The Design History Australia by Dr Tony Fry - Essay Example

Book report-The Design History Australia by Dr. Tony Fry Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Instructor’s Name Date Despite the fact that there has been advocacy for good design in Australia for long time, Design history is yet a new age to study for Australia. However, it is difficult to know exactly the best way to approach the design industry given the fact there is very minimal consensus to the real meaning of “design” and what it entails. This paper will give a report based on Dr. Tony Fry’s book; Design History Australia. The report begins by giving Fry’s critical overview of the field of design history then his proposed approach suitable for Australia. Design History Australia is an essential book that looks into the contemporary culture and history of Australia. The book is organized as an account summary of the design history, a teaching material and also a general resource for reference within the area of design. It is a useful and easy to use book that cuts across various professions implying that its use is not limited to teachers and student but it can be used and referred to by professional designers (Irving & Apperly, 1985). In his introduction to the design history in Australia, Fry states that the design history is relatively a new area of study although design practice has been criticized, advocated or even written about for more than hundred years. In order to address the Australia’s design history, there is need to not only set up a field of study but also identify the appropriate objects for inquiry purpose. This was the main aim why Fry wrote the book. He also wanted to help students studying design both outside and inside educational institutions to develop design as a new field of study. Moreover, Fry wanted the readers (users) of his book to understand the concept of design as an area of inquiry which can go beyond the interests of the design specialists. Some exceptional areas are given in the book. These areas include: fashion, architecture and crafts. The emphasis of the book is on industrial design as general grounds for design activities. Under the industrial design, it is easy to focus on corporate structures and designs, product range and brands, manufacturing design process and lifestyle and promotional designs. It is also easy to approach the history of specific products through standard questions. E.g. who designed the product? As introduced in the book, design history is a new area of study in the universities and colleges. This means that it has not been taught as a subject before and that its independent history can be traced back to nearly twenty years. According to Fry, the art education in Australia formed the basis for the training of designers. Due to lack of specialist education, the roles of the designers and artist overlapped when compared to other nations that had specialist education. In general, the design history is neither discrete nor completely descriptive on its own terms (Anthony, 2001). In his explanations of the various approaches to the historical study of design, Fry argues that there quite a number of perspectives that dominate the approach to study of design history. These include: canonisation, connoisseurship, the object in space, common object, design as culture, economy and gender and design (Fry, 1988). Though some perspectives attempt to incorporate others, there is no clear line for such grounds. Connoisseurship. The chief concern of the design history from this perspective is aesthetic. This means that design is said to be “good” or described as “bad”. However, there may be diverse standings, basis or judgments for such claims. Canonisation. It is considered as the most developed perspective of the history of design. The history of design which was produced by connoisseur reflects the leadership of styles. In these formations of knowledge, design progress by the accepted power of the exemplary objects. The dynamics which drive the designers leads to the creation of objects (Glynne et al., 2009). According to this approach, a received object is accepted as a “cultured” culture. Technology was considered as the main mode of delivering democracy to higher cultures, instead of design being the major means in developing popular demands and support. An example of this tendency is modern movement architectural history. The object being studied in this type of design is slides forward and backwards the designed environment and the manufacturing and design world of products. The outcome is the history of architecture representing all design history. The common object- this refers to the objects of everyday life which we encounter regularly. The common objects have great social importance to the wide range of artifacts which constitute our daily lives. The history of the common objects links to the history of the material fabrics which extends to our cultural and economic lives. Therefore, the history of a common object is clearly different from canonical history which deals only with the selected ad validated objects. Design as culture- design as culture is often used as an anthropological sense which goes beyond the limitations of how manufactured objects are perceived as material culture sediments. Very few texts have tackled this relation directly but poorly. Some texts like An Introduction to Design Culture in the Twentieth Century covers a wide array of topics such as design education, new lifestyles and design and consumer education among others. However, the studies do not include an investigation of the design and how it is related to culture. In its simple terms design can be described as a creative act which establishes the original appearance and social functions of useful object (s). Design and gender- the incorporation of the domestic field with the social production relations has led to attachment of some design industry to the female gender (Whitbread, 2001). Evidence of ways which feminism has a framework of the greater part of modern industry is seen in countries like Japan and the USA (Moss, 2009). This implies that design is operational with a system. Design as economy- technology and design have been integrated to be a specific force that drives social production. The history shows how science and technical education are combined by professional engineering in order to expand corporate capitalism, hence shaping the direction and form of the society. Despite the sound approaches and rich design background of Australia, Fry asserts that there is a natural design crisis in Australia which can be described as old as the nation itself. This is because Australia has been viewed by the investors in the design industry as a small manufacturing nation with a relatively smaller home market when contrasted to other countries with highly developed design industry (Graner, 2004). The country as also failed to establish an industrial development which is geared to exporting rather than importing goods. This means that Australia has not been in a position of resisting the penetration of imported goods and services. It is clear that the structure of political economy is not yet recognized. Moreover, lessons from the history have not yet been taken into account. From a theoretical perspective, Fry concludes that design is not a fixed characteristic of an object and it is not completely independent form its form. Instead, the meaning and design of an object are an assortment of forms, practices, relations as well as the historical circumstances. Theory is an essential tool which facilitates the process of constituting, exploring and critically questioning design (Connah, 1988). In other words, the understanding of design in its complexity cannot be achieved without theory. The Design History Australia uses the historical circumstances to express how design in Australia came into being. The acts of colonialism are acknowledged given the fact that they affected the past, present and even the future of the design industry. This is why the author used three case studies when writing the book. The economic and cultural nature of Australian design is attributed to the way in which design was written about and how the existence of such writing in Australian metropolitan centres of modernity relates to the design industry. The three case studies used include: the Great White Train which is believed to have travelled across Australia in 1920s. The train helped in promoting goods which originated in Australia. MacRobertsons Limited was a company which was very conscious about design and modernity. Is methods of production, buildings and chocolates were influenced by design. Lastly, the Australia’s Wonderland was used as the third case study. This was a park for entertainment and its use was very significant as it formed the basis for detailed examination of diverse material cultures. In conclusion, The Design History Australia seeks to promote and advance learning of design in Australia. It aims at ensuring that design is taught as a subject in Australian institutions of learning rather than the perceived notion of being a professional area for established designers only. The summary of the history of design is given so as to create an easy understanding of the background of design, specifically in Australia. The use of case studies implies that design is directly related to the past, present and future activities of people. It is therefore, important to acknowledge the role played by colonial activities towards the promotion of Australian design. References Anthony, K. H. (2001). Designing for diversity: gender, race, and ethnicity in the architectural profession. Urbana, University of Illinois Press. Connah, G. (1988). The Archaeology of Australia's History. Cambridge usw, Cambridge University Press. Fry, T. (1988). Design history Australia: a source text in methods and resources. Sydney, Hale & Iremonger. Glynne, J., Hackney, F., & Minton, V. (2009). Networks of design: proceedings of the 2008 Annual International Conference of the Design History Society (UK). Boca Raton, Fla, Universal Publishers. Graner Ray, S. (2004). Gender inclusive game design: expanding the market. Hingham, Mass, Charles River Media. Irving, R., & Apperly, R. (1985). The History & design of the Australian house. Melbourne, Oxford University Press. Moss, G. (2009). Gender, design and marketing: how gender drives our perception of design and marketing. Farnham, Surrey, Gower. Whitbread, D. (2001). The design manual. Sydney, University of New South Wales Press. Read More