On the role change of design for more than a century [a long article]

? About 10 Last year, I was lucky enough to be invited as a guest speaker and shared a speech about the history of modern design offline. From 9: 00 a.m. to 4: 00 p.m., about 6 hours, I will talk with you about the history of design development that spans a century, from the arts and crafts movement in the 1850 s to the post-modernism in the 1970 s, and share the corresponding design theories behind these histories with my own understanding and accumulation. The whole process has reorganized the development context of design history with everyone, and also explained the people, things and things that happened in each historical segment in a traceable way.

? Afterwards, the audience benefited a lot, but they felt a little inadequate. The problem is not the 100 year of the speech, which is a fait accompli and understandable. But came to an abrupt end after 1990. In fact, everything has changed in the past 20 years, not to mention design. There must be a lot to talk about, but if you look at the books or publications about the history of modern design on the market now, there is of course a reason. Historical theory is a record of past history and theory. Nowadays, the changes are rapid, and many of them have not yet gained a firm foothold or are still in the stage of practical verification. It's hard to draw a conclusion, let alone an inscription.

? However, I think that in recent years, no matter in the human society or the business world, her changes are vivid. More importantly, we really live in this history and experience changes and development together. Therefore, I want to inherit the established history and theory in the past, postpone the story to the present, and relate the changes of design roles over a century (about 1880- present) from a macro and simple perspective.

? I always think that if I can clearly understand the past, I can better understand the present, the design I made, why I did it, why I did it, what is the value of doing it, what is my role, and so on.

? We often hear a word called "design innovation" now, saying that innovation depends on design and design is for innovation. Then why innovate? From the perspective of all mankind, for the development of civilization and social progress; From a national perspective, promote sustainable development; From the enterprise's point of view, it goes without saying that if you want to be competitive and have lasting vitality. However, the design tied to innovation can even become an important strategy of a country, and there must be its reasons and development process behind it. Therefore, before talking about the change of design role, we can try to take "innovation" as the starting point.

? Roberto Verganti, an authoritative expert in innovation management and a professor at the School of Management and Design of Milan Polytechnic University, divides innovation into three modes: technology-led subversive innovation, market-driven gradual innovation and design-driven innovation. These are three coexisting innovation modes, but in fact, the three modes have appeared or become mainstream in the historical time axis, and design-driven innovation has only gradually matured since the 1990s. Obviously, now everyone knows the importance of design in human civilization, social innovation and business world, but in fact, before the 1990s, it also experienced the development and changes like a gladiator.

? In different historical stages, the attitudes and requirements of the times for design are different. Therefore, in order to clearly understand the reasons for the change of design role, we must combine the changes in the characteristics of our times and the corresponding changes in people's needs for more than a century.

First, in the era of primitive capital accumulation, design was neglected (1880s-1910s).

? From 1850 s to 19 10 s, it is an era when technology is in power. The commercialization of technology can open the market and create demand. Thomas Alva Edison (1847- 193 1) obtained more than 2000 patents and inventions in his life. His business acumen is more praised by later generations than his image as a scientist. Moreover, it can be seen that the founders at that time had no engineering background, such as Tesla (1856- 1943) and Edison, or capitalists who wooed scientists, such as john davison rockefeller. 1839- 1937), Westinghouse electric (George Westinghouse, 1846- 19 14), because through science and technology, they can first see the possibility and realize it to change the world. Isn't this a subversive innovation led by technology? Then why do you say design is?

? You know, people were concerned about the dispute between DC and AC at that time, such as Edison and Tesla. Abandoning kerosene lamps and using electric lights was a fashionable thing that the public dared not think about at that time. Who cares about the "design" of light bulbs or lampshades, either directly molding in the form of industrial finished products or simply wearing traditional decorative styles? The inventor has made clear the function, form or design of the new product, which is naturally oriented to the feasibility of technology. No one knows what design a new invention should be. This embarrassment was exposed as early as the first British industrial exposition in 185 1, and all industrial products were mechanically decorated with traditional artistic decorations. Can you imagine an angel sculpture on the chimney of the locomotive? It seems incredible today. It is also the transition from handicraft era to industrial era, and it is normal for the superstructure to be backward and conservative.

