what impact does design have on society

What impact does design have on society?

By Sobia Rehman

Contents

1. Introduction

2. What is Design

• Defining what design is

1. Impact of design on the environment

• Green design

1. Design and culture

• Religious design

• How it impacts in culture

1. Fashion design and the impact it has on society

• Identity

• How fashion affects the way we wear clothes

1. How design affects our daily lives

• Day in day out chores

• Without design what would be different

1. Primary research

2. Conclusion

3. Bibliography

Introduction –

At some point in everyone’s life the question what is design and how does it affect everyone in their daily lives, throughout this report there will be different sections which design has played a big part in and how it impacts the consumer. There are different categories which come under design, in this report there will be a few categories which will be explained in finer detail such as what impact does design actually have on the environment and how green design impacts the environment in some cases it may be positive and in other cases it may be negative also what part does design play in culture such as festival design , fashion design and how it affects you as an independent person and what impacts design has on your daily lives like getting out of bed or even walking on the streets and even making your daily coffee. “Do you ring a doorbell with a finger or a thumb?” (Ajaka et al., 2014) do you ring the doorbell with your finger or do you ring it with your thumb design plays a big part in this depending on what makes you ring the doorbell with your finger not thumb. Simple things in our daily life can have a big impact on how we use objects watching how other people use them in one way may interpreted how you would use that particular product either in the same way or in a way which makes it comfortable for you to use.

Impact of design on the environment –

What is environmental design, well this can be defined in many different ways depending on how it has been portrayed, environmental design is something which is effective for the developing world and things around us like how people live and how things change everyone’s decision. Environmental design is “the ordering of the large-scale aspects of the environment by means of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, urban planning, regional planning, etc., usually in combination” (Dictionary, 2016)

Figure 1 – electric car on charge

Sustainable design can be something that is used on a day to day basis but can be changed to be used effectively and sustainably for example cars they may take us from a to b but what effect does this really have on the way we transport ourselves, what benefits cars have and what disadvantages they have then people wouldn’t really go for cars because if it affects the environment then it also affects the consumer too , but in some cases people now just want something that is simple for them to use it’s like saying would you choose a car or bicycle ? this can both have an effect on other consumers if seeing someone driving a car and someone else driving a bike in the rain then that would influence the consumer to buy a car because of the shelter it gives you from the rain the question really is where does sustainable design fit into this well it actually does there have been many developments in the car industry such as electric cars which don’t effect the environment as much as diesel/petrol cars do , this is something which helps change the perception on how we should be doing things and how we should actually be changing the way we do things.

Figure 2 -Dune House William Morgan

Sustainable design doesn’t always have to link in with how the consumer uses things but it can link into how safe the environment around us is and how safe it can become, environmental design links in with many different categories such as architectural design, landscape design , urban areas and many more , architectural design can be environmentally friendly depending on how the building is made what processes were used and what type of energy was used to create it , or it could even be in line with how the building fits in with its surroundings such as the Dune House which has been incorporated with its surrounding , the most fascinating thing about this house is the way the surroundings are also incorporated in with the roof of the house this is not only very aesthetically pleasing but also fits in with what environmental design is.

Design for the environment can be interpreted as beautiful and empowering “the growth of nature is usually perceived as beautiful and healthy” (W. McDonough & M. Braungart,pg.77) this quote really gives a beautiful insight in what environmental design is. The simple things in life really gives the designers a different angle in which way to design things that are adapting with the environment.

Design and the environment both work well together because there are many advantages it has to the environment and to the people who live in that particular place. Green design for example is very out there it has an effect on both the consumer and the good for the world itself, but the question really is how does this affect the way we really live. It affects us by making us change and see things in a different way if it wasn’t for design for the environment everything would be complicated but with design being a big part of the environment it actually helps people to see the world differently. If it wasn’t for global warming and many other things that affect the world there wouldn’t be anything to help change the way everyone uses resources in this world, changing the way we use energy can be a very different for anyone to go through now there are many things which help to create energy theses can include solar energy and wind power. Design doesn’t have anything to do with this but it does with a mixture of engineering if it wasn’t for the designer that created the way solar panels look and work and for engineers that made that particular tech possible then it wouldn’t really change the way people live in the world it would just be the same tech used day in and out in many ways environmental design doesn’t really have to come under something which has to help the environment but something that can improve the way people live now then how they lived years ago.

Design can impact the environment both as a advantage and a disadvantage. Green design “reflects the need for a more systematic approach to the environmental problems facing us today” (Rodgers & A. Milton pg.170).

