1. Design concept: design, art and technology.

Design
theory and methodology. Design, ideology and industrial
society. The areas of design. Professional activity.

1. Design concept: design, art and technology.

We define design as a process or task aimed at projecting, coordinating,

selecting and organizing a set of elements to produce and create visual objects
intended to communicate specific messages to specific groups. The set of
elements that involve the creation of a design are:

• Trace or delineation of a building or figure.

• Description of an object or thing, made with words.
• Arrangement of spots, colors or drawings.
• Project and planning of urban actions.
• Original conception of an object or work intended for mass production,
within the world of fashion or the industrial sector.
• The shape of each of these objects.

A design is a piece with a certain visual appeal, with its own personality and great
aesthetic balance.

It was not until 1922 that the term 'graphic designer' first emerged. It appeared
from the hand of the designer, typographer and calligrapher William Addison
Dwiggins (1880, Ohio - 1956, Massachusetts) who used this term to define
himself as a professional. Addison, as well as being renowned for pioneering the
use of 'graphic design', is known for his extensive and multifaceted work, which
ranges from the design of typefaces such as Caravan, Metro, Electra and
Caledonia, to the publication of various titles on graphic arts and advertising
design, including Layout in Advertising and A Letter about Designing Type,
among others.

Areas of application

Design is applied in all areas and is found everywhere. Within the digital world,
throughout the network, the internet. Designs from all over the world advertising,
magazines, newspapers, books, manuals. We find design in our furniture, a chair,
a piece of furniture... We see design in the multimedia world, cinema, television,
videos, musicals, trailers, and other special effects.

The possibilities of graphic design are endless, as more and more fields are
using computer-generated elements.

Since what we can call "the birth of design" at the end of the 19th century, there
have been two currents of consideration of design: on the one hand
there are those who understand design as an artistic activity, the designer is an
artist and design acquires the category of art. On the other hand, there are those
who consider design as a tool at the service of something (increasing sales,
communicating effectively, providing functionality to objects...). Henry Van de
Velde, famous Belgian artist, architect and craftsman, said that "Beauty is a side
effect of clarity and the system used, it is not an optical effect."
These two currents, initially opposed, intersect, merge and separate again
numerous times throughout the history of design. There are many objects (such
as Marcel Breuer's "Wassily" armchair), advertising pieces (such as Toulouse-
Lautrec's posters) and even architectural elements (such as Gaudí's Casa Milá)
that have become objects of art thanks to their design. Other times, design grants
fine arts the creative phase of interrelating the different parts of the work and
achieving a unitary whole.

It is worth reviewing the historical panorama and evolution here.

As we have already said, we can place the birth of design as such in the mid-19th
century. Previously, this task was performed by typographers, illustrators,
calligraphers and craftsmen. We can talk about pure arts (painting, sculpture...)
and applied arts (textile, graphic arts). Later, the main trends in graphic design
will be related to artistic trends, technology and industrial design.

Industrialization brought with it a vulgarization of the design and quality of

products. Faced with this reality, a movement called Arts & Crafts emerged,
which believed that workers had been deprived of the opportunity to take pride in
their work. The movement began in Great Britain and dominated a significant
sector of artistic activity and thought during the second half of the 19th century.

One of the principles of this movement was that the object should be adapted to
the function for which it had been conceived. Members of this movement are very
attracted to the medieval vision of art. Forms tended to be simple, using linear
and organic motifs; in ceramics, bright colours fused with the body during the
firing process. Plants, birds and animals served as inspiration for many
designers; in fact, William Morris, considered the main master of the movement,
used them almost exclusively in the designs he applied to fabrics and wallpapers.

The movement reached its maturity with the formation of guilds and professional
societies in the style of those that existed in the Middle Ages. The Guild of the
Century or the Guild of Art Workers were the best known.

European designers quickly assimilated the styles of British craftsmen, but soon
evolved towards the "excesses" of Art Nouveau.
The Atr Nouveau movement spread throughout Europe in the late 19th and early
20th centuries, reaching its peak popularity in 1900, the year of the Paris World's
Fair. This movement received a different name in each country (Jugendstil in
Germany, Floreal and Liberty in Italy, Secession in Austria, Modernism in Spain).
Its proponents aimed to restore the balance between arts and crafts, appreciating
the benefits of mass production and technological advances.