? Looking back, the designers at that time were naturally powerless, and even the social professional work of designers failed to take shape and become professional. There are too many questions. Facing the new era, no one can figure out how to design. Without successful experience in practice and how to teach students, students cannot be taught. Therefore, all the designs at that time not only had no effect, but also were in the state of practicing in many ways and exploring the laws of modern design. Later, we learned about Bauhaus, why even people who are not design majors know Bauhaus, because everyone says it is too famous, why it is so famous, and because of its historical position, it really established the educational system and thought of modern design. Through previous experiments and practices, I summed up my own set of ideas, telling everyone how to design things in the future, designing things that conform to modern times, advocating functionalism, and what functionalism is. It is very important to consider how to convey to users clearly and quickly what its functions are and how to use them. All functions are paramount. This concept is very important in the era when new categories emerge one after another. Instead of an angel on the chimney, the form should follow the function, and what this thing should look like should be clear at a glance.

? Moreover, the mass and standardized production in the industrial era also requires that the design should consider how to combine with technology to make it feasible in technology and cost control. As early as 1907, Peter Behrens (1868- 1940), one of the founders of the famous German modernist design, had designed the standardization for AEG company in Germany.

? It was not until 1965438 that Joseph Sinel (1889-1975) in the United States used the proper term industrial designer for the first time. Since the British government began to implement the registration system for industrial designers, the social status of industrial design professionalism was gradually established.

Second, in the era of fixed sales by production, it is enough to design once (1910s-1925s).

? In the era of fixed sales by production, quantity is king. I can produce the most products in the shortest time, I can reduce enough costs and get the maximum profit, which is what we call efficiency. But at the same time, products do not give the public more choices. There is only one Ford Model T on the market, which is also black. Henry Ford (1863- 1947) himself once said that "Model T is black, and consumers can paint it with their favorite colors", which made a joke because I have the largest market share. This is also another feature of that era, that is, the top-down enterprise model, self-production, unified purchase and marketing, the supply side determines the demand side, and the public can use whatever I provide, just fighting, faster than the horse, you can afford it, you have no choice. Therefore, in this state of demand for single products, weak industry competition and oligarchy in power, the work to be done once is enough, and the frequency will not be very high. Although it has played a slight role compared with the era of pure technology orientation in the past, designers have not yet become an indispensable part of the whole production process.

? But on the other hand, it also lays an important seed for the design to break ground and flourish in the next era. In any case, an important feature of this era is mass production and standardized production. If nothing else, its most direct impact is to reduce the production cost to an unprecedented level. As a result, the price of products was directly reduced, and the public could afford industrial production for the first time. This is a huge qualitative change. You know, the word "design" used to be exclusive to the royal family or the upper class. Customize or design tableware, clothing, furniture, etc. For you, it is a treatment that the poor can't enjoy. Even if you look at the label on a pair of jeans in France today, if a designer named Designed by is printed on it, you will have a sense of quality tailored for yourself. Designers are stars there and are sought after by people. But for the first time, industrial mass production turned this concept into "design for the public". If the market is consumers and consumers are the masses in a narrow sense, and you have a mass base and a growing number of consumers (demand side), can't you develop into the "design" (supply side) of production and service industries?

Thirdly, in the era of diversified competition, design began to show its commercial value (1925s- 1939s).

? From no demand to the stage of creating demand, and then to the stage of gradually expanding demand, it can be said that history has entered the stage of "market-driven gradual innovation", which is also based on the premise of mature production technology and diversified commercial competition. Obviously, at this stage, with more and more competitors in the same field, it is difficult to establish a foothold in single-volume low-price sales. Smart entrepreneurs should come up with a fast iterative method to seize the market. The GM in the planning story is the most typical representative of the so-called gradual innovation (later represented by Nokia mobile phones, the most exaggerated is that more than 70 mobile phones are produced a year), and the system is abolished in a planned way: the service life of cars is limited in a planned way; Design different colors and styles in a planned way; Replace the old function (performance) with the new function (performance) in a planned way. The final realization of this system depends on who, the R&D department, the design department and the designer, so there is the color planning department of General Motors, including designer HarleyEarl (1893- 1969) and boss Si Long (1875- 1966). The market needs personalization, and the role of design is naturally more important than "one time is enough". It can be said that under the impetus of the vigorous development of business, design has gradually become a business pusher, and more business executives have exported their values.

