Classic Design and Its Era

[Abstract] In the field of design, "innovation is the life of design" is an indisputable consensus. However, there is no consensus on "evergreen" design and "classic design". There is always controversy. This article uses the dialectical and historical perspectives as the basis for argumentation, and systematically elaborates the existence and definition of classical design and the era of classical design. Focusing on the aesthetic sense, the classical design will be promoted as a spirit and a culture, and the design will be transformed into larger ones. Classical designs will be analyzed from different perspectives and different categories, summarizing the future of classical designs. Major trends or characteristics, namely: equal emphasis on internationalization and nationalization; mutualization between technology and art, and ultimately more emphasis on art; focusing on the unity of form and content - "harmony is the United States" point of view.

[Key words] Classical, classic design; time, classic design, era; culture

Speaking from Tsai Chin

"Midnight's radio, gently came a song ...", singing voice, "qin" rhyme Yiyi. When the pen was written, the old song of Tsai Chin was placed on the ear and was used as an opening sentence. Tsai Chin, a famous singer in Taiwan, has performed many songs such as "Your Eyes" and "Nanping Evening Bell" and many of her songs have become classics. When she talked about her classic work, she also hooked up with the topic of this article - "Classic design and its time." However, before discussing the "classic design" and its time, it may be worth looking at what is called "classic" and what is called "time."

First, classic design and its definition

"Modern Chinese Dictionary" (edited by the Dictionary Editing Office of the Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Commercial Press, 1985 edition) explains "classic" 1:
1) refers to the traditional authoritative works;
2) Refers generally to the fundamental works of propaganda and teaching of various religions;
3) Authoritative works of the work.

The interpretation of "era" 2 is:
1) refers to a period of time historically based on economic, political, and cultural conditions;
2) refers to a period of time in an individual's life.
The above interpretation can be broadly extended as follows: the specific historical period derived from the classic traditions, namely, its epochal nature; its representativeness and deepness derived from its authority and so on.
Here are some examples to look at:

Example 1 is an ancient Tai Chi graphic in China. “The black and white contrast pattern of this swing movement uses a complementary relationship to form a well-organized 'Yin and Yang circle'”. 3 shows that things in the world are divided into two parts, day and night, with simple materialism. Dialectical view. Tai Chi graphics can be said to be an outstanding design of China's early period. It is not only simple and simple, but also shows the philosophical connotation of opposing dependence, reflecting the spirit of contrasting seeing the spirit of "contrast the brightness of the graphic beauty", 4 and not only that, Tai Chi graphics In addition to ancient Chinese philosophical thoughts, it also implies China's cultural spirit. It has the "idea of ​​integration of the two things, the two things that I have forgotten, and the thought of unity between the heavens and the people". 5 It has "the perfect unity of natural beauty and personality." 6 This simple Yinyinyang, within a black and white, has the mystery and mystery of infinity. For thousands of years and not outdated, it shows its long-lasting vitality.

The second example is the sign of China's railways. It consists of the two characters "work" and "person" of the deformation and implies the image of the rails. The whole also constitutes a locomotive pattern. The form is simple and harmonious, the impact is strong, and the recognition is good. "More valuable is the exact expression of the connotation - the People's Railway." 7

The logo is an expression of artistic design with a high degree of enrichment. A good logo should not only be concise, beautiful, easy to remember, but also ideographically accurate, distinctive in personality, and be able to perfectly combine the representational layer of the logo with the expressive layer. It is not easy to become a classic. Therefore, all of the above examples have extremely high aesthetic value and utility value. As an entry point, you can first define what a “classic design” is.

The so-called classic design refers to a design work that meets the trend (trend), aesthetic requirements, utilitarian requirements of a particular era, and is representative (typical) or commonality (constant). In other words, any work that has synchronic, constant characteristics, long-term effects, represents an era, and even spans an era can be called a classic design. Of course, the design here is not narrow, nor is it a small-scale design, but rather a large-scale, generalized design.

Second, from the perspective of the era, the development of the classic design

(1) Dynamic Classic

Classic design is a relative concept. Its formation has a special historical background, not only cultural, but also political, economic and so on. Behind a classic work is an era or even several times. It specifically reflects the aesthetic point of view and value orientation at the time, and this reflection is not immutable. It is dynamic and fluid. It evolves over time. of. “When ink and brush are used at any time,” the design is also the same. From its intrinsic perspectives and ideas to its external expression techniques, forms and even materials or material carriers, it is changing with the changes of the times. The selection and transmission of "8 is nothing more than the concept of "popularity" and "fashion". Behind the classics is a deeper cultural implication and a more solid and more testable thing.

