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INDUS-3600-1: MH: European Design Capitals

Summer 2019

Subject: Industrial Design
Type: Seminar
Delivery Mode: In-Person
Level: Undergraduate

Course Dates: May 20, 2019 — June 10, 2019
Meetings: Every Day 9:00AM-05:00PM
Instructor: Mara Holt Skov

Units: 3.0
Enrolled: 0/4 Closed

Description:

In History of Design students survey the major events, objects, themes and controversies that are the foundation for contemporary practice in Industrial Design. Beginning with the late 19th century English Arts and Crafts movement students study the ideas, individuals and institutions behind the leading movements in modern design. Topics include Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art and Engineering, the Bauhaus, the emergence of American Industrial Design as a profession, design in post-war Italy, Germany, Japan and the United States, late 20th century Postmodernism, and will conclude with a survey of the state of the profession today. Examples are drawn from industrial products, architectural spaces, graphic images and information systems with a strong emphasis on the cultural context, philosophy, psychology, politics and the arts. Ultimately students will find that the history of design is not only about objects, but more importantly about ideas. Course material includes lectures, class discussion, and writing assignments. Skills reinforced: materials, manufacturing, design research, history of ID, meaning/semantics, design writing.Section Description:Students wishing to register for this course need to first obtain instructor approval by emailing the instructor (instructor emails are listed with a more detailed program description in portal: cca.edu/abroad). Once a student is approved, registration must be done in person at the Student Records Office on either campus. European Design Capitals: Past and Present offers a taste of the history and culture of three of Europe's most important design centers: London, Amsterdam, and Milan. Each of these cities provides links to the history and present practice of industrial design. We visit museums, manufacturers, design studios, and relevant historical and cultural sites. In London, we consider the 19th century industrial revolution to the critical design present. In Amsterdam, with a day trip to Utrecht, we discover an entire society that supports design in all its guises from the practical to the conceptual and is one of the most successful cycling environments in the world. In Milan, we learn about post WWII recovery, the Milan Furniture Fair, and the 1980s Memphis design movement and visit studios of the Italian masters. Every step of the way we situate the movements, methods, and materials within the historical, cultural, and geographic settings from which they emerged.Although specifically designed for Industrial Design students with its focus on design history, this program is equally valuable for other disciplines, such as Furniture, Architecture, Interior Design, Visual Studies, Graduate Design MFA - or for any student interested in understanding how geography, history and culture influence the design of the graphics, objects, systems and structures of our built environment at every scale.

Pre-Requisites and Co-Requisites:

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