Design Essentials: are you sitting comfortably? - for iPod/iPhone

What makes a good chair? Theo Zamenopoulos considers the factors that produce good design while sitting in his favourite place.

Transcript -- What makes a good chair? Theo Zamenopoulos considers the factors that produce good design while sitting in his favourite place.

No design is an island, entire in itself, they are all part of an ongoing conversation about what is good design Here Theo Zamenopoulos gives some examples of how design ideas and principles are not isolated from each other, but are highly interconnected.

Transcript -- No design is an island, entire in itself, they are all part of an ongoing conversation about what is good design Here Theo Zamenopoulos gives some examples of how design ideas and principles are not isolated from each other, but are highly interconnected.

Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, introduces the historical and ideological context of modernism in design. At the beginning of the 20th century new technology led to a growing optimism about the potential of design to change the world. One school, modernism, laid the foundation for machine-inspired design.

Transcript -- Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, introduces the historical and ideological context of modernism in design. At the beginning of the 20th century new technology led to a growing optimism about the potential of design to change the world. One school, modernism, laid the foundation for machine-inspired design.

Designs don’t just have utilitarian or aesthetic functions they can also have economic, social and political ones. Here Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, discusses examples of designs that are driven by social responsibility.

Transcript -- Designs don’t just have utilitarian or aesthetic functions they can also have economic, social and political ones. Here Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, discusses examples of designs that are driven by social responsibility.

By the end of the 60s, modernist principles came under severe criticism. One aspect of this criticism of modernism was the narrow interpretation of ‘what is function’. Here the OU’s Theo Zamenopoulos and Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, discusses the principles that emerged which formed the post-modernism movement.

Transcript -- By the end of the 60s, modernist principles came under severe criticism. One aspect of this criticism of modernism was the narrow interpretation of ‘what is function’. Here the OU’s Theo Zamenopoulos and Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, discusses the principles that emerged which formed the post-modernism movement.

Theo Zamenopoulos discusses design where the process of designing has been instrumental for the design output. According to this perspective, the quality of designs depends not only on the designer’s vision about the design output but also the process that leads to its creation.

Transcript -- Theo Zamenopoulos discusses design where the process of designing has been instrumental for the design output. According to this perspective, the quality of designs depends not only on the designer’s vision about the design output but also the process that leads to its creation.

Nature has always been an inspiration for designers, both for its beautiful forms but also for the ways it solves problems. Here Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, introduces the idea of using organic or nature-inspired forms in design.

Transcript -- Nature has always been an inspiration for designers, both for its beautiful forms but also for the ways it solves problems. Here Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, introduces the idea of using organic or nature-inspired forms in design.

Is it possible to ‘over-design’ – to design beyond the functional requirements of a design? Here Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, introduces a very influential design principle, 'less is more', otherwise known as minimalism.

Transcript -- Is it possible to ‘over-design’ – to design beyond the functional requirements of a design? Here Emma Curtis, of the Design Museum, introduces a very influential design principle, 'less is more', otherwise known as minimalism.

Theo Zamenopoulos introduces arguably one of the most influential but also controversial principles in design – that idea that ‘form follows function’ – by looking at Jerszy Seymour's PlayStation chair.

Transcript -- Theo Zamenopoulos introduces arguably one of the most influential but also controversial principles in design – that idea that ‘form follows function’ – by looking at Jerszy Seymour's PlayStation chair.