Hi Fiona,
Thanks for your message.
I feel its a bit illusory to claim that fashion designers are responsible
for a US1.7 trillion global apparel and textile market. Most of the
necessary design for this to happen is done by designers who have nothing to
do with fashion or textile design.
I wrote a post on much the same issue on this list 12 years ago, exploring
the contribution of different design fields:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=ind01&L=PHD-DESIGN&P=R55451&1
=PHD-DESIGN&9=A&I=-3&J=on&d=No+Match%3BMatch%3BMatches&z=4
In that case it was about an IKEA bookshelf but the same reasoning would
likely apply to fashion and textile design. I welcome your thoughts.
On your comment about 'academic' version of design vs design practice, I
agree. Its better to have as a reference practical real world design
practice as the basis for definitions of design anytime.
Best wishes,
Terry
---
Dr Terence Love
Love Services Pty Ltd
PO Box 226, Quinns Rocks
Western Australia 6030
Tel: +61 (0)4 3497 5848
Fax:+61 (0)8 9305 7629
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-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Fiona Candy
Sent: Sunday, 14 September 2014 12:31 AM
To: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
research in Design
Subject: Re: Most fields of Design was The (lack of?) design quality of
academic paper formatting
Hello Terry and List members
terry - I am going to have to take you up on your issue of "most fields of
design" where "visual appearance is not particularly central". Please can
you identify which are these fields that you suggest are in some kind of
majority position? I am totally bemused by this aspect of your reply to
João, which related to design quality of academic papers.
I am a fashion and textiles designer. Do I really need to explain to you
that the global apparel and textile market is one of the largest in the
world? It was valued at US$1.7 trillion in 2012 and employs approximately 75
million people. Source:
http://www.fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics-internationa
l-apparel (accessed 13.09.14) What field are you referring to as being
“most" design?
Visual appearance is an important aspect of fashion and textile design, just
as any other- because like anything that is designed and made, how something
appears is an important aspect of what it is and can never be considered as
not particularly central. If it appears poor or badly designed (in João’s
comment): then thats what it is. And in the case of fashion and
textiles/apparel design also touch, temperature, performance, cut, sizing,
fit for purpose, wash care, garment construction, wardrobe functionality,
trend relevance etc (too many characteristics to mention here) are also core
aspects of a designers thinking that implicitly and explicitly contribute to
visual appearance. How can it ever not be central?
I also wanted to respond to you in an earlier thread about ‘design thinking’
but did not have the time or focus, when you wrote from a historical
perspective that ‘design’ or ‘design thinking’ seemingly came into existence
in the 1950’s/60’s. It seems superficial and simplistic to ‘parachute'
design into the world, only as recently as the middle of last century. The
contemporary practice of a clothing and textiles designer involves a direct
lineage and heritage from what must be one of the most ancient fields of
technology and making, and yet simultaneously utilises leading edge
technologies for design, communication and manufacture.
As ever- I am bemused and often concerned by the narrowness of what
continues to be defined as ‘design’ (or 'design thinking’?) - by the
dominant discussants on this list. I remember that Martin Salisbury made a
great comparison recently about what he sees as a serious, ongoing problem
of confusing design for e.g. illustrated children’s books or a wedding
dress - with design for a sewage system. Considering the qualities of
presentation of an academic paper as not being central to the interpretation
of its meaning, displays a similar naiveté about the skills and insights of
graphic design.
It is such a pity that this limited, academic version of design has become
so insular and inward looking, as there is so much to learn from ancient
fields and the depth, breadth and richness of design practice
Fiona
Fiona Candy
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www.a-brand.co.uk
www.vimeo.com/fionacandy
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