Industrial Design: Aesthetical Dynamics and Visual Alphabetization of Material Culture – Redefined

Abstract

The emergence of industrial Design and Designers in postmodern Europe obviously changed the Aesthetical Dynamics and visual redefinition, reordering or the visual alphabetization of the man-made environment and material culture forever. Hence the need and trust for this paper. The focus of the paper is an attempt at broadly describing or defining what visual Alphabetization means which could be put thus: Visual alphabetization is that skilful ability of the designer to carefully and logically arranged the visual elements or design elements (in a given product) like colour, material, form, branding, or the degree of the play of light and shade or lighting to generate maximum visual impact, in its uniqueness and differentiation from other products. In the body of the paper it was established that, Visual alphabetization represents that ability of the designer to come away from the Notion that a “Loud design” is “Good design”. Rather nowadays there is a reordering of thinking of the contemporary designer that have begun to explore or look out for designing objects that recede from our attention, rather than attract or command/demand attention. From its findings, the paper recommends the application of contemporary techniques and material in products design which would create that almost “ghost-like” feeling about any given product that in effect will exhibit such mystique that seems to draw/drag the consumer /user to that subtle allure of the products structure and obscurity all at once but in a much less forceful manner.

Keywords:  Aesthetic differentiation, Cultural Dialectics, Ephemeral, Mimesis, Man-made/Built Environment, Visual Alphabetization