The Genius of Design

The Genius of Design is a documentary which examine the history of design, from the industry revolution until today, focusing on the innovations and inventions, which have transformed the modern life. This documentary come with five episodes, which are ' Ghost in the Machine ', ' Design for Living ', ' Blueprint of War ',   ' Better living through Chemistry ', and ' Objects of Desired '.

From the first episode, I learnt about the industry design. In the past, there is no such thing called industry, everything like cooking pot and sheep shears are done by the classic designer (artisan). So, there is a limitation, which an artisan cannot produce a lot of work during a short time and the quality of the same product could not be maintain. However, industry revolution happened, which changed the way people make things. Due to the industry, now we can do the mass production for the product or the design, which is  a leading to the modern world. Beside of that, there is also an interview with the legendary designer - Dieter Rams, and talk about his 10 principle of good design.

From the second episode, I learnt that design is for what people need. In between the 1920s and 1930s, with between the two global world, designer come out with the idea to shape the things to come. The futurism and modernism started here, designer are trying to leading the way and exploring what are the consumer's desire.

From the third episode, I learnt that design is not just about you and me,it also take part in the whole nation. By examines the second World War through the prism of the rival war machine, you can see how design shift dramatically when the nation survival is at stake.

From the forth episode, I learnt that design is to explore new thing and fully utilizes it. During the 50s to 60s, a new material has been discovered, which is the plastic. This material combined with the miracles of electronic miniaturasation, bring a big changes to the world. In Japan, designers at Sony were shrinking radios from pocket-size to palm-size, paving the way for the ultimate in portable lifestyle-the Walkman. But the optimism of the era came to an abrupt end when concerns about the environmental impact of plastic came to the fore.

From the fifth episode,  I learnt that design is about people's wants and needs. However, nowadays people are addressing wants rather than needs. Designers also played a decisive role in making the world-changing power of computer and digital technology.

In a conclusion, design is so important, it shape the way we live, and keep leading and improving our lifestyle. Design is simple but functional, design is for everyone, design is the idea, design is everywhere. 

Information sources: 

1)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkQXUKQYrsQ&list=PL6aq1PBlrtR4uh3T-

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2)http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=The_Genius_of_Design