(2) Common classics

In the same design work, people in each era may have different ways of evaluating it, but once it has become a classic across history, it always has something in common that does not The time goes by and fades away. On the contrary, it will be more time-honored and shining. It is just like celadon and Ming-style furniture. Although the two have different Fengshen, then there are Chinese spirits or ethnic cultural things behind them. Not just a design work or craft. Such as the beauty of celadon, jade-like water, Xiurun Qingyuan and the charm of refined, emotional and ethereal; the beauty of furniture, Dunhou mild, deep and simple and elegant, rational and realistic. Although the realm has its own advantages and disadvantages, the spirit is in the same vein. All of them are in harmony with the Chinese traditional five-element theory. The celadon has the beauty of water, and the Ming-style family has the beauty of wood. Behind it, it all reveals the fine characters of the Chinese nation, but it does not pass for thousands of years. The decline is long-lasting and constant. This common or constant thing has stronger vitality and influence than "popular" and "fashion". It can be said that the significance of the classic lies in its era. Sex (reflecting the times) is more about its constant nature and its long-lasting influence (spanning the times).

(3) The classic is divided into two

To make the design larger, it is not only material but also visual. “It emphasizes the creative perspective of the artist's mind.” 9 It is nothing more than the materialization of the design. But whether it is material design or concept design, it has two major orientations that will not change, namely: 1. Aesthetic orientation; 2. Utilitarian orientation. In this way, we can more easily talk about our classic designs, including purely utilitarian oriented and non-material categories, non-artistic categories, such as the easy-to-use square box building and a small piece of unconventional music. In the classic design to discuss. "Square box" is ugly and has no personality, but it is still a classic, it is in line with the utilitarian needs and aesthetic point of view at that time, it is typical and representative, and it has ruled for a long time. Just today, it has overemphasized the pure utilitarian orientation and reached an extreme. In other words, we still need to understand the classics in two different ways. From this we can also talk about the classical design in another field, the “Model Opera”.

During the Cultural Revolution, the “model opera” was once ubiquitous. It was extremely popular and was heavily stained with political colors; the Gang of Four collapsed on the evening and the “model opera” also died down. The wheel of history rolls forward, and afterwards, when it comes to the eventual cloud of smoke, after forgetting the propaganda, through the heavy curtains of history, the “model opera” seems to have a new saying: “The model drama” has indeed played politically. Although the role of "promotion" has been promoted, the 'model drama' is not equivalent to politics after all. It is a work of art." 10 In terms of the “model opera” itself, many portfolios include literature, music, performance, and dance. Compared with the previous Beijing Opera, music, and dance art, many works have innovation and success. It has a very high artistic value. It merely “creates a social role that does not belong to itself in a particular era” (11) and has it. The same is true for conventional design works. The same examples include “Red Art” and Soviet-style architecture, and so on. Without exception, it is a product of the era, and it must be put in the times, divided into two places and dialectically. Come to understand the analysis. It is possible to know what to affirm, what to criticize, what to abandon, what to inherit.

(4) Spiral rise

History is constantly advancing, and it is renewing every moment. Therefore, the relativity of classical designs becomes more pronounced. Due to its historical nature, it causes limitations, and there are limitations that have the necessity for development.囿 成 成 法 法 , , 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 墨 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , His own classics, while inheriting and admiring the classics, continue to infuse new content into its development. Even with twists and turns, the classic meaning is still moving forward. It is a spiral rise that infects people's lives and then affects people's lives. The real classic design is not only the design itself, it has risen to a culture, purification is a spirit, it has universal significance for a nation, a society and even all cultural fields and cultural phenomena, is a national classic, It is also a classic of the world. And the true classic is never outdated, it develops with the development of the times, and it infects people's lives and affects people's lives.

Third, the classical design of aesthetic significance

Although design can be large and varied, there will be a variety of classics, but if it can withstand the test of history and erosion. There must be deep and living things behind it, with more emphasis on the classic "common" and "permanent" directions or even through the appearance of the bones and even the spirit. For example, the Taiji figure, which is reflected by the appearance of the Taiji figure, is a kind of rhythm of life. Because of its depth of life significance, it becomes increasingly meaningful and intriguing, and can withstand the scrutiny of history. Another example is the architectural structure of the Forbidden City. It is not just a simple pile of bamboo walls, carved beams and beams. Behind it is the Ming and Qing Dynasty, especially the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty that admires Confucianism, the design of buildings also reveals its era. The style reveals the aesthetic taste of an era and reveals a deep rational spirit.

The main axis of the Forbidden City is the axis of symmetry. It is laid out north and south. The layers are stacked one on top of the other. The Outer City, Inner City, and Miyagi Ring are advancing in an orderly manner, which conforms to the traditional hierarchical ethical concept and is stable but not rigid. Modest and far-sighted, distant and far-reaching, far-reaching, near-looking, solemn and stern, and far and near, and transmitting the spirit of Confucianism that has affected the people for thousands of years, is also an “intentional form”, not merely an appearance, it is saturated. With a strong national aesthetic. Moreover, the more mature the design is, the more obvious the aesthetic orientation will be, the more individualized it will be, and it will be closer to the cultural level. It will be closer to the spiritual level and closer to the “ideal of designing the beauty—harmony”. (12) When the development of technology can easily meet practical purposes, the weight of aesthetics or art in design will become heavier and heavier, and because it is closer to the spiritual level, it is more likely to become a limitation of time and space and become Classic, this is one of the trends to be discussed next.

Fourth, the trend of the future of classical design