Hi everybody,
Without wishing to comment on the (plausible sounding) science reported
by Glenn, I'd just like to say that what is "average" or normal varies
wildly with place, circumstance and time and is endlessly mutable. I was
informed recently (sorry I don't have a citation) that typography
standards that were proven to be highly readable a few years ago have
now been found to be difficult to read, presumably because they have
become unfamiliar/unfashionable. Clever manufacturers and designers have
known this for decades, the concept car is often a device for
acclimatising the public to a new design theme about to be put on sale.
So this theory is mildly interesting and changes nothing. Reactive
designers and businesses will continue to copy proven formulae for short
term security. More ambitious people will look for opportunities to move
on - some will fail and some will change the landscape. Without that
ambitious element the world would be a sad place, but we knew that already.
And then there is "bleed". I'm writing from Switzerland where the
aesthetic norms are different from my home. I've been here a week and I
daresay that my "average" will have shifted and I'll carry a bit of that
back home with me. If I give all my friends modernist Swiss gifts that
will have a bigger effect.
Maybe I'd better stock up on cuckoo clocks.....
Best wishes
Chris
********************
Professor Chris Rust
Head of Art and Design Research Centre
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
+44 114 225 2686
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www.chrisrust.net
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