Art Nouveau designers found inspiration in exotic foreign arts (Byzantine

mosaics, Egyptian calligraphy, Japanese woodcuts, etc.), but they also adopted
traditional tastes of the period. This eclecticism was characterized by linearity
(from attenuated configurations to lightning curves), using floral and abstract
motifs. In the graphic field, flat areas of bright colour were introduced and strong,
expressive lines were used.

One of the main exponents of this movement in the graphic field was the
Frenchman Henry de Toulouse-Lautrec. Their designs, silhouettes and energetic
lines are known and recognized throughout the world. The Belgian Henry van de
Velde was another exponent of Art Nouveau.

In Spain, one of the most original and striking exponents of this style was the
architect Antoni Gaudí, who created amazing buildings and metalwork in
Barcelona.

The modernist movement with its national schools does not differentiate between
architecture and design, interior design or decorative arts. It is the first artistic
movement that considers architectural design, textile prints on furniture, glass
and lamp making on an equal footing.

Little by little, functionality will prevail. Functionalist architecture, championed by

Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, opts for rational planning adapted to
future use for the design of buildings. This idea will gradually permeate other
areas of industrial and graphic design.

In 1907, the Werkbund was formed in Germany, an organization with the aim of
forcing an alliance between art and industry. One of its first members was graphic
designer Peter Behrens, who has often been called the first industrial design
consultant. His designs for AEG included a functionalist building, simple and clear
graphic brochures, undecorated steel cutlery for the company canteen and a
wide range of electrical products. Be careful! Here we are, before the first
corporate identity design in history.

In 1919, the Bauhaus design school was founded in Germany by architect Walter
Gropius. His main contribution was the promotion of a machine-inspired aesthetic
for architecture and applied arts and his sophisticated teaching programs to
encourage students to master
 the language of elementary forms. For example, the classes of painters Paul
Klee and Vasily Kandinsky were dedicated to the study of line and color
respectively.
From 1925 onwards, a new movement appeared on the scene. Art Deco takes its
name from the 1925 Exposition of Decorative Arts that took place in Paris. The
practitioners of this movement assimilated elements of Cubism and Dadaism,
while also incorporating decorative elements drawn from diverse cultures, such
as Indian, Aztec, and Egyptian, among others. Bright reds, shocking pinks,
electric blues, silver and bronze tones were all very popular. Following the
discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, the play of geometric elements and striking
colour contrasts became more prominent. In the graphic field, the fascination with
speed and the frenetic pace of modern life took its toll; airplanes and automobiles
are widely used motifs on product packaging, advertisements and posters of all
kinds.

After World War II, the United States emerged with new trends and ways of
working. Large graphic design studios appear; successful industrial production
requires careful design studies to offer distinguished, competitive and quality
products such as household appliances, automobiles... An aerodynamic style
with bulbous and soft shapes prevails.

Europe is entering an era of design related to national identity, according to some

authors, to the point of identifying styles and countries. The Swiss, Dutch, Polish,
English and French design schools stand out... with their own distinct theories,
typography and styles.

An important milestone was the publication of Ken Garland's First Things First
Manifesto (1964). It was a call for a more radical form of graphic design,
criticizing the idea of serial design, which was devoid of value. This document
caused a considerable stir at the time. It was supported by more than four
hundred graphic designers and artists, and also received the backing of Tony
Benn, who published it in the British newspaper The Guardian. The manifesto
was revived in 2000, when a new group of designers updated it and republished
it.

The 1970s were dominated by the explosion of mass culture and a constant
search for stylistic novelty. A young, alternative culture split from society. The
hippie culture introduced bright colors and <<psicodélicos> > and fascinating
optical effects.

Postmodern design emerged in the 70s and 80s, contrary to the premise that
form must follow function. "Function can take any form" say the postmodernists.

The Pop design movement emerged in Britain targeting a young, wealthy

audience who rejected austere forms and an emphasis on utility. Phrases like
"less is more boring" perfectly define this
movement. Clothing, album covers, shop windows, responded to what Braham
had described: <<tremendo impacto inicial y poco poder de mantenimiento> >.
Formal minimalism spreads in the field of architecture. We are facing a period of
stylistic pluralisms.