? But at the same time, we know that this is also the stage when human beings begin to enter the oil economy era from the era of steam fuel. Oil has given people too much confidence and is inexhaustible. But the planned abolition of the system like GM is at the expense of resources, funds and energy. We say that the traditional product design outputs real products and objects, and the large-scale production of these products needs to use and consume resources, one oil and one wood. Of course, there is nothing wrong with changing a demand for a supply, but it is precisely because of the continuous improvement of productivity, excessive consumption and inflated demand encouraged by business that the supply begins to exceed the demand. A family of three needs three cars and will change them every few years (not to mention the later mobile phones). This is what we often hear about "overcapacity". Then came the 1929- 1939 global financial crisis, the bubble burst, the stock price of Wall Street plunged on Black Thursday, and people paid for the crazy investment in industrialization (of course, there are many factors in this, which are not the focus of this article and will not be launched here).

? However, this stage before World War II (1939- 1945) just indicates the beginning of the golden age of design.

Fourth, in the era of big consumer commodity economy, design ushered in a golden age (1945s- 1970s).

? This is an era in which everything is in ruins after the war and the song of triumph is played all the way; An era when the commodity economy based on oil has reached an unprecedented height; Take Apollo as an example, the psychology of human conquering nature is unprecedented. This is also a golden age of design.

? Star designers such as Raymond Fern and Loy (1893- 1986) have set foot in everything from lipstick and Coca-Cola glass bottles to Pennsylvania locomotives and space shuttles, and they have become important promoters of commercial value and strong competitiveness. Business benefits from design, and at the same time, design develops because of business. For example, alvar aalto (1898- 1976), a famous Finnish designer, has a high reputation and can reach the position described in today's design history. Although his own design thought and practice were very important, he also got on the commercial express train at that time: at that time, his curved wooden chair was appreciated by lawrence Rockefeller (19 10-2004), and he opened a franchise store in Manhattan for this purpose, which was unexpectedly welcomed by the American people. From then on, Nordic design and its humanism and organic functionalism were brought to the United States, which set off a Nordic design craze, and then 1954 Nordic design national exhibition, which laid a historical position in one fell swoop and directly affected Eero Saarinen (19/kloc-0-19665438) and Charles Eames (0). Here's an interesting little detail. I remember when we first talked about the era of technology-led innovation, we mentioned the old Rockefeller who was still struggling in the oil industry at that time. He relied on technology and technology to obtain combustible clean kerosene by refining crude oil, which laid the foundation for a generation. Now his grandson has turned his attention to the design industry, which shows that the far-sighted "money-making" people also know the importance of design in this era and even in the future.

? At the same time, the middle class has gradually grown, the consumption power of the public has gradually improved (referring to the western world dominated by the United States), and the public has more choices and the right to speak.

? Today we are going to talk about a word called "product immunity". In Internet products, if users are troubled by the difficulty in using a product or the poor experience, they will abandon it in minutes, delete it from their mobile phones, and never open it on the webpage again. In other words, the cost of abandoning products and services is so low that the suppliers and brands of those products and services have to regard users as king and user experience as treasure all the time. In fact, at this stage of the era of big consumption, this phenomenon has already appeared. Market research and user research are indispensable links for enterprises. Suppliers and brands of products and services should try their best to cater to the needs and tastes of the public, so as to be sticky to their own brands and the market orientation tends to peak. At the same time, design, as a producer and a service provider, has gradually become commercialized, marketized and standardized, giving birth to generation after generation of design firms, star designers and design stories.

? But in this process, the energy burden and resource consumption accumulated by the previous generation reached the threshold of this era, and everyone was immersed in the material enjoyment brought by the era of great consumption until Victor Panack? Papanek, 1923- 1998? A book "Design for the Real World" awakened the profligate and drunken human world. Energy is exhausted, the economic model must be transformed, and the design must also bear social and environmental responsibilities. As a result, the design wave based on the rapid rise of commodity economy began to turn to the next stage of sustainable development.

Five, service experience economy, design becomes the core strategy (1970s- today)

? When the demand is saturated and the energy is not enough to be squandered as in the past, various new revolutionary ideas are produced (just like the era of the first industrial revolution 100 years ago). From the third revolutionary idea of combining sustainable energy with the Internet, we have heard about * * * enjoying the economy, zero marginal cost, collaborative innovation and so on. These changes are a transformation process from pursuing stock to pursuing increment, that is, cost and resources.

