ASSIGNMENT 1
DECU5111
ST10073689 Ingrid Swanepoel
Design Culture
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Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... iii
Part 1: Consumer culture and modernity ........................................................................... iii
Part 2: Conspicuous consumption and the expansion of taste ...........................................iv
Summary and conclusion ..................................................................................................iv
References ........................................................................................................................... v
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Table of Figures:
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Introduction
Design culture changes with time as new inventions are discovered. Some of biggest and
fastest changes in design culture occurred during the Industrial Revolution time period. The
modernist time period was the start of professional design. The Industrial Revolution had a
big impact on how design developed. The following information will discuss how The
Industrial Revolution impacted design. How mass production contributed to the rise in
consumer culture and conspicuous consumption will also be defined and discussed. The
Industrial Revolution was from 1760-1840 and during this time a transformation in design
started. There were new ways of printing invented, photography was invented and improved,
and the culture of consumers changed at a rapid pace. We can see this in how products and
services were marketed as well as in architectural, fashion and interior design. The
beginning of conspicuous consumption started developing among the middle class between
the 29th and 20th century. This also had a significant impact on design culture.
Part 1: Consumer culture and modernity
The modernist time period was the start of professional design. The Industrial Revolution
had a big impact on how design developed. The following information will discuss how The
Industrial Revolution impacted design. How mass production contributed to the rise in
consumer culture and conspicuous consumption will also be defined and discussed. The
Industrial Revolution was from 1760-1840 and during this time a transformation in design
started. New ways of printing were invented, photography was invented and improved, and
the culture of consumers changed. We can see this in how products and services were
marketed as well as in architectural, fashion and interior design. The beginning of
conspicuous consumption started developing among the middle class between the 29th and
20th century.
What is the Industrial Revolution and what was it all about? This era started because
agricultural societies changed to a more industrial and less rural way of production. Products
that were made by hand in the past were now being made using machines in factories. Mass
production started as machines could make more of a product in a shorter amount of time.
Machines can be more accurate than if a product was handmade by people. This left many
jobless, because they were replaced by machines that could do their job better than them.
Machines don’t get tired, don’t need holidays and are mostly cheaper to use for production
than humans. This revolution started in Britain then spread to the rest of the world’s
countries by the 1830’s-1840’s (Editors, 2018) . As a result from the revolution in the iron
industry new materials were created. The growing importance of graphic communication
allowed typography and different styles to blow up. Printing of photographs became
possible. This contributed to designers using photography in their designs. New printing
presses were created which bettered the Gutenberg press. Some parts were replaced by
iron. This meant that printing could be done at a far quicker pace. Machines also had an
influence on the fashion industry, because there was a larger demand of different textiles.
Textiles could be made at a faster rate.
Designers had the opportunity to make use of these new inventions. They could make use of
photographs in design and they could produce more of their products in less time.
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“Consumer culture is a form of material culture facilitated by the market, which thus created
a particular relationship between the consumer and the goods or services he or she uses or
consumes.” (Miles, 2019)
During the time of mass production designers had to make products and services look good
and more alluring. Mass manufacturing made certain products attainable by not only the
upper-class but also the middle-class. Mass produced items formed a part of material culture
and this meant that the middle class could express themselves with the products and
services they used and consumed. (Zyl, 2017) For example; middle class people being able
to dress themselves in clothing that suited their taste. In the past only the upper class people
had this luxury.
Part 2: Conspicuous consumption and the expansion of taste
Conspicuous consumption is when products or services are bought with the purpose of
displaying the buyer’s wealth. It is usually products or services the consumer wants to flaunt
around. Although this type of consumption is often times associated with the rich or upper
class, it can occur in any economic class. (Kenton, 2021) Designers must make a product
look worthy enough of buying, the product has to be marketed as something everyone
desires to have but not everyone can have. Everyone wants something someone else can’t
have. We also desire things we can’t have. The product needs to look special and
recognisable. Design involves the encoding of a symbolic meaning to a specific product or
service. This aims to point the viewer or consumer towards a preferred view of the product or
service. When the product or service is used or consumed, the symbolism of it gets decoded
(different people from different backgrounds “decode” it differently). There might be a
possibility that different views/readings/”decodings” form with different people. The view of a
product can be different once consumed from what the initial intention of the designer was.
Often designers have to redesign their products or services for their different or new
view/reading/’decoding”. (Mike Press, 2016) It is important for designers to ensure that the
symbolic meaning encoded in their products or marketing is clear and they need to be able
to work with the new/different view/reading/decoding of the product or service once it is
consumed. With proper research and planning the designer will have more control over the
decoding of their product or service.
Summary and conclusion
We have learnt a lot about the changes in design culture from the information above. Design
culture changes as time changes. The Industrial Revolution had a huge impact on design.
Machines were invented which allowed for mass production. The inventions from this time
period made it possible for designers to print a big amount at a quick pace. This made
typography and styles blow up. The invention of photography also had an impact on design.
The fact that the middle class could be more expressive with what they consumed also
created new opportunities for designers. “Consumer culture is a form of material culture
facilitated by the market, which thus created a particular relationship between the consumer
and the goods or services he or she uses or consumes.” (Miles, 2019). Middle class people
gained the opportunity to express themselves with what they consumed due to mass
production, before these inventions only the upper class had this opportunity.
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Conspicuous consumption is when products or services are bought with the purpose of
displaying the buyer’s/consumer’s wealth. This can occur in any economic class. Designers
can use this in their design in order to get people to consume their product/service. When
products or serAvices are marketed they are encoded with a symbolic meaning that is meant
to guide the viewer to a preferred view or meaning of this product or service. It is possible
that different people will view the product differently and then designers have to rethink and
redesign this product or service.
References
Editors, H., 2018. Industrial Revolution. [Online]
Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution/industrial-revolution
[Accessed 19 April 2022].
Kenton, W., 2021. Conspicuous Consumption. [Online]
Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conspicuous-consumption.asp
[Accessed 19 April 2022].
Mike Press, R. C., 2016. The Design Experience : The Role of Design and Designers in the
Twenty-First Century. [Online]
Available at: https://search-ebscohostcom.ezproxy.iielearn.ac.za/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1480085&site=ehostlive&scope=site
[Accessed 19 April 2022].
Miles, S., 2019. Consumer Culture - Sociology - Oxford Bibliographies - obo. [Online]
Available at: Consumer Culture - Sociology - Oxford Bibliographies - obo
[Accessed 19 April 2022].
Zyl, R. v., 2017. Design Culture 1A. [Online]
Available at: https://learn-eu-central-1-prod-fleet01xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com/5f5880ccc4141/640874?X-BlackboardExpiration=1650412800000&X-BlackboardSignature=jQgMOd79C%2BvSqwnsA%2FzEal1FHPzat6AaO36hNLVHtw4%3D&XBlackboard-Client-Id=515070&response-cache-cont
[Accessed 19 April 2022].
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