StyleDesign in Our Everyday Lives, Big and Small

Fall 2018: Week 8

Aparna Varadharajan

Notions of

aesthetics and

styleWhat is beautiful?

What constitutes

style?

What are the

characteristics of

some styles?

©2018 Aparna Varadharajan

Aesthetics

Cohesion

Design is aesthetically

pleasant when all the parts of

the visual elements work well

together and act as a whole.

What people find beautiful is relative.

Characterized by style, beauty is achieved

using clarity, cohesion, and a careful use of

proportions.

Clarity and simplicity

Most clear design is

considered beautiful as the

users can see the design at a

glance and can use it easily.

Proportions

The Golden ratio is one of

many visual proportion rules

that make design visually

attractive.

Consistency

Beauty is subjective but some types of

beauty endure though time. Designers

work hard to keep things consistent to

capture that beauty.

Various

solids

coming

together to

forma

cohesive

form.

Simple,

effective

lighting

form Pablo

design.

Logo designs using the Golden Ratio

A beautiful

infographic

designed

by

Machado.

HomeZada’s

infographic of

styles in

interior design

shows the

difference

between

modern and

contemporary

styles.

Style is visual

classification.

Style is characterized by all the

visual elements like shapes, forms,

color, and textures. Through time,

each geography has its own style

that evolves with evolving culture

and politics.

Breaking consistency in a

pleasing, cohesive helps

function and aesthetics.

Different approaches to

achieving the Golden

Ratio in design.

Clean, simplest design of a

dish dryer rack. This is the

simplest form.

Visual consistency in type.

UI elements for a website that have a

consistent look.

Consistency

CohesionSimplicity

Proportions

Aesthetics: concepts

Notion of beauty

Vorarlberg State Library, Bregenz,

Austria.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript

Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

Abbey Library of Saint Gall, St.

Gallen, Switzerland.

Vennesla Library and Culture House,

Vennesla, Norway.

Bibliothèque Sainte

Geneviève, Paris, France.

Tianjin, China

public library

Stuttgart City Library – Stuttgart,

GermanyAdmont Abbey Library – Admont, Austria

Royal Portuguese Reading Room – Rio

De Janeiro, Brazil

Beautiful libraries across the world.

Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève,

Paris, France.

Styles

Different parts of the world have done different things through time.

Their designs, cultures, materials all follow visual patterns in a particular era. These patterns

and visual elements evolved based on changing politics and access to materials. These are styles or design movements.

Today, the contemporary design styles is more free-wheeling; with several sub-cultures but geography is no longer center-stage in defining styles.

Classical Greek/ Roman styleCommunication design Interaction design

Product design Architectural design

The icon for

financial

institutions is

derived from

the Greek

temples like

the

Parthenon.

Storage Jar

with Herakles

Attacking a

Centaur, a

great example

of Greek

design.

The

Pantheon in

Rome is

inspired by

the Greeks,

built by the

Romans and

is testimony

to both

styles as well

as Roman

engineering.

Book layout: A page from an "ucial" (all

capital letters) illustrated manuscript of

the Iliad.

The characteristics

Highly formalized characteristics, both of structure and

decoration.

Precise forms based on geometry

Balance and proportion

Greeks: Trabeated construction (beam and column)

Roman: Beam and column; arches, vaults and domes.

Considered the epitome of refined aesthetics in the West.

The Erechtheum,

western side,

Acropolis,

Athens, Greece.

Ancient Greek

temple dedicated

to Athena and

Poseidon.

Japanese styleCommunication design Interaction design

Product design Architectural design

Japanese

identity

design:

contempora

ry design

using

traditional

cultural

symbols.

Hiromi Kiriki’s design for a wearable

computer to be released by Sony.

Traditional Japanese architecture uses

tatami mats as flooring and a system

of measurement. The mats are mad

of dried, woven rushes.

Japanese innovation by D-Barcode that

designed barcodes that are interesting

and functional.

The characteristics

A lot of design aims at serenity and

Zen.

Inclination towards minimalism,

simplicity.

Elements from nature.

