The emergence of professional designers

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The emergence of designers is inseparable from the history of human development. When ancestors first Picking up the stone, hammering, polishing, and making tools, the designer in the original sense appears. Problems caused by survival have always been the driving force for the evolution of life and human civilization. In order to provide food, clothing, housing and transportation, ancestors drew materials from nature and created a rich material civilization. While creating things, it also greatly promoted the improvement of handicrafts and manufacturing. All man-made things mean design. From the first "tool maker" to the modern designer, it is a long evolutionary process.

Tools created by humans in the Paleolithic Age

In the Paleolithic Age, primitive humans clarified the purpose and process of design by making stone tools. In the Neolithic period, the invention of pottery marked the beginning of human creative activities in changing the properties of materials through chemical changes. It also marked the beginning of the design stage of human handicrafts. The emergence of the Industrial Revolution turned mass production into reality, and mankind began to enter an era of great material abundance.

Pottery created by humans in the Neolithic Age

01

Craftsmen

At the end of primitive society seven or eight thousand years ago, humans The first social division of labor appeared in society, handicraft industry was separated from agriculture, and craftsmen specialized in handicraft production appeared. Excellent craftsmen would enter the palace and serve the upper class. There are also most craftsmen in the private sector, engaged in the design and repair of daily necessities. The status of craftsmen is generally low. Aristotle in ancient Greece called it a "despicable trade." To this day, there are still many craftsmen around the world who pass on the ancient culture. Many of the cultural revitalization, craftsmanship, and intangible cultural heritage we advocate now come from them. The status of craftsmen has been elevated in modern society.

Artist studio during the Renaissance

02

Artist part-time designer

The Renaissance in the 14th century allowed artists to gain freedom. Painters, sculptors, and architects became the new major design forces. In Florence, Italy, the term "architect" appeared for the first time. During this period, the first true master of architecture appeared - Filippo Brunelleschi. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, a landmark building that symbolizes the Renaissance, was built by him. For a time, painters, sculptors, and architects became the new major design forces.

Filippo Brunelleschi

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

The Leonardo da Vinci we know well can also be regarded as a designer in the modern sense. He is a rare all-rounder in history. He possesses many qualities of a professional designer, not to mention his drawing ability, as well as structural design. He has designed mechanical vehicles and aircraft. You must know that transportation design is the ultimate goal of industrial designers. The prototype of the currently popular robots can also be found in him, and he did it 500 years ago.

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts

03

Royal designer

There are also many court painters like Leonardo da Vinci who provide design services for European royal families. For example, soft furnishing design, tapestries, soft furnishings, etc. There are also cabinet makers who create luxurious furniture. These royal artists are in charge of style, design details, docking with manufacturers, and ensuring supply. They had an important influence on European design in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

After the German Gutenberg invented printing, the publishing industry rose rapidly, which led to the rapid development of graphic design, and a large number of book designers, illustration artists, and layout designers emerged. Before the industrial revolution, architectural design, product design, and graphic design were basically in shape, but they did not form specialized professions. In addition to the high-quality supplies that the royal family can have, many designs come from the folk.

Johannes Gutenberg

Gutenberg invented printing

04

Professional designer during the Industrial Revolution< /p>

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the 19th century. Booming industrial manufacturing replaced most of the manual labor, calling for the birth of modern industrial design. The new production method requires professionals to design products suitable for mass production.

There is an ongoing debate about the relationship between industrial design and design, the relationship between manufacturers and consumers, the relationship between design and art, and the relationship between traditional handicrafts and mechanization.

In the second half of the 19th century, the planning and construction of some world expositions in Europe and the United States promoted the development of architectural design and product design. The special needs of exhibition architecture have led to the development and popularization of new architectural forms, new materials and new technologies. Most of these expositions are held to showcase industrial products from various countries. It can be said that they are the beginning of modern industrial product design.

The Crystal Palace scene of the First World's Fair in 1851

William Morris

William Morris was a pioneer of modern design. The emergence of the British Arts and Crafts Movement benefited from Morris's personal efforts. The Art Nouveau movement that followed was largely influenced by the British Arts and Crafts movement. The flower of Morris's art bloomed in this Art Deco movement that spread across Europe and America. The light of his thought shines on the pilgrims who are trekking on the road to modern design. The German Industrial Federation and the Bauhaus were an inheritance and development starting from Morris's ideas. The emergence of Bauhaus marked the formation of modernist design and the maturity of modern design style. However, Morris's life was full of contradictions: he had a profound impact on the modern design movement, and at the same time he attempted to turn the wheel of history back. Carrying the heavy cross between traditional and modern ideals and reality, he embarked on a new journey of artistic design in the modern sense.