Since then, design has been greatly transformed by new technologies, first with
the emergence of computers and then new information technologies. From 1984,
with the appearance of the first desktop publishing systems, personal computers
gradually replaced all analogue technical procedures with digital systems. This
technological innovation had as its first consequence a tendency towards graphic
experimentation and a certain neglect of the communicative principles that were
the basis of design. The designer of yesteryear, with his pencil, paper and
drawing board, has received invaluable help, the computer, giving rise to what
has been called CAD (Computer Aided Design).

Furthermore, the introduction of new technologies in the field of industrial

production in developed countries has seen an increasingly rapid growth rate in
recent years. What started out as a semi-automatic technology for numerical
machine control has ended up giving rise to complex CAM (Computer Aided
Manufacturing) systems.

Over time, these two disciplines have gradually merged to achieve a technology
that combines the two, such that CAD/CAM systems are now considered a
single, identifiable discipline.

Nowadays it is possible to have a mass-produced designer object. In this field,

Apple, a company well known in the world of design, is an expert. It is one of the
few companies that has managed to create mass-produced products that have
become true design icons like the iPod or the MacBook.

Design Day

World Design Day is celebrated on April 27 at the initiative of the International

Council of Graphic Design Associations (LCOGRA) and the United Nations. This
date coincides with the founding of the aforementioned council in London in
1963. lcograda is the voluntary union of associations related to graphic design,
design management, design promotion and design teaching. In 1991, as an
initiative of this Council, the day of its foundation was taken as World Graphic
Designer Day. Since 2012, its name has changed and it is now celebrated as
World Communication Design Day.
2 Design theory and methodology.
As Xavier Mariscal says when talking about design, "inspiration is an insult;
behind my work there is a program that you must adjust to." "In my studio it is
forbidden to say whether something is beautiful or not. "Things in design either
work or they don't work, nothing more." Although his studio ceased operations in
early 2014, these words still hold true for any design professional.

The methodological process of the design aims to simulate the refinement that
traditional objects have undergone for centuries. In a maximum of months of
work, the design studio must find an effective solution to the problems posed by
the new object or idea and must have sought all avenues to resolve them.

Design is, therefore, a process, the first part of which is usually a commission. A
good design is the result of a good process + good execution of the object.

In general we can talk about 5 phases in any design process, although their
nomenclature may vary depending on the author:

1 .- Problem definition and data collection.

2 .- Evaluation and selection of ideas.
3 .- Product and process development and engineering.
4 .- Tests and evaluation.
5 .- Realization of the product or design.

For some creators, the genius of a good design lies in knowing how to discover
the problem and define it. Design is realizing that there is something unsolved,
rather than thinking about how to solve it. After that you just have to work in that
direction. For example: the idea that should be patented is not that of the oil can
that does not drip oil, but rather perceiving the problem of the object covered in
oil and deciding to solve it. The definition of the problem is, therefore, a
fundamental first step. In many cases, the problem is already defined in the
briefing provided by the client. Xavier Mariscal says that "Behind a good design
there is a good client who has known how to make a good briefing. The more
they restrict you, the better you can work.

In this phase, information will be obtained on the requirements that the products
or services offered will have in accordance with the needs and demands of the
client and the market, identifying existing opportunities, technical possibilities and
manufacturing requirements.

Once the problem has been defined, a theoretical framework must be

established in which to develop the research. Following the example we gave
earlier, the oil can, it is not the same to establish that the problem comes from
incorrect use of the oil can or from poor design. In the first case we would focus
our research on usability (a very fashionable term now) and in the second on
finding a design that does not leak or drip oil.
The research follows the premise that the more knowledge is given about the
topic, the better. To collect data, you can refer to studies already carried out on
the subject, conduct interviews and surveys, meet with experts on the subject,
contact the R&D department staff, monitor the competition, etc.

