On Apr 27, 2011, at 4:13 AM, Salisbury, Martin wrote:
> Within this wide range of subjects
> there will of course be industrial and product design where art converges
> with engineering and the stability of your neighbour’s bobcat comes into
> play. But it probably doesn’t need to be the dominant issue in a broader
> picture that must be inevitably generic when trying to cover the expressive
> and applied arts. I would add that, although you and the bloke driving the
> bobcat don’t care what it looks like, (and I would agree that it is not the
> primary consideration in its construction), many of us do.
Martin,
Yes. Many of the discussions of design on this listserv seem to be based on the prayer to St Venn--"Please make me the center of the diagram." The desire to have all design conform to the standards of the design one is familiar with is understandable but ultimately it's more than just a bit silly.
Looking for commonalities in design is worthwhile. Looking for lessons from other design fields is vital. Expecting the broadly-defined design world to agree on what issues are central and what issues are trivial, however, is a waste.
While I agree that there is way too much mystification and myth making in the arts and in design fields associated with the arts, the implied motto of some list members--"F the ineffable"--represents a massive gap in understanding. Taking their advice would be a professional suicide pact.
Gunnar
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