleases the intellect. • Denoting something intended to make someone more attractive. • a beautiful or pleasing thing or person, in particular: • A beautiful woman • An excellent example of something • The pleasing or attractive features of (something) • The best aspect or advantage of something • Middle English: from Old French beaute, based on Latin bellus 'beautiful, fine'

17. Description of beauty Aesthetic object Beauty is the integration of subjective sense, emotion and objective object. Aesthetic characteristics Beauty is the objective natural characteristics of the object. Beauty The essence of beauty = the source of beauty Beauty is the product of human practice; it is the hominisation of nature, therefore it is objective and social. Natural beauty Social beauty Technological beauty Artistic beauty

18. The essence of beauty Beauty is • The harmony of form. (Classicism) • The attribute of God. (Neo-Platonism) • Perfection. (Rationalism) • Happy. (Empiricism) • The sense revelation of ideas. (German Classical Aesthetics) • Relation. • __________(Your perception)

19. Arguments in beauty

20. The subjective perspective • Focus on the relationship between beauty and the subjective spirit, in which the views include reasonable matter: • The aesthetic experience and the mobility functions • Many philosophical, psychological and sociological analysis were carried out upon the aesthetic experience and its dynamic effects, breaking the mechanical materialism concept which ignores the effects of subject, while highlighting various features of beauty. • However, the fundamental mistake which ignores or denies the objective sociality of beauty, exaggerating the effects of spirit, which regard beauty as a creation of spiritual activities. • This leads to the use of mystical or irrational consciousness, desire and impulse in explaining the essence of beauty.

21. The object of beauty • Focus on studying the principles of the exterior form of beauty. • Discover the relationship between objective factors and beauty. • Harmony, proportion, symmetry, unity • Focusing on the social characteristics of beauty • The social status and function of the natural characteristics of things or matters. • Stressing the internal linkage between social living and beauty

22. Integrated: subjective—objective • Stressing the relationship between beauty and social living—beauty is living . • Searching the essence of beauty from daily living, as compared to searching from the object’s characteristics or the spirit.

23. From the supernatural God • Beauty is God’s creation, in which God radiates beauty to make nature beautiful. • One sees harmony and senses beauty because of thinking the harmony of the God.

24. Reflexion time (10 minutes) • Up to this moment, what do you think beauty is? • How would you define beauty? • How do you feel about beauty? • Write down your reflexion