Assignment 3

Jones’ theory focuses on utility being the main aim of construction, not decoration and although decoration helps maintain balance, it should never hinder the object’s purpose. I believe Jones’ ideas had validity, but also had flaws.

In the time Jones’ wrote his theory, there were problems with industrialization changing the economy and working classes, yet he puts forward a stable argument. Construction was the main aim. To spend excess time designing and creating inappropriate decoration was, as Henry Cole agreed, detraction from its use and counter-productive. Because of long-hours spent achieving counter-productive designs working classes started to revolt. They also began to lose their craftsmanship and skills. I agree it made no sense to decorate an object in a way that not only didn’t aid the design, but in a way that hindered it. The pitcher for instance, becomes more difficult to hold and the narrow top would cause problems when pouring it- its main aim. This is simply for decorations’ sake and seems pointless- especially since such decoration would take more hours to create a less practical design.
           

I believe that decoration in today’s society is something that benefits and balances in a less harmful way. Fewer processes are needed to create more decorative pieces and due to technology, decoration is added with little extra work for manufacturers. Decoration creates interest in our lives, especially as designers, who see the world through its appearance and how things work.
            Despite Jones presenting a reasonable argument, I believe it can be defined to his time and was also a didactic approach. It required a narrow-minded person to believe that everyone would conform to his approach to design. Although it was fair to say that adding decoration for the sake of decoration added work to the working class and often diminished craftsmanship, it isn’t necessarily the case today. I still agree we shouldn’t hinder the way an objects works, I believe that decoration stops our lives from becoming dull and that can’t be a bad thing.

Assignment 2

  No one can deny that the wedding dress was a subject of great excitement leading up to the day of Kate and William’s wedding on April 29^th, 2011. Despite the hype it’s hard not to also think, how much is this going to cost and most importantly, who pays?

The ornate detailing and fabric work of Kate Middleton’s dress shows that the royal family still feels the need to have the unnecessary extravagance. This draws a resemblance to the Rococo period and how the royals’ extravagance in designs highlighted the difference between themselves and the public. In the Rococo period artists crafted pieces specifically for the royals while their economies struggled to stay afloat. Similarly, the royals today ascertain specific designs by top stylists for their sensuous impulses, despite economic hardship.

However, the royal wedding could also be seen as a major investment into the British financial system, as tourism rocketed and publicity was at an all time high. So although the extravagance of it all is being repeated and the division between the ‘elite’ royals and their subjects is there I think the royals are more understanding about the effects. This mixes neo-classical thoughts of necessity and the Rococo thoughts of desire, by mixing economical needs with sensuous impulses.

Although this dress and wedding symbolizes how the continuing curve carries on repeating, they also show how we are starting to realize and learn from the consequences that come from it.

Assignment 1

Motion capture uses sensors to relay information, about actors' bodies/facial movements, into computers, translating it in relation to an animation. Commonly known from The Lord of the Rings and Avatar, this design advance allows an emotional depth to CG characters that was once missing.

This important technology development is a breakthrough in films where real life and animation collide.