As we all know, after World War II, the world art center began to shift from Paris to New York. Part of the reason could be attributed to the relatively good economic environment and development opportunities of the United States at this time, which makes American design developed rapidly. From my point of view, I think the design at that time played a connecting role. It summarizes Bauhaus’s practical design ideas before the war, and even the characteristics of people-oriented in the earlier Renaissance. In addition, with the need for economic development, the mid-century design has also become commercialized, which provides guidance for future design.
Henry Dreyfuss, an industrial designer, embodied the above aspects. In his works “Design for People” and “the Measure of Man“, he boldly talked about his story on human beings, which is not only for the military use, but also closer to people’s lives. His work is very enlightening to later ixd designers, because it fully emphasizes the importance of user experience, and also integrates commercial factors.
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Many other famous designers also emerged in this period. For example, Ray and Charles Eames, Karl Gerstner, Ladislav Sutnar, and Charles Harrison. By reading their relevant materials, I concluded that:
- Design should be a creative and positive process;
- Always focus on the “big ideas” and remain critical;
- Design should have the flexibility and high recognition;
- Consider aesthetics and simplify complexity.
These principles and concepts still have a guiding role in contemporary interaction design.
Thank you for sharing, really interesting !
Excellent synthesis of these different designers and their approaches into a unified set of principles.
Thanks for sharing the quotes! I love how you describe the principles. I think these are the good points to consider as designers.