There are many things that have impacted the environment such as the architecture around us and cars which have been revolutionised and the energy that has been harnessed from natural resources like the wind and the sun.

Design and Culture -

Figure 3 – Diwali – Rangoli pattern

Figure 4– Day of The Dead Festival

Design and culture are also something that is becoming more and more known in the growing population not only does it represent something now but it also will be a representation for the new generation. if there was nothing that represented culture then everything and everyone would be the same and no country or religion would be different from one another not only does design improve this by making countries different but more independent in their own way.

But the question really is how does design really influence culture well it doesn’t always have to be the same influence on everyone it can be different to different people some people might see cultural design as something else and others might see it differently.

Culture itself is a big subject and many things fall under it which include, language, literature, architecture, music, clothing and religion. There is also something called contemporary culture which ties in well with the younger generation these may include things like musical influences but for the older generation this may be something difficult for them to get into as they were probably bought up in the old cultural design rather than the modern culture. Architecture combines well with cultural design as this may be influenced by the way people act and see things in some people’s eyes for example if walking into a house with the same layout as always and then something different has been interpreted into the layout which makes it unusual it will probably make people feel differently this has the same effect in cultural design it doesn’t always have to be something that links in with a religion but it can also be something which everyone can relate to .

Fashion design and the impact it has on society

Fashion design is something that gives everyone a sense of identity, fashion design is something which can be described as something which everyone everywhere uses as something to differentiate themselves from the people around them. But the question really is how does this actually happen and how does fashion affect the way people where clothes. firstly, fashion design can impact society the way one someone portrays that sort of fashion sense. Models for example have catwalks where they wear the clothes designer has created the way the designers want them to wear them it always depends on the way other people wear clothes which has an effect on the people around them.

Fashion doesn’t always have to be something which has to be worn or used in a particular way it is something which is made to make everyone be independent for example if someone wears a hat fully on their head and someone else wears that same hat tilted or even backwards there is no one to say that they are wearing that hat wrong because it’s that little independent influence which gives everyone their own identity which means that everyone has their own interpretation of how they wear and use that particular product from clothing to bags

There are many interpretations of fashion design which have a influence on the way people live which can be said that “Fashion itself is a reflection of social, economic, political and cultural changes. It expresses modernity, symbolising the spirit of the times” (Notjustalabel.com, 2016). Depending on what it is that has been designed there is always a chance of it been redesigned which says allot about how the way people live also has a big part in how the things are developed to become something better. There may be different categories in fashion which kind of separates how men and women should and shouldn’t wear clothes a dress for example is made for women to wear but t-shirt can be worn both by women and men as times change so do the way designers think now men can wear shirts that are longer which kind of represents a dress but for men. The question really is what how does fashion really impact the way people dress and feel, with fashion there is always brands which also stand out to the consumer and this also influences what other people think of the clothes that they wear for example if someone was wearing a Armani suit due to the fact that the way it looks on one person can influence another person to buy and wear the same one. If fashion didn’t have a big part in everyone lives, then everyone everywhere would be dressed the same way which wouldn’t really give people that sense of independence.

Figure 5 – Giorgio Armani Logo

Not only does design affect one-person preference but it also effects a group of people who would often dress the same for example in a work space where everyone has a certain dress style which can also represent their branding and what that business is all about, for the office there would be people dressed smartly in suit and tie but at a store everyone would be wearing the same top the with brand which gives that certain business an independent way of dressing.

Overall fashion design has been influenced in everyone such as the way models wear them the consumer gets captured by that and thinks that if I buy and wear that particular clothing then it would also look and make me feel like the model in the picture.

How design affects our daily lives

Figure 6 – Apple I-Phone

Everywhere there is something which has been created through a designer the ordinary chores that people do has been made easier with design such as the dust pan and brush if it wasn’t for the development of design and engineers then there wouldn’t really be hoovers to help make the routine chores easier , it may sound like design is everything but if it wasn’t for the way people use things and have certain preferences the way they use them then there wouldn’t really be any point to even redesigning the simple everyday products.

Design is everywhere not only does it have to be something that is just a product that makes everyone’s lives easier but it also is something which empowers people do be and feel better.

“always striving to make design empowering is the ideal” (Coates et al., 2014)

Without design what would life be like this is the question that everyone probably asks themselves. If there wasn’t the development and design of beds what would people be sleeping on if it wasn’t for the simple sofa where would everyone be sitting and the simplest answer to this would probably be the floor but if everyone sat on the floor would it be uncomfortable in different cultures, there are people who sit on the floor and eat but this doesn’t mean that just because that certain person is sitting on the floor everyone else has to do the same. Design doesn’t only make people feel comfortable it makes people feel and act differently or even as some people might think that buying a certain product can make their home look better just because of how aesthetically pleasing that product is.

