Английский для дизайнеров (English for Designers). Учебное пособие

UNIT 8. DESIGNAPPROACH

There are three responses to a piece of design.Yes, no, and WOW! Wow – is the one to aim for.

Milton Glazer, american graphic designer

Pre-reading

1.Match the English adjectives to their Russian equivalents.

Reading

Aspects of Design

There are three aspects in Design that are important to me: Semantic, Syntactic and Pragmatic.

Semantics, for me, is the search of the meaning of whatever we have to design. The very first thing that I do whenever I start a new assignment in any form of design, graphic,product,exhibitionorinterioristosearchforthemeaningofit.Thatmaystartwith researchonthehistoryofthesubjecttobetterunderstandthenatureoftheprojectandtofind the most appropriate direction for the development of a new design. Semantics eventually become an essential part of thedesigner’s being, a crucial component of thenatural process of design, and the obvious point of departure for designing. It means to design something that has a meaning, that is not arbitrary, that has a reason for being, something in which every detail carries the meaning or has a precise purpose aimed at a precise target.

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Mies1, my great mentor said: “God is in the details”. That is the essence of syntax: the discipline that controls the proper use of grammar in the construction of phrases and thearticulationofalanguage,Design.Thesyntaxofdesignisprovidedbymanycomponents in the nature of the project. In graphic design, for instance, they are the overall structure, the grid, the typefaces, the text and headlines, the illustrations, etc.The attention to details requires discipline. Every detail is important because the end result is the sum of all the details involved in the creative process no matter what we are doing. Discipline is a set of self imposed rules, parameters within which we operate. It is a bag of tools that allows us to design in a consistent manner from beginning to end. Design without discipline is anarchy, an exercise of irresponsibility.

ThenotionofappropriatenessisconsequenttowhatIhaveexpressed.Appropriateness directs us to the right kind of media, the right kind of materials, the right kind of scale, theright kind of expression, color and texture.At least for me, this is a relevantissue which very often determines the look of the project to be designed. During the post-modern time, theverb“tobeappropriate”assumedthemeaningofborrowingsomethingandtransforming it by placing it in a different context. We could say that this kind of “appropriation” when appropriate, could be done – just another way of solving a problem or expressing creativity. The process of sifting and selecting extends to everything around us – colors, textures, materials. It involves every detail, thickness, width, and height. Every sense of our body gets involved but it must be processed, analyzed, evaluated, and finally filed in our memory accordingtoourpersonalcanon,notinanarbitraryway.Freedomofchoicecanonlyhappen with knowledge and that is an ongoing process that requires structure and determination, not happenstance. Throughout our creative lives we have sifted through everything to select what we thought best. We sifted through colors, textures, typefaces, images, and gradually we built a vocabulary of materials and experiences that enable us to express our solutions to given problems – our interpretations of reality. It is imperative to develop your own vocabulary of your own language – a language that attempts to be as objective as possible, knowing very well that even objectivity is subjective. I love systems and hate happenstance. I love ambiguity because, for me, ambiguity means plurality of meanings. I love contradiction because it keeps things moving, preventing them from assuming a frozen meaning, or becoming a monument to immobility.As much as I love things in flux, I love a consistent reassurance that at least and at last.

I am the one responsible for every detail. And that is why I love Design.

From “The Vignelli Canon” by Massimo Vignelli

2.Which of the statements are true? Correct the false ones.

1.Semantics of design is in details.

2.Semantics of design is about the history of the subject.

1 Mies, German-American architect (1886 –1969), often associated with his quotation of the aphorisms, “less is more”

and “God is in the details”.

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3.Syntax of design is the rigorous structure, design principles and design elements.

4.Pragmatics is themeaning of borrowing something and transforming it by placing it in a different context.

5.Adesigner shouldn’t develop his own vocabulary of his own language.

6.Freedom of choice can only happen with knowledge.

3.Match the following DesignApproaches to their definitions.

4. Fill in the gaps with the English equivalents. Translate the text into Russian.

Be boring. Be great

Theboringdesignerschoose(очевидное)­  overclevereverytime.

Theyvaluetheirclients’(соответствующий)__________________experienceovertheir own. (Адаптивные) __________________ “compromises” they choose make their clients tobenefitandthat’sallthatmatters.Theboringdesigners(редко) _________________ stand their ground. They chase any (уместная) __________________ idea over their (хаотичные) __________________ distinguished ideas. They respect their team and will try almost any (случайная) __________________ idea that gets thrown their way instead of arguing about whose idea should win. They (неизменно) __________________ request feedback and new ideas. The boring designers value laziness. They realize that it isn’t (очень важно) __________________ to put their personal stamp on everything they touch. The boring designers love (постоянность) __________________. The boring

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designers love (жёсткие) __________________ guidelines.They pick the right moments to upgrade or update (протестированные и проверенные) __________________ and

__________________ laziness-promoting tools. If no laziness-promoting tools exist, theboringdesigners(временно)__________________allowthemselvestobesuper-exciting sotheycancreatethosetoolsandgobacktobeingboringoncemore.Peopletrusttheboring designers to look at their (насущные)__________________ problems with a practical eye. The boring designers are (адекватно) __________________ trusted and valued, because people know they’re in it for the product and the client. The boring designers ask (после-

довательные и точные) __________________ and __________________ questions and

(постоянно) __________________ rely on others’experience and expertise, creating even more trust over time.

5.Translate from Russian into English.

Эмпатия – не инструмент, эмпатия – стиль жизни

No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.