Once the problem has been clearly defined and established, it is necessary to
gather preliminary ideas from which the design concepts can be assimilated.
This is probably the most creative part of the design process. The designer can
let his imagination freely consider any idea that occurs to him. These ideas
should not be evaluated for feasibility, as they are discussed in the hope that a
positive attitude will stimulate other associated ideas like a chain reaction. The
most useful medium for developing preliminary ideas is freehand drawing. In
communication, it is very common to use the "brainstorm" (brain storm in
English), a meeting in which creatives and designers let their imaginations run
wild around the client's product or message. All the outlines, sketches and notes
are then reviewed, combined and refined to yield several reasonable solutions to
the problem. With this information, the design planning is carried out, the target
market and the resources necessary for the launch of the new product are
selected, as well as the identification of the legal requirements that affect our
product or service.

In the second phase (evaluation and selection of ideas) those ideas that present
the greatest chances of success are selected. This evaluation process involves
an analysis of the economic, technical and commercial viability of the product.

Once approved, the project moves on to product and process engineering. In

this third phase, most of the detailed design and product development activities
are carried out, as well as the production processes necessary for manufacturing
and subsequent launching to the market.

It includes a design implementation phase, design review, design verification and

design validation.

On many occasions, in parallel or simultaneously, the fourth phase (testing and

evaluation) begins, in which the tests and evaluation corresponding to the
designs resulting from the third phase are carried out, for which printing tests or
the manufacture of prototypes and the simulation of the manufacturing process
are carried out, trying to detect possible deficiencies in both the new product and
its manufacturing process.

Finally, if the evaluation carried out in the previous phase is favourable, the
product moves on to the fifth phase, where large-scale manufacturing or
printing begins; the new product is launched onto the market.

It is advisable to generate records of each of the phases of the design and

development of the product or service.
The designer must possess a visual language, a knowledge of the
communication process and visual perception. In addition, you must have proper
management of resources in order to be able to apply them.

Systems and methods.

No design method is a unique and universal recipe. However, in one way or

another all methods have common points and a logical correlation.

HANS GUGELOT. In 1963 he developed a design method for the Ulm School of
Design (Germany):

1. Presentation of the problem

2. Current state analysis
3. Definition of the problem and goals
4. Creating alternatives
5. Evaluation and selection
6. Production planning

BRUCE ARCHER (Systemic Method For Designers) This industrial designer

established 3 phases in the design:

1. Analytical Phase: Data collection. Ordination. Assessment. Definition of

conditions. Structuring and hierarchization.
2. Creative Phase: Formulation of the guiding idea; Taking sides;
Formalization of the idea; Verification.
3. Executive Phase: Critical evaluation; Idea adjustment; Development;
Materialization.

JORGE FRASCARA, professor emeritus at the University of Alberta (Canada)

tries to summarize the most common steps:

1. Commissioning of work by the client (first definition of the problem)

2. Gathering information about the client, product, competition, audience.
3. Analysis. Interpretation and organization of information (second definition
of the problem)
4. Determination of objectives:
a. Channel determination
b. Scope, context and message study
c. Analysis of priorities and hierarchies
5. Specifications for visualization (third problem definition)
6. Development of preliminary project
7. Presentation to the client
8. Organization of production
9. Implementation
10. Verification
BRUNO MUNARI (industrial/graphic designer) proposed a design method based
on problem solving:

1- Problem.
2- Problem definition.
3- Definition and recognition of subproblems.
4- Data collection.
5- Data analysis.
6- Creativity.
7- Materials - Technology.
8- Experimentation.
9- Models.
1O-Verification.
11-Construction drawings.
12-Solution.

Ultimately, methods can help us organize the design process, but we will need to
work on the problem in a methodical manner to achieve an effective design, that
is, adapted to the parameters established at the beginning of the project.

3 Design, ideology and industrial society.

Design is closely related to our culture. Design has become the paradigm of well-
being and quality of life, whose ideas are based on consumerism as an end,
luxury as a sign of status and the ecological idea as a conscience of solidarity
responsibility. Society is stimulated by innovation and creativity that make it
possible for man to introduce new objects and ideas into the world.