Graphic design also changes the way people see and feel about things, graphic design design is everywhere like billboards, books, websites and many more but the way we see things can also deceive us such as illusions, something that is designed to look like one thing can also look like something else not only does this represent graphics but it can also be represented through products.

Product design is something which has and still is developing like something that everyone uses in their daily life’s like the simple toothbrush at first it was a simple plastic stick with a bristled brush on the end but with technology incorporated into this it has changed dramatically to something which at first was something that people would manually brush around their teeth but now has been changed where a small rotation has been added to the bristles which turns the brush automatically through charging or even batteries. Depending on the consumer’s preference’s some people may prefer to use the toothbrush as it has always been but other people who grow as design grows use the newer version of the same product , sometimes a new development of a certain product doesn’t always have to be a good thing people might still want to use the older version than the newer version this also gives a reason to why people buy the things they do due to how easy or adapted they are with that certain type of product for example if someone was using the same car for years and a newer version came out that did the same thing some people might want the newer version but others might still see it as something that can still do the same thin as the older version.

People also play a big part in what people want, if someone has the new I-Phone which is better than the phone they already have then that would influence that person to buy that phone.

Design is everywhere around the world it isn’t something that is defined by one thing but something which is interpreted through different things and places everywhere, architecture design for example is something that affects the way people would want to live, it could be based on the way that certain house looks , if one house looks old and dusty but another looks new and cleaner then people would probably go for the newer and cleaner version sometimes it can also be on how it looks and how it would make that person look to people around him/her.

Overall design is something that affects people in their own way and design in everyone’s daily lives is a big subject which impacts the way people have to do and use things compared to the way they want to use a certain thing in their own way.

Primary Research

From the primary research which was conducted the average was calculated through every 5 questionnaires which were filled out anonymously out of 15 questionnaires on the impact on design in society in general which had various opinions but were closely linked in the way they were answered.

1. For the question what impact does design have on you and why? specifically fashion design, how does it make you feel? overall everyone said near enough the same thing that fashion design is an important part of their life and gives them a sense of independence and makes them feel unique and different from everyone else, this gives a perfect insight into what fashion design is is to people and it doesn’t only mean how good it looks on them but how it makes people feel independent.

1. In your daily routine do you think design takes a big part in this and why? To summarise what people said everyone gave the same answer that yes design does take a big part in the daily routine and even the simple things make a big impact in their lives from one particular answer someone said that toothpaste is something that is important to their daily routine because without it their breath wouldn’t smell.

1. What product impacts your daily life and why? from the research gathered from 15 people everyone said that their phone because it is something which helps and makes their life easier like the alarm clock and notes.

1. Does the environmentally friendly factor influence your decision when choosing a product and why? From the feedback everyone said that it doesn’t really matter to them but it depends on the product and if it does make a difference then yes they would buy that product but if it doesn’t then they wouldn’t.

1. As a consumer do you believe design has played a big part in the way we live and why? To summarise what people said they all answered yes because trends change with time and even them same trends can affect the social change during different periods.

Throughout the primary research design does have an impact on people’s lives weather it’s something they use every day or even if that same product or design affects them independently.

Conclusion

Through analysis from the research design impacts everyone everywhere sometimes it can be a certain design that affects people more than other designs for example the phone which has been developed from something with manual push buttons to something that has been incorporated with touch screen technology, fashion design also affects people in different ways to some people it might be something that gives them confidence and to others it’s something that makes them look and feel good , fashion design doesn’t always have to be something that has to be made to look good on someone but it can affect the way people act and live but people do get influenced when buying certain clothes when looking at the way others wear them or even with simple advertisements which still is something that is created through design , billboards and magazines and everything around us has design interpreted into it and changes peoples deceptions. Not all design has a big impact on people environmental design doesn’t really affect people as much but maybe something that has been developed over the years , people still want to live the easier and simpler way environment design can be complicated and changing the way people live now compared to how they lived 3 years before is something that doesn’t affect people but something which has been used in an everyday routine which has been developed can influence the way people buy that certain product. Good design and bad design is an important factor in this if something that does everything it says on the box compared to something that doesn’t really do what it says on the box can change the way people buy and use them.

Overall design is a really big subject in the development of this world and it can also affect the way people live, there isn’t much of fixed conclusion but to summarise the question what impact does design have on society it really affects everything and everyone design can affect humans and the environment depending on how it affects everyone individually.

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