Theodore Roosevelt, the american President

Эмпатия–одинизсамыхважныхподходоввдизайне.Чтобысоздаватьзнаковые продукты,дизайнердолжензнатьсвоихклиентовипостояннозаботитьсяобихжизни. Люди нерациональны, они принимают хаотичные эмоциональные решения. И целью дизайнеровявляетсяпоследовательноеулучшениеопытазаказчиковпутёмадаптации продуктакихнасущнымпотребностям.Дизайнеры,которыежёсткопродвигаютсвоё видение, не могут адекватно удовлетворить потребности своих заказчиков. Чуткие дизайнерыпостояннопросятобратнуюсвязь,выслушиваяслучайныеидеизаказчиков. Чуткие дизайнеры никогда не спрашивают: «Вам нравится результат?» Заказчик не даcт адекватного ответа. Чуткий дизайнер задаёт более уместный вопрос: «Что бы я смогсделать лучше?»Эмпатия также означает, что дизайнерпостоянно корректирует свой подход, чтобы получить лучшее решение для заказчиков.

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Grammar

Participles

6.Underline the correct item.

A:I didn’t know you were interesting / interested in coding.

B:I’m not. I feel it’s really boring / bored, but my friend is being sick at the moment and he is worrying / worried that he wouldn’t finish it in time.

A:Oh, I understand now. I was reallysurprising / surprised to see you doing this job.

B:This is tiring / tired. I feel exhausted / exhausting already.

A:What about your friend? Does he find it exhausted / exhausting?

B:He’s been doing it for 10 years and says he‘s never been boring / bored.

7.Fill in the gaps with a participle ending in -ing or -ed.

Perfect Design Portfolio

Whether physical or online, your design portfolio is your career

(call) __________________ card. Physical design portfolios are (tailor)

__________________ creations to the job you are applying for. To make an (amaze)

__________________ portfolio youshouldaimtofillatleast20pagesofaphysicalfolio,and atleast30examplesforanonlinespace.Includejust(finish)__________________ examples that are appropriate to the position you are looking for. (Employ) __________________

illustrators and designers got a job not just for their style but also for interpreting a creative brief. Make sure you use (explain) __________________ annotations and notes to talk about how and why thework was created.Your portfolio doesn’t need to be limited to only including client work. (Self-initiate) __________________ projects are acceptable in fulltime applications, and recommended for freelance work – especially for illustrators. Take a step back and try to look at your design portfolio through another’s eyes. (Experience)

__________________ employers, project managers and agents know how to match up

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a resume to a design portfolio. Put an emphasis on mostly(interest) __________________

examples not to make your employer get (bore) __________________ to look for them. So think critically about what a (design) __________________ portfolio says about you.

8.Translate into English using appropriate Participles.

1.принятые строгие каноны _________________________________________

2.развивающиеся страны ___________________________________________

3.произвольно принятое решение ____________________________________

4.уравновешенный подход __________________________________________

5.адекватные методы оценки ________________________________________

6.проверенные технологии _________________________________________

7.заимствованные идеи ____________________________________________

8.процесс подачи документов _______________________________________

9.вдохновляющие цитаты __________________________________________

10.развитые навыки ________________________________________________

11.улучшающиеся отношения ________________________________________

12.протестированные прототипы _____________________________________

13.установленные жёсткие правила ___________________________________

14.воодушевляющая речь ___________________________________________

15.скрупулёзно разработанный план __________________________________

16.соответствующе оценённый результат ______________________________

17.опытный дизайнер _______________________________________________

18.признанный законодатель трендов _________________________________

Translation

9.Translate from Russian into English.

Slow TV – медленное норвежское телевидение

Норвегия считается довольно скучной развитой страной, где не происходит ничего интересного. Но норвежцы не скучают, а наслаждаются своей скучной жизнью. Более того, они изобрели «медленное ТВ», которое показывает видео, длящиеся по несколько часов или даже по несколько дней, в которых ничего

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не происходит. «Медленное ТВ» показывает дороги из кабины идущего поезда, процесс рыбалки, конкурсы вязания свитера. Уравновешенные норвежцы находят эту идею захватывающей. Но не только они захвачены «медленным ТВ». Сейчас Netflix продвигает опробованную и протестированную идею в 190 странах, включая развивающиеся страны. Довольные норвежцы гордятся, что создали общемировой тренд. Однако основателем медленного кино был американец Энди Уорхол (Andy Warhol). В 1963 году признанный во всём мире поп-арт-художник снял антифильм «Спи» (Sleep), в котором уставший человек спал в течение 5 часов 35 минут. Но тогда идея Уорхола не казалась вдохновляющей, и идея провалилась. Скучным же норвежцам удалось сделать то, что не сумел сделать выдающийся законодатель трендов.

Pre-reading

10. Match the English nouns to their Russian equivalents.

The Design Icon of the Unit

11. Translate from English into Russian.

Massimo Vignelli. Father of Subway Map

Massimo Vignelli (1931–2014) was the most prolific Italian designer who worked in a number of areas ranging from package design through furniture design to street design. His motto was “If you can design one thing, you can design everything”, and this was reflected in the broad range of his work. Vignelli worked consistently within the Modernist tradition, and put an emphasis on simplicity through the use of basic geometric forms in all his work. The greatest achievement of the designer was to give America a modern look. Michael Bierut: “It seemed to me that the whole city of New York was a permanent Vignelli exhibition. To get to the office, I rode in a subway with Vignelli-designed map, shared the sidewalk with people holding Vignelli-designed

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shopping bags, walked by St. Peter’s Church with its Vignelli-designed pipe organ visible through the window”. InAugust 1972, Vignelli’s design for the NewYork City Subway map appeared on the walls of subway stations and has become one of the iconic objects of the 20th century.

Massimo Vignelli: “The life of a designer is a life of fight. A fight against ugliness. Just like doctor fights against disease. For us, a visual disease is what we have around, and what we try to do is cure it somehow with design”.

The Key Terms of the Unit

12. Match the terms to their definitions from the Dictionary.

VOCABULARY

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