On the causes of semantics of the hottest products

The causes of product semantics (Part 1)

Abstract: product semantics is a discipline in the field of industrial design that applies the idea of research language to product design. From the aspects of the rapid development of production technology, the resurgence of the consumer class, the environmental crisis and the loss of modeling, and the exploration of design culture, this paper discusses that product form design requires seeking the context of psychology, society, environment and culture, giving symbolic characteristics, and the rise of product semantics is logical

key words: product semantics causes industrial design

Product Semantics is a discipline in the 8th century, and the high-tech field pays attention to whether the performance of products meets the design needs. In the 1990s, the industrial design field applied the idea of research language to product design. This concept officially appeared in 1984. It was proposed by Klaus clippendorf, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Reinhart butter, a professor at Ohio State University. In the same year, it was clearly defined during the annual meeting of the American Association of industrial designers (IDSA): the so-called product semantics, It is to study the symbolic characteristics of man-made objects in the use environment and apply their knowledge to industrial design. This not only refers to the physical and physiological functions, but also includes psychological, social, cultural and other aspects known as the symbolic environment. Product semantics is receiving more and more worldwide attention and has aroused great interest. Its formation is obviously not accidental. This paper tries to discuss it from the aspects of production technology, consumer class, environment and culture

1. The rapid development of production technology

in the first three decades of the 20th century, modernism rose on a large scale in the world, especially in Europe and the United States, and various modernist design activities developed rapidly. Bauhaus, the first epoch-making modern industrial design education institution, was established in Germany. All this made industrial design truly an independent discipline. It emphasizes the principle of function first and form second, pursues new forms of material expression, and pays attention to the prominence of function

modernist design was once at an unprecedented high, entering a mature and universal stage of popularization, and even known as international modernism. At this stage, the problems considered by industrial designers, such as the selection of appropriate materials, the structure of machinery, the ease of manufacture, the convenience of use and other proposals and solutions, are immediately reflected in the production plan. The design modeling language takes the grammar of "the unity of form and function" as the specification of aesthetics and quality, and realizes it in the material world

during World War II, the European economy was hit hard, and industrial design almost stopped. The United States supported Europe through the Marshall Plan and other means, so that Europe began to slowly recover its pre war vitality in the 1950s, and entered the heyday of post-war development in the 1960s. The third technological revolution, the arrival of the "computer age" and the emergence of new materials, new energy and new technology have greatly changed the face of traditional industry and improved work efficiency unprecedentedly. At the same time, nuclear power, superconductivity, polymer synthesis, bioengineering, artificial climate, seawater desalination, space shuttle flight... The mechanical age has changed to the electronic age. Electronic technology has led to the development of products to miniaturization and integrated circuits, and a large number of electronic products using the new generation of large-scale integrated circuit chips have emerged. The connection between the original form and function of industrial products has been weakened, and the form of electronic products can not express the structure and function clearly like mechanical products. Mexican PVC and special chemicals manufacturer mexichem SAB de CV bought German PVC paste resin manufacturer vestolit GmbH for us $293million, resulting in the phenomenon of "black box" and "homogenization"

the modeling principle of "integration of form and function" can no longer be reflected in product design. Another result of high and new technologies such as electronics to product design is that it provides a realistic possibility for free modeling. With the help of computer technology, products with different shapes can be easily produced with the same machine. Today's advanced technical means enable contemporary designers to put the products created by improvisation into mechanized mass production without any problem, and the original mass production has been transformed into multi variety and small batch production. The development of technology has greatly narrowed the gap between the products produced by various enterprises in terms of function and performance. Using the differences in appearance to compete in the market has become an important means. At the same time, it also makes it meaningless for another creed of modernist design - the formal structure of products to reflect functions as truthfully and clearly as possible

2. The resurgence of the consumer class

after World War II, after a decade of rejuvenation, European countries have achieved relative prosperity. From the perspective of income, a new social class called "the middle class (including blue-collar and white-collar members, knowledge sharing, some small business owners, agricultural workers, etc.) is expanding day by day and has become the backbone of consumers in western society. Their consumption intention to a large extent determines the direction of industrial design. These people have new requirements and attitudes towards their living environment, living standards, consumption habits, etc., which are almost completely different from those before the war. The manufacturing and retail industries, which were severely hit and devastated during the war, basically recovered and developed by the mid-1950s. Western economists said that at this time, western society had entered a real consumption era. In addition, the "post-war babies" born during the "post-war baby explosion" have begun to become young people in the mid and late 1960s. They have changed the structure of consumers quantitatively and become the largest consumer class. Their needs and tastes are more modern than their parents

pursue change and freshness, pay attention to practicality, and yearn for post industrial products with cultural significance and artistic interest. Due to the rapid development of space technology in the 1960s, space exploration reached its peak when Americans successfully landed on the moon in 1968, resulting in the fanatical love and pursuit of space technology around the world. People believe that they live in an unprecedented paradise of high technology and high consumption

"throw away when used up" consumerism has become the main way and behavior of western consumption. In all 3D printing materials, the wealth increased with economic development has not been transformed into bank deposits, but is increasingly used to buy novel and interesting products, especially after the development of the so-called "plastic age" in the 1960s, Various plastics (such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, etc.) began to be widely used in various industrial products, such as household appliances such as machines and televisions, office appliances, mechanical components such as automobiles, as well as various packaging and containers. The production cost of products is cheaper, which greatly stimulates consumers' desire to buy. At this time, the former luxury goods have become disposable things. This consumption trend means that the expectations of consumers or the market for products have changed fundamentally compared with the previous (especially in the early post-war period), and the function and structure of industrial products have also changed fundamentally. A series of design principles advocated by modernist design, from the reliability and durability of product performance to the robustness and obsolescence of product style, are no longer in line with the times, and the physical function obviously cannot meet people's needs. The modeling principle of "integration of form and function" is no longer an inevitable principle