? The world has entered the post-oil economy era, and everything is based on controlling the cost of resources, reconstructing resources and creating new values. Extensive commodity economy turned to intensive experience economy, and design quietly stood on the strategic commanding heights.

? Let's look for an explanation from the implementation of design education and ideas: in recent years, the rise of service design has set off an upsurge of design thinking. Why is this so-called experience economy era so eager for service design and design thinking? Give a simple example to explain: For example, in the past commodity era, if you wanted to cut your hair, you went to the store to buy scissors. Because there were many people who wanted to cut it, you had to sell it. You bought scissors, but you bought the function of cutting hair with them, which is a typical stock economy. Then there was a barber shop. You don't have to buy scissors yourself. You go directly to the barber's, and there is a special barber to cut your hair. At this time, you buy a service, not a product. Compared with the former, the same scissors can now be reused to provide a variety of services, and as consumers, they don't have to pay for the extra time when scissors don't cut their hair, which is a typical incremental economy and service economy.

? Up to now, barbershops can provide barber services. Only by improving the experience of service to consumers can we distinguish between good and bad. We say that a very important part of the experience is to meet the service needs of consumers, and at the same time provide them with unexpected high-quality and smooth services. From getting started, receiving, waiting, providing haircuts, checking out, and finally going out, even before going to the store, you can make an appointment with a hairdresser, make an appointment, the requirements for haircuts, the types of coffee provided, online checkout, calling a car service after cutting your hair, and so on. Is it as simple as designing a pair of scissors? The bill people buy for this is worth far more than a pair of scissors, but the added value brought by the whole service experience.

? You have reason to raise the price, consumers are willing to pay for customization, and the value and role of natural designers are far more important than that of a simple barber and scissors designer. He needs to make a comprehensive survey of consumers, find out their needs, figure out what they want, even if they don't know what they want, design the whole service process, which suppliers need to be docked (for example, only talking about car service or coffee service, which stakeholders need to cooperate), and even business models (you know, many top design schools now require business plans while teaching students service design, that is, whether they are economically sustainable). These are the business categories of designers at present, and they are also the compulsory standards for many design schools to cultivate comprehensive design talents.

? So it is not difficult to understand why two Rhode Island design graduates can cooperate to create an Airbnb, which will shake the entire hotel industry. You know, in the past, when people talked about designer entrepreneurship, most of them were like Raymond Law's era. It's great to start a design company and make a personal brand. Now, it is actually very simple to gain a foothold in the non-design field. The economic structure in the era of big consumption is top-down, and the position of designers in the business world is also very clear, that is, the executors and implementers under the marketing plan. The value of a design company lies in selling the professional skills and services you provide. This state is a fragmented and blunt cooperative relationship. Let's take Raymond Lowe as an example. Today, Coldspot Refrigerator Company of the United States asked you to design the refrigerator, and you only designed the refrigerator. The realization of value is the moment when you submit the mass production drawing scheme. The company's decision, how the market works and so on have nothing to do with you. So just now, we also mentioned that the company at this time is market-oriented, and its performance depends on sales, so the status of product development and design is naturally low.

? Later, Apple, a well-known company, was a product-oriented enterprise. There used to be a CEO who held a product launch conference to personally explain how this product was used and what its value was. Of course, it's common now. This is the embodiment that design plays a strategic role in a company. At the fork of "technology and humanities", not only Jobs, but also the design station.

? So why did Apple set up the chief design officer of CDO on the board of directors? Facebook will have a designer vice president VP (vice president); KPCB (Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers) will invite the former dean of Rhode Island School of Design as a design partner; Luo Yonghao called Hammer Technology a "design-driven company"; McKinsey, an internationally renowned consulting and planning company, will acquire a design company; Airbnb's two design guys who don't understand business can also run companies and so on.

? For the present and future business world, products are the core, and whose products will serve who. Therefore, people-oriented design can naturally take the lead and play an unprecedented role. If you don't know management, you can hire a manager; if you don't know business, you can find a partner. But different from the past, it is not only Shang Xia who decides this company to go on, but also designers who understand users, needs, insight and execution.

