Reading Reflection 1

The beginning of Design: A Very Short Introduction by John Haskett is about the meaning of design. I think the main purpose of this chapter is to show how open-ended the term "design is. It is really just the solution to problems and bettering the world. Haskett writes a bit about the evolution of design and I think it is interesting that he can classify time periods of design together. The history of design in the world is such a complicated history to generalize, especially because different cultures advanced at different times. To this day, there are still tribes in Africa who are technologically hundreds of years behind American culture. However, Haskett's generalization of the world as a whole was ineteresting because he found patterns in the different types of shapes that were common through time, and how we evolved to the industrial age and now when design is a huge industry.

The chapter on Utility and Significance analyzes why designs are created in a certain way. Heskett asserts that the design of a product serves a purpose. The design of anything can revolutionize a service, product, or really anything. The thing itself is seriously enhanced by the design and appeal to the public. I completely agree with this because I people are drawn to things that are attractive regardless of their content. The chapter on objects, I found to be to broad of a topic to read very coherently.

Heskeett reviews many designers objects, and I liked the section on Ferdinand Porsche because I reviewed him in my A02. I really liked the chapter on Communications because it is about the prominency of graphics in the modern world, which is something I would like to study more and eventually be able to generate on my own. Many of these images, especially street signs, are so familiar to people that we rarely take a step back to analyze the designers' intentions. Chapter 6 is all about environments which most closely relates with interior design. The environment that is being designed is crucial in the function of the space. It basically goes over the fact that environments change along with cultures, and designers work to keep the two in synch.