Last week, we learned (or relearned) Dieter Rams' Ten Principles of Good Design through a nicely-executed animation by Design Silesia. Today, we have a series of animated shorts from the Open University, a UK-based distance-learning institution. I can't speak to the university's academics, but it happens to be one of the world's largest universities and is accredited in the States. In keeping with the nontraditional structure—students typically study remotely, whether they are in the UK or elsewhere—they've also taken to producing short educational videos on YouTube, and the latest series of shorts happens to be about "Design in a Nutshell."
The Bauhaus segment is a gem—I learned that Gropius's seminal school of thought marked the genesis of the "art school as an alternative way of life," as well as a few fun facts about Marcel Breuer. Good stuff.
I couldn't help but notice that the video on American Industrial Design features what looks like a shirtless Norman Bel Geddes and a slightly misspelled "Raymond Loewy." (To be fair, I'm not going to pretend I have a fine enough command of English accents to place the narrator, though I do find that the slight stumbling block forces me to pay closer attention to what he's actually saying.)See them all—including videos about Gothic Revival, Arts & Crafts Movement, Modernism and Postmodernism—on the Open University's YouTube channel.
Hat-tip to Brainpickings
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We are thrilled that our small project has found its way onto your much respected pages - it's an honour. Glad you spotted the spelling error that snuck through - it shows that you are paying attention! As well as providing an overarching narrative to explain the shifts in design thinking over the years, there is also a subtle message that for most of the period under discussion it was designers and design thinkers who were helping to shape and influence societal values, economics, cultural attitudes and personal aspirations. We'd like to think that it won't be too long before designers are as influential again!
Best wishes and many thanks on behalf of the team (Peter, Matthew and all at Thought Den),
Clive Hilton