Post-Modernist Design

Replacing objects of Need

by
Creating objects of Desire
Creating Design
that
makes a statement about…?
The BIRTH of Post-Modernist Design

Modernist Design

In America influenced the

cheap labour mechanised
mass production appearance
was scarce of products
“Form follows function”, ‘engineers aesthetic’
“The aesthetic of the machine”

“Design Follows Sales” Following WW2 ,America thrived

under consumerism, applied new
technology and followed
European model of marrying Art
and Architecture with product
design to give Industrial Design
 The IDENTITY of Post-Modernist Design
What distinguishes a design to be considered Post-Modern?

T B P M D (is less more…or

Questioning the very foundations of design-
What should a product look like,
How should it be designed, serve its function?
The anti Design!
Creating products that people
don’t really need
but want to have…why?
The status of owning a product!

Not just meeting a need….but EVOKING a WANT!

The Cover and Concealment of the
Post-Modern Design
(can u guess what these products do?)
Questions the Post Modernists designers ask
(questioning very assumptions of design of a product)
• How is the function derived from the form?

• Can the product say something other than its use?

• How will people feel when they use the product.

• Why would they buy this product?

• What materials can I use?

• What can make my product STAND OUT?

Post-Modernist Design
The message is in the Medium…
How can you say what you mean meaningfully?

Andy Warhol-Post Modernist Graphic Artist

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/W/warhol.html
Post-Modernist Design
 Anything and
everything Goes
(list some words that can be associated
with these products)
Eclectic, Lavish ,Lush, eccentric, weird, Avant-garde, interesting, exotic,
fresh, ponderous, unique, experimental, artistic, autistic, decorative,
sculptures, daring, bold, unorthodox, unconventional, inspirational,
odd, new wave, dialectic, controversial, architectural, visual,
provocative, expressive, communicative, colorful, noveau,
what in the world?
Anything and everything Goes
(list some words that can be associated
with these products)
what in the world?
provocative, expressive, communicative, colorful, noveau,
odd, new wave, dialectic, controversial, architectural, visual,
sculptures, daring, bold, unorthodox, unconventional, inspirational,
fresh, ponderous, unique, experimental, artistic, autistic, decorative,
Eclectic, Lavish ,Lush, eccentric, weird, Avant-garde, interesting, exotic,
Post-Modernist Design
Design is no longer seen just as a way to make objects function,
but to encompass ideas, culture and social concerns.

The inspiration of the designer and the idea of communication

through the object is becoming at times
more important than the object itself.

Designing products is
changing human
nature…
Post-Modernists
Karim Rashid
Hans Hollein
Allesandro Mendini
Jasper Morrison
Richard Sapper Ettore Sottsass
Henry Dreyfuss Marco Zanini
Masanori Umeda
Robert Venturi
Superstudio Ron Arad
Mario Bellini
Javier Marisal, Michael Graves
Archizoom Associati
Stefano Giovannoni Shiro Kuramata
Peter Opsvik
Matteo Thun Carlos Riart
Studio Alchimia
Philippe Starcke
Andy Warhol Niels Diffrient
Show designers
Talk about different types of postmodern design and
Look for commanitlies in post modenr design
Architecture /art/product design/ andy warhol
The anti design-creating objects to make a statement-
Show a simpl kettle and show variations of the kettle design include miche
The message is in the medium
How is post modern design shaped
Thesis-creating objects of desire- compare different products

Designing products is changing human nature

Post modernist design is about making object lavish-
The anti-design.
Not simply just meeting a need but creating the need and feeding a desire
Post Modernist Design is aimed to provoke people to question the
Very foundation of design
Showing different versions of the same product-ask why they willchoose
one type?
Phillippe Stark

As a producer, I'd be
ashamed to find myself
satisfied by mere
production. If, designing a
toothbrush, I thought of
nothing but the toothbrush,
I'd be dumb or venal. I try
to be neither: that's the
duty I recognise. I have to
think of the mouth this
brush will enter; I have to
acquaint myself with its
owner. I need to know the
kind of society that has
given rise to this life. I
need to acquaint myself
with the species of animal
that created this
civilisation".
 Useful Links

• http://www.designaddict.com/

• http://www.qdesign.co.nz/designhist_postmod.html

• http://www.design-conscious.co