On Industry Design and the “People Foremost” Design Concept

On Industry Design and the “People Foremost” Design Concept

Yang Mao

College of Art and Appareluages, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300160, China

E-mail: my_8302@yahoo.com.cn

Tiefeng Zuo

College of Art and Appareluages, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300160, China

Xiaoqing Wu

College of Art and Appareluages, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300160, China

Abstract

Some western countries have put forward to the "people foremost" design concept at the end of the 1960s. This is a significant leap in thinking in the history of the design. However, complexity and uncertainty of the "human" factor of the "people foremost" design concept determine the relativity and limitation of its ideological foundation for the design. Meanwhile the "people foremost" design concept exist relative limitations. A "human, machine and environment" comprehensive systematic design should be established for product design. This is also the social responsibility and historical mission of designers.

Keywords:Industry design, People foremost, Systematism

1. The Background of the Concept of “People Foremost” Proposed

The 20th century is a rapid development times for the industrial design, and also the important times which each industrial design thought forms. In the 1950s, western countries appeared a large number of the massive cement construction and the high-level glass construction, and by this achievement “modernity” symbolic symbol. Many high-rise construction internal spaces narrow and small crowded, sometimes reaches tens of thousands of people to work in a tall building, does not suit human's life. In the mid-1960s, the West appeared the argument in the construction and the urban planning aspect, has formed in US to the modern architecture, psychological and the symbolic aspect critique, the evolution for after modern theory, thought gradually the pursue actual work can the rationality takes the mass production only goal the design deficient emotion color. In 1965, a report named "function principle today" was made in the Deutscher Werkbund, criticized the procedure to take the function principle as the ideology and the guiding ideology, and pointed out, besides the determination use; one form also had the symbolic mark function. In 1968, also some people proposed that the function principle cannot be regarded as the supreme principle of design. From this, in the last stages of 1960s, followed the semiotics production, western countries proposed "people foremost" design concept, which is the most revolutionary progress in the industrial design thought field. It in view of the function principle design concept flaw, proposed the industrial design does not have take the machine function as a starting point, but must take human's operation behavior as the starting point, take the human to the product the understanding as the starting point. This design concept in view of the function principle technical rationality, emphasized cultural the function, emphasized the user the thinking mode, the behavior custom to the product design vital role, jumped out the idea of " take the machine as base " and “take the technology as base”, not only to industrial design, moreover to the engineering design, the computer semiotics and so on has all had the very tremendous influence. After 1990s, the “people foremost" design concept has formed the quite comprehensive rationale, as a result of the psychology motion theory and the cognitive psychology thorough development.

2. The Relativity Limitation of "People Foremost"

The "People foremost" thought suggesting that, on one hand, feasible man-machine interaction is in harmony especially, make industrial design product usage of especially convenient people. Another aspect , this thought suggesting that it has satisfied the unlike people’s need , has broadened the angle designing that thereby , has enriched the content and form of the product, feasible industrial products no longer is "thousand people one aspect", but let a consumer have more choice. Therefore, the design thought is to have certain advanced.

Though the design thought has promoted for the modern industrial development, have progress, at the same time also have a little limitation. Exactly be that industrial civilization advances by leaps and bounds in "people foremost" concept controlling time, human society is confronted with austere energy resources, crisis and ecological crisis more, even human being self's the warning existing to accept nature having a heart of stone than the all times going over. 178

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