Thinking of designing humanity

-- Chen Hongjun

Faced with the excitement and hustle and bustle of designing human nature in the 1980s and 1990s, overly intoxicating and clamoring would only leave the design community to the surface and lose their bearings. On the contrary, it is necessary to ponder over some systematic rational thinking and logical combing. It is helpful to clarify ideas, see the essence, avoid blindness, and make the design of the new century move in a healthy direction.

1. The humanization of design is premised on the rationality and functionality of design. Without the rationalization and reasonable functionality of the scientific structure, humanization will go to extremes and eventually will violate human nature.

Modern design is a combination of science and art, technology and human nature. Science and technology give the design a solid structure and good functions. Art and humanity make the design aesthetically pleasing, full of flavor and vitality, and become a link between humans and design. One-sided emphasis on ignoring the other side will make the design go to extremes and run counter to the original intention of the design. The reason why modernist design is criticized and criticized by people is that while emphasizing rationalism and functionality, it ignores attention to humanity and diversity, and it has entered a highly rational, indifference, and unity. The functional disparity; the reason why post-modernism that originated in the 1970s did not win the recognition of most consumers and gradually declined after the 1990s, largely due to its pursuit of personalization, humanization, and diversity. At the same time, sexuality and decorativeness went into the dead end of neglecting and disregarding functions and structures. Many postmodern product designs could not be used at all, and they became the “conceptual design” in the true sense. The bookshelf designed by Italian design master Sodess in the 1980s uses plastic veneer materials with bright colors and jumps. The exaggerated shapes are unusual, and they almost do not have the function of bookshelves. They are more like an abstract sculpture. Although this design also has a variety of vivid features, and even contains a deep cultural metaphor, but for the consumers, but there is nothing in it, how can humanity speak at all? Well-known Chinese-American scientist Mr. Li Zhengdao once put science and Art is likened to the two sides of a coin. It vividly discusses the inseparable relationship between science and art. As a modern design of the "producing children" of science and art, is its rationalization and humanization not exactly like the two sides of a coin?

2. Design humanity is the unity of "human nature" and "materialization" in design.

Human design and design always embody the spiritual factors of people's aesthetic consciousness, ethics, history, culture, and emotion in a certain period of time. This is the “humanization” of things and the “personification” of creations; Emotions, cultures and other spiritual factors need to be expressed in terms of certain material forms. The design as a carrier of human lifestyles will inevitably bear some of the bearing and expression functions of the human spirit. This is the "materialization" of the human spirit and the "materialization" of human beings. "Humanization" and "materialization" constitute the interactive relationship between people and design. The design is the unity of "humanization" and "materialization" of things, and they complement each other. There is no such thing as a person completely out of person's design and completely disengaged from the design. In this sense, the humanization of design is by no means a “new trick” but a characteristic that human design should have. What designers do is to make this “humanization” and “materialization” process more smooth and more. Harmony, in order to achieve people and design, design and human integration. The idea of ​​“harmony between man and nature” advocated by ancient Chinese philosophers and the idea of ​​“memory forgotten” reflects the dialectical understanding of this relationship.
3. Design humanity is the balance agent for high-tech development in human society.

The rapid development of high technology is gradually changing all aspects of human production and life. While demonstrating the great conquest power and incomparable intelligence and wisdom of mankind, it also brings new distress and worries to people. It is the loneliness, alienation and isolation of human feelings. Unbalanced feelings. Many futurists have expressed this concern. John Nesbitt believes: "Since the 1970s, industrialization and technology have gradually shifted from the workplace to the home. High-tech furniture reflects the glorious industrial era of the past. High technology in the kitchen, its peak is food. The emergence of processors has also made our kitchens industrialized. Minimalism has rendered our living rooms totally inhuman." And Alexander King wrote in a paper "A new industrial revolution is just another technology." : "In a room, the concentration of information input, the concentration of non-personal and long-distance communication possibilities, the density of educational and entertainment channels, these factors, plus many other factors, may cause families to lose mobility and disengage families. External contacts of people, which may easily lead to the increasing alienation of individuals, are not the retreat of the active counterculture we see today, but the escalation of passive and unconscious escalation and the loss of human dignity. And in a more rigorous way, the automation of most people's activities will eventually lead to the automation of humans. The answer is: Possible. "Automate this reality of human behavior is also against humanity not want to see the ultimate goal and the essential attribute of high-tech development of human mankind itself. Therefore, in a high-tech society, people are bound to pursue a balance - a balance between high technology and high emotions, a balance of high rationality and high human nature. The more advanced the technology is, the stronger this desire for balance will be. So John Nesbitt thinks: “Everywhere there is a need for compensatory high emotions. The more high technology we have in society, the more we hope to create a high emotional environment, and use the software of technology to balance the hard side. ". "We must learn to balance the material miracles of technology with the spiritual needs of humanity," and realize "the transition from obsessive technology to high-tech and high-emotional balance." This realization of the balance of emotion and human nature serves as human life. The closely related design is the responsibility. Many visionary designers have realized this important task of design. At the "First World Bionic Design Symposium" held in Stuttgart in 1995, participating designers, scientists and artists called for attention to the impact of design on the future of humanity. In order to solve the increasingly sharp contradiction between human nature and technology, artificial objects are "naturalized" and "humanized." Therefore, the humanization of design is an inevitable requirement of high-tech development. As a complementary mechanism of high-tech structural tension, humanized design will always serve as a balancing agent for high-tech and high-impact, and will follow the development of high-tech.

