RR01

Leah Choi

Chapter 1

Summary

In the first chapter, it talks about what design is. A lot of people have misconceptions or wrong connotations of what design is. I could relate to this because a lot of my friends who find out that I want to go for Interior Design always ask me if I could design their homes. But little do they know that, interior design is different from interior decorating so they get this misconception that it’s all about fun and not so much the design aspect behind it. Design’s unique definition is human’s capability to shape and better the environment. From this definition, I realized that it was so true that human beings are able to communicate, think, and design things in our world. With our intelligence we were able to advance technology and use what we have around us to create something to benefit our lives.

Chapter 2

Summary

In the second chapter, it talks about the history of design. It’s interesting to have a compacted history of design because I couldn’t imagine how many innovations our world went through within decades. With that being said, it talked about during the times of Industrialization or war, art and the industry combined together made great designs such as the automobiles. An interesting statement I got out of the chapter was after the Second World War; designers start to think about form and the fundamental importance to clients’ businesses. It also talks about the technology advancement in our society because of design. Japan, although a small country with few natural resources around itself, the people there have succeeded of making so many designs that helps better the environment. In the end of the chapter, it talks about how interactive design for electronic media helped navigate large and complex bodies of information. New markets, new businesses, new technology will constantly changing and the question that every designer should ask themselves, is whose interest is it going to serve?

Chapter 3

Summary

In the third chapter, it talks about “form follows function.” The two important focuses were utility and significance. Utility is efficiency, where as significance is expression and meaning concept of design. After reading some of the examples in the chapter, I didn’t realize that people in different cultures could affect the meaning of something. That the role of power and technology is a problem and it can become a threat when we don’t know if it’s useable or comprehensible. But the cool thing about design is that you can make of it however you want with what culture you grew up in. Everyone has their own set of beliefs and interests, that when something is designed, it’s going to help out someone either way.