Information Age Design

Liang Mei (Aesthetics Department, Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

The informatized society characterized by computers and networks has changed our way of life and changed the way designers work. The form and content of design are changing. The use of computer microprocessors liberates the bondage of product forms in the mechanized era. Designers can use their creativity and imagination in more forms. Consumers' demands for diversified products encourage changes in the design format. The different designs have become the strategy that the merchants occupy the market or the innovative concept of the young designers. The intrinsic changes in design products are people's serious reflection and serious understanding of some issues in the process of industrialization development. Environmental pollution caused by industrialization makes designers aware of the responsibility of protecting nature, and care for people makes the design reflect more. The other side of humanity.

Today, in the promotion of diversification, design embodies high technology and good functions, while at the same time it also serves as the multiple roles that express national traditions, cultural characteristics, and individual characteristics. Ecological protection and green design Green design is based on people's understanding of energy waste, environmental pollution, and ecological damage in the development of industrialization. Industrialization makes the water that mankind depends on to be no longer clean, the air is no longer fresh, and the sky is no longer blue. This has a close relationship with the raw materials, energy, and waste that the product consumes. Industrial production, which aims to protect the environment, is called the green action of the industry. It has been implemented in developed countries such as Europe, America, and Japan for many years and has become an important standard for designing the information age. The annual Outstanding Product Design Awards awarded by the American Industrial Designers Association regard the protection of the environment as an important factor in winning the prize, while Germany regards the protection of the ecology as the best virtue of product design, which rises to the height of product aesthetics. For this reason, Germany advocates the extension of the product's service life as much as possible, eliminates disposable products, and promotes the reuse of products.

In the design process, designers must consider the use of raw materials and energy, waste material and waste gas disposal, material recycling and other issues. Green design has also brought profits to businesses because it is in line with the trend of the times. Anderson, president of Interface Co., the world's largest manufacturer of commercial carpets, proposed environmental protection goals in 1994: zero waste and zero oil consumption. His "Zero Action" plan led to a new carpet manufacturing method that reduced the nylon content of the carpet. Their awareness of environmental protection has also attracted more customers, making this company's income set a new record. Subsequently, Anderson re-sold the carpet for rent, replaced and recycled the old carpet. The president of Sonoco, one of the world’s largest packaging companies, proposed the promise “We have created it and we will recycle it” since 1990 and began to recycle the used product from users. This policy It was warmly welcomed by the customer that the company now uses two-thirds of its raw materials from recycled materials and created new records for revenue and sales.

Compaq Computer's efforts in environmental protection have paid off. As early as six years ago, Compaq CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer ordered the company's personal computer to be redesigned to save the materials needed for manufacturing. As a result, Compaq has won a large number of orders in Europe and Australia. One of the reasons is that the products have reached the strict environmental standards in their countries. The awareness of environmental protection has also enabled oil companies to start working on new energy sources. The world’s third largest oil company, BP, has invested 160 million U.S. dollars in the development of solar energy. They built an Olympic Village that uses solar energy completely for the summer Olympic Games held in Australia in 1998. The Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia, this year marked the slogan of "Green Olympics." The design and construction of the Olympic Park in Homebush Bay has the participation of Greenpeace. The construction of the stadium has adopted a large number of recyclable materials. Save water and save energy. Automobile companies also vigorously develop automobiles that use new energy sources to reduce the environmental pollution of automobiles.

Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. has introduced a hybrid gasoline and electric car that can use gasoline and electric energy interactively at speeds of up to 66 mph, reducing the pollution of the city by car exhaust. The World Exposition held in Hanover, Germany, in 2000, took the theme of "Human, Nature, Technology - A New World is Born" as a theme to demonstrate how human beings will harness the power of technology to live in harmony with nature. In a situation where the resources of the earth are depleted and the environment is deteriorating, green design will become a problem that designers must consider in the future. People-oriented and humanized design If the green design related to environmental protection is human's concern for nature in our lives, then the humanized design is concerned with people themselves. The "people-oriented" design concept has enabled designers to shift more of their attention from products to users of products - designing products that are more human-oriented is another goal for designers in the future. The digital age has enhanced the material and technical characteristics of the society. In the information society, the network and the virtual community have not made the relationship between people more intimate. Instead, they have strengthened the individual's loneliness and the personal survival mode. In a highly competitive society, people need to have a comfortable, convenient and functional office space. After a busy work, they hope to have a warm and loving home where they can recover their exhausted mind and body. The design then carries comfort to the human spirit and soul. The heavy responsibility.

