Laudenslager, Reading 1

The way in which Ellen Lupton organizes the textbook was an interesting approach to me, mainly in the content that she talks about early on. In most design textbooks they talk about the content of design, programs to use, and display examples of effective design. However in this book Lupton first explains the ways in which a designer should go about researching their client, product and how to brainstorm efficiently. I thought it was interesting that she brings up the ways in which to brainstorm, such as mind mapping and focus groups. I never thought of getting the easy ‘generic’ ideas out of the way first, because as Lupton says it leads to more productive thinking in other directions that normally wouldn’t be thought of. This first chapter of the text really outlines the way in which a designer should approach work in a job situation, which most other design books do not touch on. The creative process is the most important aspect of designing, and Lupton does a good job of explaining common and less common ways of approaching designs.

            Deconstruction and Graphic Design by Lupton and J. Allen Miller was an interesting article about the theory of deconstruction and society in design. They describe deconstruction as a mode of questioning through and about technologies, devices and social institutions. An interesting topic brought up was the idea of authenticity. In design authenticity is hard to come by, because ideas are just associations from previous work or things seen throughout the day. As society becomes more technologically dependent designs are less original, as Lupton and Miller say that copy and photography often lack originality. However I agree with the statement that critical theory was introduced through photography, performance and installation art. Designers are critics are now committing to problem solving, and communication with each other. With so many forms of art and design and products/organizations to understand there are more jobs created to produce meaning within designs. The statement that meaning is made by the personal realm being structured by the external signs made a lot of sense to me, because design is basically a set of ideas put to use.