UCLA Department of Design | Media Arts Professor Erkki Huhtamo T.A.s: Joanna Cheung (Section A: A-Dee), Jesse Chorng (Section B: Diep – Khau), Jamie Hughins (Section C: Kim-Nguyen ), Noa Kaplan-Sears (Section D: Nieh - Soto), Rhazes Spell (Section E: Syrkin - Z) Fall Quarter 2010 Syllabus: Design Culture - an Introduction (Desma 10) COURSE DESCRIPTION Design is a powerful force in culture and society. It surrounds us, whatever we do and wherever we go. It has an impact on us, whether we are aware of it or not. It is not easy to define all the things the word “design” is supposed to denote. In fact, it is even becoming difficult to say where design ends and related phenomena like art, architecture and popular media begin. One thing is certain: design is not just about creating “cool-looking" things; it is much more. It affects our ways of understanding the world. It is also a form of communication - by creating or using certain designs we send messages about ourselves to others. Desma 10 provides a broad overview of the phenomena that make up design culture. It demonstrates that design does not mean only the "high design" of famous star designers and design and fashion companies. The most efficient design is often invisible - devices like door knobs and traffic lights help us without drawing attention to themselves. To understand design culture we must therefore pay attention to invisible things as well. We have to study the motives that guide their planning, their marketing, their reception and their uses. Desma 10 will discuss the main movements and trends in design as a cultural and social phenomenon. Particular emphasis will be given to the interconnections between design and technology. The relationship between design and art will also be explored from a historical perspective within various contexts from the Victorian era and early 20th century modernism to the 1960s pop culture and Postmodernism. A rich array of demonstration material, ranging from classical industrial design to recent postmodern design trends, will be introduced. The ultimate goal is to create design awareness: to inspire the student to look at and listen to one's everyday environments in new and critical ways.WEEKLY SCHEDULE Meeting 1 (Sep. 24) What is Design? What Is Design Culture? Keywords: / Definitions of design and culture / Design, nature, culture / Can animals design? / Design and Artificial Intelligence Readings: No Meeting 2 (Oct. 1) Design Culture – The Basics Keywords: Visible and invisible design / high and low Design / design and art / Etymology of the word “design” /The beginnings of design culture Readings: 1) John Heskett: “What is Design?”, from Heskett: Toothpicks and Logos. Design in Everyday Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 1-11; 2) Victor Papanek: “What is Design? A Definition of the Function Complex”, from Papanek: Design for the Real World, Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers, 2000 [1985], pp. 3-27. Meeting 3 (Oct. 8) Design, Society and Technology Keywords: Function and ornament / mass production and assembly lines / designer and engineer / Mechanisation and automation / Design and power / Streamlining Readings: 1) Marco Diani: "The Social Design of Office Automation," in Design Discourse: History, Theory, Criticism, ed. Victor Margolin (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1989), pp. 67-76; 2) Erkki Huhtamo: "'Pockets of Plenty': Media History, Design, and Mobile Media." Keynote Lecture text, International Symposium of Electronic Arts, 2004. Meeting 4 (Oct. 15) SPECIAL SESSION: The Great UCLA Design Game 4.0 Readings: No, but please BRING GOOD WALKING SHOES AND NOT TOO MUCH TO CARRY! If you are unable to walk please contact your TA in advance! Meeting 5 (Oct. 22) Design for Public Spaces Keywords: The Dream of Total Design / Art Nouveau / Konstructivism: design as political spectacle / Skyscrapers / World’s Fairs Readings: Erkki Huhtamo: "Gigantological Investigations", excerpts. Full text will be published in Interface Aesthetics (Aarhus University Press, 2010). Meeting 6 (Oct. 29) Design, Consumers and Corporations Keywords: Designing and marketing consumer goods / “built-in obsolescence” / corporate design and branding. Readings: Naomi Klein: "New Branded World," from NO LOGO (London, New York and Toronto: Harper Perennial, 2001), pp. 2-26. (MIDTERM PROJECTS TO BE HANDED IN ON OCT. 29) Meeting 7 (Nov. 5) Alternative DesignKeywords: Design and pop culture / Underground and psychedelia / Punk, Situationism / Design as weapon / Sustainable design Readings: 1) Jonathan M. Woodham: “Pop to Post-Modernism: Changing Values”, from Woodham: Twentieth-Century Design, Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1997, 182-203 (Oxford History of Art) 2) Naomi Klein: "Culture Jamming: Ads under Attack," from NO LOGO, London, New York and Toronto: Harper Perennial, 2001, pp.278-309. Meeting 8 (Nov. 12) Design in the Postmodern Era I Keywords: Keywords: / Design and art – blurred boundaries / Designer as “Superstar”/ Emotional Design / Design within media culture Readings: 1) Philip Nobel: "Art/Architecture; Can Design In American Avoid the Style Trap?" The New York Times, November 26, 2000. 2) Paola Antonelli: "Design and the Elastic Mind," from Design and the Elastic Mind, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2008, pp.14-27. (MIDTERM PROJECTS WILL BE RETURNED ON NOV 12) Meeting 9 (Nov. 19) SPECIAL SESSION: Peeks at the Design Process. Reading: No ------- Nov. 26 Thanksgiving Holiday, No Class Meeting! ---------------- Meeting 10 (Dec. 3) Design in the Postmodern Era II Proliferation of (de)sign / Interface design / Wearables, mobile interfaces / Design, surface, skin. Readings: Ellen Lupton: "Skin, New Design Organics", from Skin. Surface Substance + Design, New York: Princeton Architectural Press and Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Smithsonian Institution, 2002, pp. 28-41. (FINAL PROJECTS TO BE HANDED IN ON DEC. 3 !) FINALS WEEK: No Class Meeting! ************ GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS - There will be a midterm assignment and a final assignment. The midterm is an individual homework. The final is a group project (4-5 people in a group). The topics will be announced later. - There will also be three unannounced multiple choice quizzes based on the previous week’s lecture and the readings assigned for the day of the quiz.- There will also be a Special Session,