Integrating nature with design.

Emphasis on natural materials and

natural light.

Colors that are rich and bright.

Focus on multipurpose design.

Traditional Japanese teapot, significant

in the culture.

Gothic styleCommunication design Interaction design

Product design Architectural design

Cloister Black font by Dieter Steffmann_www.steffmann.de

Night Owls’ gothic-style website for

their agency.

Contemporary

gothic bench.

Chartres Cathedral is a soaring

example of high gothic architecture

The characteristics

Architectural elements: pointed arches, steep-sloping roofs

and decorative tracery (ornamental openwork patterns),

tracery, grouped colonettes

Heavy stone and brick work, polychromy (contrasting colors)

Bold forms; towers, massive hip and gabled roofs

Larger scale than Early Gothic buildings

Heraldic motifs found in coats of arms.

Painted furniture: elaborate painted scenes

Gothic script

Notre Dame

Cathedral, Paris

Gargoyle at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

Modernist styleCommunication design Interaction design

Product design Architectural design

The F51 armchair by Walter Gropius,

founder of the Bauhaus movement in

modernism.

‘Smart House’ icons designed as a

modernist set for an eco-friendly

home.

Jan

Tschichold’s

use of clean

layouts and

clear type

was

influenced

by Bauhaus.

Richard Meier’s Jubilee Church is a

late-modern design that uses strict

geometry.

The characteristics

Rejection of existing ‘traditional’ methods and principles

A new geometry and an honesty in use of materials

A new visual language that was free of cultural, academic and historical references

International style: To be accessible to people of all nationalities, class and level of

education.

Function dictates form.

Technological advancements in manufacturing and construction leads to new design.

Corbusier’s

Ronchamp

Chapel, France.

Frank Lloyd

Wright’s Falling

Water house,

Pennsylvania

Contemporary styleCommunication design Interaction design

Product design Architectural design

Dashboard design template that reflects

contemporary styles and business needs.Sifteo game cubes use current

technology and contemporary design

to provide games for kids and adults.

Bike Break by Chiara Minì is a portable

kiosk that won a design award.

Casey Key Bay House by Sweet

Sparkman Architects is a contemporary

house that is harmonious with nature.

The characteristics

Eclectic, can be revivalist with a mix-and match of clean, simple lines.

Differs from modernism as it is softer in color and lines

Less rigid than style before, more free-for- all.

Can be philosophically driven: technology, usability, sustainability, etc.

Sub-cultures have their own versions.

Pushing technical boundaries of larger, taller, more impossible.

More integration in design: architecture, graphics, product, and interaction design.

Children's Library Discovery Center in

Queens, NY. LHSA+DP did the interiors.

The architecture is by 1100 Architect.

Remember!

Beauty is characterized by design simplicity, cohesion,

proportion, and consistency.

What is considered beautiful is different across the globe.

Style is visual classification of designed objects.

Styles are visual, design movements are philosophical.

It is a reflection of a particular culture in a particular place and

time.

There are distinct styles like the Classical Greek and Romans,

Japanese, Gothic, Modernist, Contemporary, all having different

characteristics and highlights.

Project: Week 8

The problem:

Look into various design styles. Pick one that you like. Provide examples with pictures and write out what it is that you liked about it. If it is

an older style, is it revived? Should it be revived?

Upload photos, screenshots, Word documents, PDFs, or audio files into the folder with your name along with a short explanation as to

why you chose that particular style.

Link:

Notes:

I am looking for ideas. If the execution of your idea is not polished or highly finished, it is alright. The main purpose of this exercise it to try

to understand different styles.

Design ProcessDesign in Our Everyday Lives, Big and Small

Fall 2018: Week 9

Aparna VaradharajanDifferent design

processes

Project

management

Recommended Resources

Reading Viewing

Graphic design across the world

https://www.k-international.com/blog/graphic-design-around-the-

world/

Art history timelines

https://www.dummies.com/education/art-appreciation/art-history-

timeline/

Khan Academy on Gothic Architecture

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-

world/gothic1/a/gothic-architecture-an-introduction