Design Theory s18

A2 constructivist design

El Lissitzky:

Gustav Klutsis:

Alexander Rodchenko:

Varvara Stepanova:

Varvara Stepanova's textile design (see the blue suit) is very attention-grabbing with its repetitive blue and blank triangular shapes and similarly angled lines. These angles and juxtapositions help to guide the eye from the collar around the suit, not only orienting the viewer but becoming more memorable in their rhythms.

As Stepanova was practicing art during a time in which Constructivism and a steep decline in Russian traditions considered too elite or wasteful to be available to the common man, Stepanova would have begun with functionality and accessibility closely in mind. Her audience would have been the common citizen, her goals to produce something tasteful while being financially possible, and while she may not have had a time limit to design under, tailors who might reproduce her work might, so the design would have to be simple on top of everything else.

DP4 part b

Reading 5

A brief summary.

affordances are possibilities for visible actions in objects/environment
suggested that understanding doesn't just happen in the brain-- interactions
channels are paths messages travel on their way to the audience
while we have five senses, visuals and audio are the most used in communication
mediums determine how you craft messages
wayfinding includes all the different ways people orient themselves in spaces, both virtual and physical
mapping represents information and relationships spatially
hierarchy is a kind of order of importance, determines where we start and where we go next
grouping lumps things together via visual similarities to imply relationships
even the very edge of a page can interact with the contents
point of view is where you "stand" and how you see things when you enter a piece