Design Theory

Theoretical content in the design course is delivered along the same lines as in Visual Art.

The three core areas of study are Practice, Conceptual Framework and Frames.

  • ‘Practice’ involves the core issues that a designer, design studio or design movement engages in.
  • ‘Conceptual Framework’ looks at the relationships between the designed object, designer, consumer and the world
  • ‘Frames’ investigate the designed object from a number of perspectives not dissimilar from those found in the Visual Art syllabus.

The design world is an engaging and intense area of study and to that end the theoretical content of the course is quite proscriptive. The reason for this is that the core course focus is centered around making and as the process of creating work is quite an intense one, adequate time needs to be allocated.

  • The intent of the theoretical strands of both the Preliminary and HSC courses is to support both your understanding of aesthetics and practice.
  • Critical and Historical studies will take the form of structured overviews so that you have a contextual understanding of the role of the design process, design movements and key designers.

Everything that we as human beings use, wear, live in etc has passed through the hands of a designer. Outside of the natural world the hand and eye of the designer has arguably been solely responsible for the creation of the utilitarian / habitable world.

The term ‘design’ relates to a number of processes applied in the process of creating something that does not yet exist. It can also be applied to processes followed to improve the functional / aesthetic state of something already existing. We generally find the word as an adjunct and not existing alone.

Early usage;

  • Joseph Claude Sinel coined the term “industrial design”  in 1919
  • William Addison Dwiggins coined the term “graphic design” in 1922

Some other examples of applied areas; information design, automotive design, emotional design, interactive design, environmental design, urban design, product design, packaging design, sensory design, sustainable design, interior design, fashion design, communication design, character design, sound design, game design

Research

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