For the modernism design slogan "Form Follows Function" proposed by Louis Sullivan, the famous "Frog Design Company" (Frog Design) proposed the "Form Follows Emotion" design concept. They believe that consumers buy not only products, they also purchase values, experiences, and self-awareness that are contained in a pleasing form. Japan’s GK Design Company regards the expression of “truth, goodness, and beauty” as the goal of design and believes that design is a kind of work that gives people’s thoughts a form. The design is to give all artificial objects beautiful purposes and realize them. The excellent design is true, good, and beautiful. reflect.

Susan Yelavich, assistant director of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City, also believes that "functions now include psychological and emotional." The attention of users has increased the design's satisfaction from the past to the spiritual care of people, especially the special people, such as the elderly and the disabled. Johnson & Johnson's "Independent 3000" wheelchair concept was awarded the Gold Medal of the Industrial Design Excellence Award of the American Institute of Industrial Design in 2000. This four-wheeled tool uses an advanced gyro balance system that allows users to move up and down very easily. The high rear height is the same as the height of a standing adult. It not only can reach the upper shelf and books on the shelf, but also can climb the road. Not only that, this type of wheelchair also blurs the identity of the user, because healthy people can also use it to easily take things from a height.

The "Leap" chair jointly developed by Steelcase and IDEO can adjust the backrest according to the shape of each person's spine. The upper and lower parts of the backrest can also be individually adjusted according to the needs of the user. Everyone will feel that this chair is for themselves Custom made. Hermann Miller's new "Levity Tower" adjustable table can help you eliminate the back fatigue caused by working at your desk for a long time. As long as you touch the table with your fingertips, you can go up and down at random, and you can stand up when you raise it. Work can be reduced after sitting in office, creating a new way of flexible office.

Nike's "Triax" stopwatch has a soft, curved plastic strap that conforms to the structure of the human body. Its alarm clock function can be accomplished by touching. The curved crystal surface can make the already larger number larger. Magnified numbers and easy-to-use buttons make this stopwatch the best choice for athletes and those with reading glasses. Designology and Hearing Innovations recently introduced ultrasonic high-frequency hearing aids to change the cold form of medical devices. It is a head-mounted device that can be adjusted and resembles earmuffs. It is very comfortable, bright colors and cool fashion. Creating and Personalizing Design In the information age of economic prosperity, people are eager to decorate their rooms with items that represent their tastes, express their personalities with distinctive products, and the process of purchasing household items becomes a process of continuous clarification of personal style. People began to emphasize the personalization and personal style of the product, and put forward the slogan “individualization of living environment”. Consumers showed strong interest in products that have innovative design ideas and are related to their ideas. The process of design is not only the process of designers using technology and imagination, but also the process of designers and users constantly talking to express the wishes of users. More and more young people want designers to design and guide fashion for them. "The personalized product "quot; manufacturers recognize that consumers want to find more things, not just functions," said Barry Shepard, who once conceived the Beatles car for Volkswagen, "a product should express the owner's Some things come out."

People began to think that buying a cool toothbrush is the fastest way to express personality without having to spend more effort. Many manufacturers are happy to produce everyday items that express fashion, such as toothbrushes, juicers, and bottle openers. IDEO believes that just as people can now freely change the protective screen of their computer screens, people hope to customize their products according to their own methods. Designers will leave room for the taste of consumers in the appearance and texture of their products. . Like Motorola's V-series phones, they are stylish, with different colors of rubber jackets and different colors of metal shells, depending on personal preferences. Under the circumstance that the price, quality and function of the product are similar, the design has become the only factor that affects the consumer's choice. The personalized design is increasingly welcomed by consumers.

The iMac computer launched in 1998 made Apple Computer out of the declining situation. They are now manufacturing the most fashionable products in the computer kingdom. The company’s "Powermac G4 Cube" computer, launched in 2000, has been designed using the iMac's successful experience. The host is housed in a white, transparent plastic box. Its smooth, smooth surface has achieved perfect results in the manufacturing process. Optical mouse and baseball-sized speakers. The introduction of this computer will set off a new round of purchases for Apple Computer. Apple Computer's success is also the success of design personalization. The desktop camera launched by Philips Electronics won the gold medal of the 1999 American Industrial Design Excellence Award. Since the launch of the product, it has achieved great market success due to its unique and interesting modeling. This is a shape similar to a potato. Its cartoon shape looks like a playful toy. The original intention of the designer is to contrast with the image of the aggressive personal computer camera in the past.

High-tech and innovative design The information age is an era in which science and technology are changing with each passing day. It is also a golden era in which designers can make full use of creativity and imagination. If the talents of designers in the industrial era are limited by the constraints and limitations of technology, the technological development in the information age can add more to the imagination of designers, but to designers.