? This is what we call "design-driven innovation". If we say that technology is creative, we are talking about feasibility; Business is a ship, it talks about (economic) sustainability; The role of deciding what your technology should create and what your business will do is design. In fact, the relationship between the three has always been closely related, but with the changes of the times, the weight and role of the three will change. It can also be seen from some current phenomena that such role allocation has gradually become the future architectural direction. If nothing else, let's talk about pioneering and experimental college education: in 2004, Stanford University in the United States founded D. School (hasso plattner School of Design), which was formed by the merger of business school, engineering school and design school; 20 10 Aalto University in Finland was formed by the merger of Helsinki University of Art and Design, Helsinki University of Technology and Helsinki School of Economics. Parsons School of Design 20 12? Parsons New School of Design? Introduce master's degree programs such as strategic design and management. , is endless.

summary

? In fact, having said that, the development fate of design role is always tied to the dialectical relationship with demand. In the final analysis, it is demand-oriented.

? According to Maslow's demand effect, people have to go through this process after all: when they are penniless, surviving is the most important thing, and food, clothing, housing and transportation can basically be satisfied. There is no room for choice and extravagant hopes (physiological needs), and most of them are experienced in the third world; Then I can live a life of food and clothing, and I can't squeeze out much spare money. I want to put everything I can in the bank, so I can buy necessities and services, and I am also very satisfied. I think in the past few years, the consumer market in China has been developed by Taobao and Xiaomi under the guidance of this cost-effective thinking. If we want to talk about the design at that time (or take industrial design as an example), it is not surprising that plagiarism is not without ambition. It's not that I don't know that China should have the vision of local design, but because of reality, the cost is there, which is more cost-effective, and it goes without saying that it is bleak and painful, and I have to experience it; Now people are willing to buy and enjoy better products and services on the basis of ensuring that their basic needs can be met (from the perspective of daily consumption, regardless of the pressure brought by China's deformed real estate market to the middle class). You are always willing to go to a better environment and better service when drinking coffee, because you will not plan and drink coffee at a critical moment like in the past, so life has changed from material life to quality life at this time. Then there will be more space for targeted natural design. If the market has biased demand, the supply side will develop healthily, and more and more designers will pursue higher and higher quality products.

? Of course, the cost can't escape, but compared with small profits but quick turnover and thin profit margin, people are now willing to pay for good design. To put it bluntly, it creates the possibility of high gross profit, which can enhance the value of hired designers and stop listing at low prices. Similarly, design education, as a pioneer, will also deliver better human resources for this dynamic market. Whether a country's design is good or not depends on people in the final analysis. Designers in this country work hard, rely on ideals and copy, but they are not recognized. Can the design of this country be good?

? Of course, it is from material life to quality life and then to intelligent life. It is when you have a free choice, a stable material life quality and a spiritual world that people will show a state of returning to nature. That's why in Nordic welfare countries, like Denmark, everyone can afford a car, so why ride a bike? Because this choice has gone beyond the economic constraints, it is a pursuit of a healthy spiritual life, and even a sense of social responsibility to get rid of self. Many of them choose this way of travel because of the sustainable development of the national environment. Therefore, for us who are in dire straits, if we don't have high ideological awareness or see through the world of mortals, we will inevitably buy more cars to satisfy ourselves first, let alone a sense of responsibility. Therefore, the intelligent life here is far from us. After all, development is a process that takes time. Of course, design will naturally play a greater role and assume greater responsibilities.

? Finally, let's go back to the original question. As a designer, what are you doing now? Know what the value of your own design is, how important your role is in the enterprise or product, whether you will consider the future development trend of the product or service from the perspective of the boss or product manager when you are free, or whether the craftsman will still focus on his own hands and do a good job in execution (both roles are valuable and have no inclination). I think no matter what the answer is, the most important thing is to have a clear understanding of the past and present, so that we can design more clearly in the future.

? As colleagues, let's work together.

* Suggestions and references

1. History produced the documentary "Who built the man who built America".

2. The Third Industrial Revolution in Jeremy Rifkin: How the new economic model changed the world.

3.Roberto Wiganti's The Third Innovation: How Design-Driven Innovation Creates a New Competition Law.

4. Who can "history of industrial design"