A Concept of Taste in Modern Interior Design Advertising - Essay Example

A concept of “taste” in the modern media (interior design advertising) Thesis: the modern interior design advertising is focused on the mass audience more than on a chosen group of people. Thus, reflection of “taste” tends to “kitsch” more than to “avant-garde”. Introduction A concept of taste has been vividly discussed and explored since 18th century. Currently, modern viewers feel a great distance between their objects of admiration and the way producers or marketers have developed their creative strategies. A position of a modern audience is a position of an individual experienced in the estrangement. This position is interpreted by McLuhan's theory as the result of modern media mediation by means of technology (Miller and Schlitt, 1985). The ability to judge or perceive art is currently substituted by a wide range of online information concerning any existent cultural phenomenon. Another well-known critic of taste of the XX century, Clement Greenberg, talks about high art and low art and names them “avant-garde” and “kitsch” respectively. “Kitsch” is closer to wide masses and “avant-garde” is closer to those who sets the concepts of taste. Greenberg underlines “purity” of high art as “an end in and of itself; it is a medium which serves to reveal and realize the qualities of its particular medium” (Miller and Schlitt, 1985). In case a modern viewer cannot discern between high and low art he becomes “blind” and thus loses his ability to evaluate the degree of influence caused by media on him. Moreover, currently media produces mere products or tools. In accordance with French ethnographer Bourdieu “what is "tasteful" are determined more by her social standing than any special ability to experience and appreciate the sensory, aesthetic, or social world” (refer to Jerrad 2002, p. 32). Media and taste Currently, modern public shapes its sense of taste under influence of the media. TV shows and advertising campaigns have shaped our ideas about taste in every sphere of our lives. Still, the most important for us is not what we wear, but where we live. The role of interior design plays a crucial role in formation of the individuality; it programs further life and social role we play in the society. Home decoration entertains us and gives us a chance to dream about a beautiful life that is so close…Print ads that are available online or in printed sources have become common images to follow for us. All of us are striving for creation of a beautiful and cozy nest. Ads set a perspective that we have on our homes. Therefore, aesthetic taste is being currently shaped under the influence of trend and popular colors, furniture etc. In other words, mass media sets templates or examples that we have to follow or follow unconsciously. There is a great difference between taste is represented in TV shows on interior design and advertising campaigns. The former gives certain knowledge about the possible transformations of the interior, but print ads just set stereotypes that are deeply rooted in our consciousness (Hidden Gem for Interior Design, 2010). During TV shows on interior design, people have a chance to consider the relevance of color palette to their own house. On the other hand, accessories or furniture that is advertised do not necessarily match with our houses. Therefore, the main focus of print advertising campaigns on interior design are focused on “the user as a consumer, a game-player, a supplier, an operator, a poet, a thinker, a draftsperson, and an administrator all rolled into one-sometimes as a private person, sometimes as a professional, but most of the time as both” (Hesse & Hesse 2003, p. 39). Thus, interior design advertising campaign have a bear marketing goal – to sale the things that are advertised, but they should meet the requirements of the modern customer that integrates numerous proficiencies, special features, peculiarities etc. A global spirit of the modern interior design has shifted design from an objective creative sphere to a means of communicating creative ideas of some talented and not individuals to other people. The intimidating feature of a wide-spread interior design advertised images, as well as other images are the following: “The more images we absorb, the less impact they have on us. Each new image invites the next; each one seen invites another one as yet unseen. This accelerating acclimatization is causing a major headache for communications professionals” (Hesse and Hesse 2003, p. 41). Therefore, taste has become a product of reflection and consumption of the enormous number of people and as a concept it may soon disappear at all. The definite borders of taste will be lost because of degrading and a consequential drowning in the abundance of print images of different interiors. Marketers do not intend to penetrate into the mental depths of potential customers; it is easier for them to develop new images that would be followed by the nation. The opportunities for modern advertising campaigns are so huge that they have almost exhausted. Maybe, there is a need to return to basics and propagate basic values as the core values and means of interior design than to invent innovative crazy images? Such countries as Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland advertising campaigns of interior design have been reshaped in accordance with the classic motifs (Hesse and Hesse, 2003). Interior offices design VS interior home design In America quite another tendency can be traced. Thus, a famous advertising company Chiat Day's business develops amusing images for public entertainment. As it is often claimed about the company: “it has employed original architectural minds to design offices for its inventive and technologically sophisticated staff” (Mcguire 2003) For example, architectural buildings located in Venice, California, designed by Frank Gehry, became a landmark for the city. He embodied his ideas in such a way, that they remind the public about Hollywood