William Morris

The interior and decoration of the Red House designed by William Morris

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European modernist design master

Between the two world wars, the Constructivist movement in Russia, the De Stijl movement in the Netherlands, and the Bauhaus in Germany laid the foundation for the birth of modernism. Modernism began with the development of architectural design and gradually affected urban planning and design, environmental design, furniture design, industrial product design, graphic design, communication design, etc., forming a truly complete modernist design. Most of the first generation industrial designers in Europe graduated from architecture majors, have a solid foundation in higher professional education, and have long-term practical experience in architectural design. However, they are still in the exploratory and experimental stage and have not yet been connected with large industry, mass production, and the international consumer market.

Peter Behrens

Peter Behrens is one of the important founders of German modernist design and a pioneer in industrial product design. He was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. , is also known as "the first modern art designer". The well-known architect Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus school, also worked in his studio in the early days.

Peter Behrens

The electric kettle series designed by Peter Behrens in 1909

In 1904, he participated in the early organizational work of the German Industrial Federation. In 1907, the German Industrial League was formally established under the initiative of Mutesius. With its efforts, the German Industrial Federation proposed "the high quality of industrial products" and worked hard to integrate art into industry. Later he was employed by the German General Electric Company and became a true industrial designer.

06

Professional designers in the United States

The American design movement has been full of pragmatic business atmosphere from the beginning. Fierce business competition promoted the development of American industrial design. After Europe experienced two world wars, many leading designers immigrated to the United States. Many early products were produced by these designers. In the late 1920s, relying on its strong industry, mature commerce, and strong economic strength, the United States took the lead in turning industrial design into an independent profession, starting in New York, Chicago and other places.

The earliest industrial design departments came from the automobile manufacturing industry. In order to occupy the market, they hired professional styling designers. This trend quickly spread to other industries, and entrepreneurs sought help from industrial designers, hoping that they would design their products to be more beautiful and attractive to promote market sales.

The professional backgrounds of the first generation of industrial designers in the United States are varied. Many come from advertising, commercial art, window design and other industries, and some do not even have a formal higher education background. But their design range is very wide and their quantity is amazing.

From transportation to daily necessities, from corporate logos to advertising, it can do almost everything. Although the design concepts are not as profound as those of European designers, from a market perspective, their commercial designs are very successful: they emphasize business negotiation skills, short design cycles, strong market competitiveness, strong design expression, and drawings Very cool. They shaped the American national image and social life in the 20th century.

Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy is the father of industrial design in the United States, the most famous industrial designer in the 20th century, and a pioneer in the design industry—the first to combine streamlined shapes with The fusion of European modernism established unique artistic value. It pioneered industrial design and promoted the combination of design and business; and relied on keen business awareness, unlimited imagination and outstanding design talent to inject new life elements into the development of industry.

Raymond Loewy

His name became a household name in the 20th century, and his works are known to the world. The "Coca-Cola" bottle shape and logo; the Shell Petroleum logo; streamlined cars, trains, and airplanes; President Kennedy's plane "Air Force One"; the spacecraft cockpit of the moon landing astronauts, etc. He has presided over and participated in thousands of designs.

Raymond Lowe is a highly commercial designer. He preaches that the most important thing in modern design is not the design philosophy or concept, but the economic benefits of design. This naturally caused some design theorists to Of criticism, Raymond Lowe was noncommittal and further explained: "For me, the most beautiful curve is the curve of rising sales." As the first generation of industrial designers in the United States, Raymond Loewy did not have any pedantic taste, nor did he have any so-called intellectual idealism. The purpose of design was only for promotion, and was full of a strong commercial atmosphere of pragmatism. He highly professionalized and commercialized design, making his design company one of the largest design companies in the world in the 20th century.

Raymond Loewy's design works

Designers have professionalized the separation of product production and product design processes, and have also recognized and respected the importance of designers. At the same time, it promotes the emergence and development of freelance designers, who can freely provide design services to the society and meet the diverse and personalized needs of social products. The emergence of professional designers marks that design development has entered a new stage of specialization. His development will surely promote the rapid development of design in various countries around the world.

Summary

1. The career development of designers is inseparable from the evolution of human society, and is inseparable from the history, social development conditions and economic strength of each stage.

2. The essence of design is human needs.

3. All design-related professions are not clearly divided in the early stages. Many great designers can cross industry boundaries to do design in different fields.

4. Mature industrial production and the material needs of the consumer era are important driving forces for the popularization of the design industry.

5. The rise of various exhibitions, alliances, and associations has promoted the process of professionalization of designers.

Questions

1. Today we introduced the design development and representative designers in different periods in a linear historical order. As of the rise of American industrial design, the subsequent design development and There is no introduction to the typical representatives. Can interested friends continue to explore?

2. In today’s content, representatives of manufacturers, design companies, and associations at each stage are not introduced. Everyone is welcome to add.

3. The above content is mainly based on industrial design and does not include other design subdivisions. If you are interested, you are welcome to add the historical process of the emergence of professional designers in the fields of architectural design, interior design, fashion design and other fields.