Designing Post Nature : Speculating on How Things Could Be

At least since the industrialization and its influential consequences in the twentieth century, it has become difficult or even impossible to perceive nature as untouched without perceiving and contemplating the influence of man. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to maintain the dichotomy nature and/culture, which makes it necessary for designers to expand their self-image. Throughout history, the relationship between man and nature has become evident in the efforts of the humanism in the 14th and 15th century and ecology movement since the 1970s. In the term of social design, since the end of the twentieth century, people have been trying to conceive of human beings and their natural, social, political, technical, and economic environment as unified which can only be optimized if all human needs are taken into account in the design. The trajectory of the artificiality from Klaus Krippendorff describes different dimensions of these semantics of design. With mankind’s growing dominance of its environment, the question now arises to what extent elements of a former autonomous nature such as animals, plants or landscapes have long since become cultural products that follow human design intentions through design interventions. Currently, these tendencies of new dimensions and configurations are reflected in the terms speculative design, critical design, or next nature design. The tasks go far beyond the classic design functions such as need fulfillment and problem solving. The requirements of the definition for a new nature shift from a philosophical to a creative question that becomes effective and meaningful through the use of intuition, interactive experiments, and collaborative encounters by means of a design discourse. This paper refers to a current self-image of historically evolved perceptions of mankind / nature relationships to broaden design as a fictional speculation about nature and culture.Theme I : Nature And Desig

Minimalism as Potential for Speculative Design to Envision Unlimited Futures

Session VIII : Design for the FutureMinimalism is an aesthetic principle that can be found in all cultures. The meaning and purpose of minimalism are culturally diverse and conceptually very heterogeneous. Minimalism in the visual arts in East and West represents different aesthetic positions and mixes and fertilises each other (Zen, Ukyo-e, Impressionism, Functionalism, Modernism, Avant-garde, Postmodernism). There are currently at least two other meanings: Minimalism in the visual arts, Minimalism in design, Minimalism as a lifestyle. This paper attempts to consider minimalism in its various meanings and intentions as a theoretical and practical speculation towards an ideal future. Speculative design lends itself both as a model of thought and in design practice to catalyse minimalist aesthetics for a better future. The complexity of the interconnected world requires strategies of restraint and renunciation as well as innovative concepts for future societies. A critical examination of minimalist tendencies, derived from history and current trends, and design as speculation beyond market logic, provide an outlook, but also visions that forecast design for ideal futures

Virulence of Posthumanism in Art and Design and the Posthuman Turn

Session III : PosthumanismOne of the most prominent challenges in the digital transformation is the design of virtual environments in a wide variety of contexts and innovation scenarios. Digital transformation and the virtual environments raise questions regarding the need to technically supplement the physical prerequisites of mankind and the societal pressure to technically enhance humans. Although the ‘deficient ontology’ of man cannot be overcome, a contemporary design must be aware of possible extensions of environments and bodies. Under what conditions and common agreements may humans design themselves and their environments beyond natural conditions? This design-theoretical question unites technical, mediatheoretical, and ethical aspects. Probably the most extreme utopia of a virtual reproduction is offered by the discourses on transhumanism on the one hand and posthumanism on the other. Transhuman positions seek to confirm the Enlightenment understanding that mankind is permanently progressing towards the perfect human. In Gehlen, that is through technical improvements of body and aims at immortality. In contrary, (technological) posthumanists take an ethical position and tie the path to perfection to the abolition of the human as a biological entity. They understand perfection as a perfect simulation or already conceive of man as a cyborg of machine and organism. The historical view of the concept of design opens an ever-expanding space of meaning. In addition, new questions are currently being raised about the expansion of the concept of design beyond the anthropocentric view (user, target groups) to a posthuman dimension

MUJI and the Aesthetics of Simplicity : A Comparative Study on Minimalist Product Images

Simplicity goes beyond being a physical facet to become a cultural phenomenon. Depending on the requirement of the given moment, a certain kind of simplicity has been found or produced, and has been assigned different meanings over time. Just as simplicity, minimalism is also nonuniform. Some believe that removing unnecessary elements can serve a specific purpose, whereas others believe in the widespread acceptance of appearances without conspicuous feature. Twentieth century’s claim of simplistic modern design was largely based on functionalism, which tried to design out unnecessary elements. Even today, simplicity is often argued to support optimization; however, as the number of simplified utilities increases, the market demands the perceived differentiation of products. Therefore, it has become crucial, especially now, to connote meaning to the beauty of simplicity, if not relying on styling to acquire higher sales. Moreover, more personalized products may draw greater empathetic consumers. When people are already aware of the meaning being expressed by a thing’s simple appearance, they tend to find sincerity in lean constructions, humility in restrained surfaces, and tenderness in the exposure of natural materials. Since its foundation in 1980, MUJI has consistently emphasized simplicity and its own ‘branding’, named ‘no brand’, expresses a type of postmodernist minimalism. MUJI inherited the modernist requirements of simplicity, but it was not all about function tout court. MUJI aims for a simplicity that accepts all kinds of concerns while allowing several diverse meanings to be attached to the quality. Moreover, MUJI advertisements have given various meanings to simplicity in a way that has increased its familiarity. Since 2002, communication designer Kenya Hara has played a significant role in establishing MUJI’s minimalist aesthetic, often referencing the rich resources of traditional Japanese culture. MUJI’s product images engender a kind of modern-day Orientalism in Western countries.Session VIII : Reviewing Product Desig