As we have already seen, the concept of design arises from the need to define
the functional and aesthetic aspects of an object for its subsequent development.
As Selle states in his work <<Contribución a la teoría del diseño industrial> >:
"Design includes not only the composition of certain consumer goods or series of
products in the field of consumption and capital goods, but also the planning and
arrangement of broader systems, installations and spaces in the material
environment (...) even fashion and advertising use the term design today."

The term design is inextricably linked to the aesthetic and cultural concepts of the
time in which it is interpreted, and substantially conditioned by the technological
achievements of said stages, insofar as, in its industrial apparatus, these
participate in the process with unquestionable importance.

Design brings together disciplines as diverse as technology, economics and

sociology, while also involving studies on physiology, medicine, functions and
information on the science and evolution of products, as well as, in a relevant
way, aesthetics. It is important to place special emphasis on those design factors
that are not usually considered a general rule, which are the sociological and
psychological premises,
difficult to describe exactly, but which determine both the components and the
tendencies that condition the objects of design. These, without a doubt, are
caused by the characteristics of the society in which they arise. In this section, it
would be necessary to distinguish between those ideas "adapted" to the
dominant social, cultural, political and/or philosophical norms, and those that are
born to create new norms.
Design culture is immersed within the material culture of an accumulation
economy typical of industrialized countries, where the designer finds a vast field
of work that ranges from the design of machinery to the creation of beautiful
objects for interior decoration and personal use. And all this is possible thanks to
technology. Computers and new materials have made production cheaper, more
efficient and easier to control.

In our society, basic needs are widely covered. Other more hedonistic needs are
making their way and require new designs to differentiate themselves from the
rest. Designer cars, designer houses, designer furniture, etc. have become an
added value when making a purchase. Communication also needs new ways to
differentiate itself in a world increasingly saturated with messages. Creativity,
colour and design are basic elements to get messages across to the consumer or
user.

In short, design comes to define the complex organized process that includes the
industrial, organizational and figurative development of products until their final
finish, although, for the user or consumer, it only means something finished, its
final presentation.

4 The areas of design.

The areas of action of design can be considered to be basically three: space,
which includes disciplines such as urban planning, architecture and interior
design; objects, whose development is based on the applications considered
within what is known as industrial design, where we find activities such as
engineering in all its sections, textile and fashion design, etc.; and messages,
within which we would place everything related to visual communication and
especially the concept known as graphic design.

Taking these three elements as a basis, we can clearly distinguish three areas in
design: graphic design, industrial design and architectural and urban design.

Graphic design

The way of expressing oneself by communicating messages in writing, generally

on paper, cardboard or similar materials, using printed shapes, words and
images, is the field of action of what
we call graphic design. It is one of the most important forms of visual
communication today, as its applications are very diverse, including,
fundamentally, posters, books, newspapers and magazines, and packaging.
The graphic designer distributes the signs in the format according to previous
criteria, with the intention of achieving a certain effect, and where the aesthetic
presence and functionality of the elements must be combined for a correct visual
effect. In this regard, appropriate use of color, typography, and other available
graphic elements is essential.

The message must be what everything revolves around and is organized around,
a composition of signs, colors, lines, textures, etc., that favor its attraction and
subsequent reading. The approaches will make the design product a success
when its integration is effective in this regard.

Graphic design developed with the advent of the industrial revolution, although its
antecedents can be found in the invention of the printing press. The techniques
and printing methods that emerged especially from the 19th century onwards give
special interest to printed works in their different applications, and today's graphic
designer is considered to be a great connoisseur of graphic and photomechanical
techniques.

Industrial design

A good definition of industrial design is the one given by Martin Kelm: "Industrial
design must be understood as (...) a process of aesthetic formation which, in
collaboration with science, technology, engineering and other disciplines, is
integrated into the preparation and development of products, and leads to the
optimization of use values according to the aesthetic-cultural demands of our
society, and according to the technical-economic conditions of industrial
production."

As we see, industrial design refers to the production and manufacturing of objects

using procedures typical of the technological and industrialized era. Their projects
must be carried out primarily by the tools that it has generated. It includes not
only objects arising from new needs and advances in technology, but also others
that were previously made by hand.