and Disneyland, but at the same time he presents “the prevailing informality conveying the non-hierarchical character of the advertising industry” (McGuire, 2003). Gehry and Gaetano Pesto in such a way try to reshape human attitude to offices. For example, they designed virtual offices in Manhattan in a Venetian style. Though they did not have much costs, they managed to create “the furthest flight from the rectangle ever achieved in office design” (McGuire, 2003). Pesce implied the space into a bright atmosphere of festival, filled it with surreal forms and shapes and managed to do it with the help of inexpensive material (rubber, resin, polyesters). Therefore, Chiat Day has been always trying to refer to the avant-garde style, but at the same time the company wanted to become closer to public. They started to introduce the concept of taste in their own offices in order to make them differ from all other offices. In such a way, they wanted to invent something new, unusual and innovative. The changes they started were practically applied for their own offices. When they designed offices in San Francisco, they had more costs than in Los Angeles. They chose a quite unusual style for them – it was a romantic spirit in the offices. It was the building located on three floors at 55 Union Street on the city's old Barbary Coast (McGuire, 2003). In such a way, a historic brick house was reshaped in accordance of the needs with modern offices and a spirit of modern business world. If to compare Gehry’s design and design by Radziner, it becomes clear that the latter appealed for piratical history. Radziner started to transform an empty “envelope” of the building and designed it in accordance with people’s needs. An enormous number of various wooden forms, but inside of the building there are water walls (made of polycarbonate) enclosing conference room and other rooms. A perfect and a harmonized unity of light, color and texture make this building pleasurable and give a zest to the offices located inside. In other words, such kind of design implies that modern business world is another crucial landmark of the history of America. “Taste” is expressed through harmonized unity of designer’s ideas to bring in something new and unusual from the period of pirates. Modern businessmen should feel comfortable while doing their businesses in such kind of a modernized building and feel them like great chiefs. Moreover, location of open-plan offices on two floors creates an atmosphere of open communication and privacy at the same time. Still, the designer managed to preserve functional style and convenience reflected in wooden furniture. Therefore, a reflection of taste in interior design in offices has an innovative spirit at the same time not discarding a functional style. Uniqueness and convenience may be considered as two basic points for offices interior design. If to compare the way “taste” is reflected in home design on the example of advertised Caroline Burke Designs & Associates, then we could see some more interesting findings. This design company is located in Pacific Palisades, CA (Home Design Case Study). The advertising campaign of the company implies that the designers are able to give a completely new look to an old house. There is no need for home owners to less their houses, but it is much better to refurnish it and rework interior design of the house completely. This advertising campaign printed in the newspaper underlines that a customer’s taste is prevalent for designer’s choices. At the same time, on the photos of newly reworked houses, we can see that colors of living room and dining room are blue and white. Color palette for interior design of the kitchen is plum and burgundy. In such a way, these colors are positioned as creating a cozy home atmosphere. Therefore, we can claim that home interior designers find it more convenient to propagate their taste and even obtrude it on the customers. Thus, their main intention is to capture auditorium and they are more leaning to “kitsch” than to “avant-garde”, as office interior designers do. Conclusion In other words, there is no an overall capturing tendency of “kitsch” in interior design. It appears when the target audience needs it. A position of a modern audience is a position of an individual experienced in the estrangement. This position is interpreted by McLuhan's theory as the result of modern media mediation by means of technology. The modern interior design advertising is focused on the mass audience more than on a chosen group of people. Thus, reflection of “taste” tends to “kitsch” more than to “avant-garde”. modern public shapes its sense of taste under influence of the media. TV shows and advertising campaigns have shaped our ideas about taste in every sphere of our lives. Still, the most important for us is not what we wear, but where we live. A mass public consumer of interior home design prevails in number over interior office design and thus, “avant-garde” has remained of great demand for businessmen and elite, while “kitsch” is choices of wide public mass that is obtruded by mass media on them. References 1. Hesse, C. and Hesse, K., 2003. What's Next? A Preliminary Resume of the Past Decade of Digitalized Communications. Design Management Review 14 (4), 38+. 2. Hidden Gem for Interior Design; ADVERTISING FEATURE. South Wales Echo (Cardiff, Wales), April 8, 2010. 3. Home Design Case Study: Interior Design Pacific Palisades Project. [online]. Available from: http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/home-design-case-study-interior-design-pacific-palisades-project-4142535.html#ixzz1PGabMHlb [Accessed 14 June 2011] 4. Jerrad, R. et al, 2002. Design Management Case Studies. Routledge. 5. McGuire, P., 2003. Public Image: Expansion of a Leading Advertising Agency Is Another Stage in Its Imaginative Flight from Stifling Corporate Design. The Architectural Review 213 (1274), p. 70+. 6. Miller, S. and Schlitt, J., 1985. Interior Space: Design Concepts for Personal Needs. Praeger Publishers. Read More