4. The humanity of design reflects the essential characteristics of "design for people".

Design is the design of a person, that is, to meet the physical and psychological needs of the person, as well as material and spiritual needs. The main body of design is people. The users and designers of design are also people. Therefore, people are the center and scale of design. This scale includes both physical and psychological dimensions, while the satisfaction of mental dimensions is achieved through the design of humanity. In this sense, the emergence of design humanization and humanized design is entirely due to the nature of design requirements, and is by no means the result of designers’ pursuit of style. Because it left the reflection and satisfaction of people's psychological requirements, the design deviated from the right track. Therefore, the humanization of design has become the invariable criterion for judging the design merits. Mr. Li Yuzu thinks: “What is a good design? With today's constant changes in technological conditions, market needs, aesthetic tastes, and so on, it is difficult to have the criteria for constant judgment. But one thing is the same, that is, in design. People's utmost concern is to put people’s values ​​first.” Mr. Li’s views are reflected in the attention and attention of the design community to humanity. In the "SONY-DESIGN-VISION" design competition organized by Sony Corporation of Japan in 1988, an "Anlmon TV" designed by a young designer named Brain Elliot won the award. In this work, the designer has completely changed the functions, modeling principles, and methods of use of traditional TVs. He designed "Animon" as a walking and obedient "TV robot." The user's remote control made it possible , Sweeping away, and can adjust the screen angle according to people's intentions, change the image, so that people fully enjoy the "use of fun" and "use of pleasure." In front of such a design, people really want to sigh about their greatness. Because in the use of this design, human nature has been free to release and satisfy. Brain Elliot’s winnings benefit from his deep concern and exploration of human nature, thanks to his deep understanding of the idea of ​​“designing for people”. Human design is only human-centered. For the sake of healthy development of the body and mind, and for the sake of perfection and perfection of the noble and perfect personality, the design will always have the vitality of human life. “Leave the love of people, respect the goals of people, and design. It will deviate from the right direction.” As the American contemporary designer Dreyfus said: “If the product blocks human activities, the design will fail; if the product makes people feel safer, more comfortable, more effective, more Happy, the design will be successful.” The words of Degong are worth remembering and thinking of modern designers.

5. Designing human nature is a never-ending design realm in which mankind pursues an idealized and artistic lifestyle.

With the gradual increase, deepening, and rise of the level of human understanding, human understanding will shift from the "imperative kingdom" to the "free kingdom," which is the inevitable law of cognitive development. The design of human beings is bound to advance to a higher realm with the improvement of their own understanding, that is, the idealized, artistic creation and lifestyle of human society, from unconscious to self-conscious, from the pursuit of material needs to Take both into consideration and pursue spiritual enjoyment. From the "inevitable realm" of design to the "freedom kingdom" of design, "does not exceed one's desire", this is the common dream of designers and consumers. In the 1990s, Japanese designers proposed a plan called “The Feeling of People”. Their purpose is to “give out how to make daily use products more comfortable and more pleasant”, designing and manufacturing. Cars, air conditioners, and clothes that eliminate stress and fatigue, contribute to the creation of a "more humane environment," and design electric appliances that "feel like people." The spiritual factors of design have been raised to a very high level. The higher the level of design, the more spiritual and consequential factors will be, and the more perfect and harmonious the combination of material and spirituality, rationalization and humanity. In a sense, the process of continuous development and improvement of design is the continuous improvement process of human understanding, thoughts and emotions. Human design is a reflection of human emotion, cultural spirit and ethics. Design is no "emotional", but also "emotional." "Emotion" is mapped into the ordinary design of human beings; design is inanimate. It is also alive. "Life" is embodied in the design and use of human beings. Everything in human society has been branded with the spiritual consciousness of human beings, and design is no exception. It can be predicted that the humanization of design will be the inevitable trend and final destination of future design. The designer’s job is to liberate people from the crushing and enslavement of things, make the living environment and objects of people more suitable for human nature, and make people The psychological development is more healthy, human emotions are more abundant, human nature is more perfect, and the real harmony of people is achieved. Mr. Chen Yuxiang once wrote a book name: "People poetically live in homes." For the design community, when will the "poetry" of "poetic" design and design appear? For today's designers, design people