This production involves exhaustive planning that takes into account not only the
shape that the object must take, but also the characteristics of the materials and
that it is adapted to the manufacturing processes in which machines are used
that make the product can be considered as a "serial" and "standardized"
element. These attributes make this product competitive by reducing its
production costs while distinguishing it from artistic and artisanal products.

Architectural and urban design

Architectural design is fundamentally concerned with the rationalization of
buildings and their applications, creating habitable spaces while also taking
charge of the arrangement of functional structures within them.

Although it cannot be said that it corresponds exactly to the same concept, the
activities integrated within "interior design" can be considered within its scope of
application, where we would fundamentally find decoration, furniture design, etc.

Urban design has to do with the relationship between a person and his or her
immediate surroundings, independently of the relationship that occurs, more
intimately, in his or her home. This deals with the project for the development of
neighbourhoods and cities, the implementation of urban plans, as well as the
global conception of spaces and complexes that are related to them. It assesses
the layout of the homes on the available land, the layout of the streets, the
location of green areas and everything related to citizen services such as
sewage, electricity and gas pipes, etc. and what has recently come to be called
urban sustainability, which plans designs according to ecological and
sustainability criteria.

5 Professional activity.
Throughout the 20th century, design has specialized in several fields. As schools
and universities create new specialties, the various fields of design are
consolidated as individual disciplines that, at the same time, include families of
others. We can differentiate a series of fields such as:

- Graphic Design: editorial, poster, advertising, illustration, typography,

visual and corporate identity, signage, printing...
- Product Design: packaging, everyday objects...
- Industrial Design: furniture, automobiles, household goods, footwear,
glass, ceramics...
- Textile Design: dyeing, trimmings, printing.
- Fashion: pattern making, cutting and sewing, haute couture, ready-to-
wear.
- Interior design: shops, scenography, home decoration, artistic direction in
audiovisual media
- Jewelry and ceramics.
- Multimedia Design: interactive applications, authoring, web pages, digital
video, animations...
- Urban design.

As Bruno Munari stated, the designer "is a designer endowed with an aesthetic
sense." The final success of the product depends on him and his work and,
accordingly, when it comes to a consumer object, the increase in sales of the
same also depends on it.
Traditionally, it was the craftsman who created and reproduced what was
essential for each need. When society demanded something in particular, it was
the artists who collaborated in the creation of objects different from the ordinary
ones that satisfied the needs. The definitive incorporation of high-level artists and
architects into the field of design, in collaboration with the technicians
themselves, meant the guarantee that, in addition to being functional, the objects
manufactured could be beautiful.

The designer, as conceived today, is an artist of our time. With his work he seeks
to create in the same way that nature does, helping the object to form itself, and
collaborating with the application of new techniques and materials in a kind of
applied theory of evolution. There is therefore no problem in the relationship
between design and art, as the dichotomy between pure art and applied art can
be seen; the designer is a creator with artistic knowledge, but also a student of
many other disciplines. In short, the design professional must have complete
interdisciplinary training to meet the expectations of clients and must also know
the characteristics of the products and materials involved in the process.

Today's designers collaborate with or are part of teams in sectors such as film
(animators), television (graphic designers), architecture (interior design,
furniture), museums, the industrial sector (product design), etc. Their field of
action is related to industry, commerce and all cultural activities; their profile and
education may have a technical orientation in the engineering of industrial or
construction processes (interior architecture), or be related to the humanistic
disciplines in the fields of audiovisual communication, graphic arts, advertising,
marketing or product management, the design of the same or their containers
(packaging), packaging, labels and containers. They must also work side by side
with other professionals such as engineers, technicians, psychologists,
sociologists, economists, etc., which requires an open attitude and a constant
need for learning.

6 Literature.
Sell, Gert. "Ideology and utopia of design. Contribution to the theory of industrial
design", Barcelona, Ed. Gustavo Gili, 1975.

Solanas, Jesus. "Design, art and function", Barcelona, Ed. Salvat, 1985

Wong, Wucius. "Fundamentals of design". Barcelona, Ed. Gustavo Gili, 1995

Warrior, Carlos. "Graphic Arts Manual", Madrid, ed. Forge, 2003

Moreno, Jesus. "Drawing Volume I: Perception, form, color and design", Seville,
ed. MAD, 2012