Massimo Vignelli said that design is not an embellishment but and integral part of the production process.
Massimo Vignelli’s definition, if taken in a narrow literal sense, contradicts itself because design and embellishment can be the same thing.
Design is an integral part of the production process because it accomplishes some defined goal of the producer.
Embellishment is an integral part of the production process because it accomplishes some defined goal of the producer.
One purpose of many producers is to produce a product that will sell. For example, color is an embellishment and according to Principles in Advertising, the right color can influence up to 60% of the sale. Therefore, embellishment is an integral part of the production process because it accomplishes the defined goal of the producer which was to create a sale.
Another example is one that we used in class. Calendars with pictures can be well designed because they meet the purpose of providing art and a scheduling function. The embellishment of the pictures is perfectly functional to those who have a preference for picture calendars. It is an art piece and communicates to them in a personalized way especially if they are a cat lover and have a cat calendar. Massimo Vignelli’s calendars have a much more limited function because it only focuses on 1 purpose. There isn’t even space to write things for each day in the calendar. If good design is a Vignelli Calendar and bad design is a picture calendar, then one must conclude that one of the most important necessary factors of good design is simplicity. But, isn't simplicity just a devise to accomplish the end purpose just as embellishment is a different devise to accomplish an end purpose?
So what is the difference between design and embellishment? Design is perhaps the overarching process of preparing a product(whether it be a house or a magazine) to fulfill a defined purpose. Embellishment is one device among many used in design which is 1 part of fulfilling a defined purpose. Embellishment must have design, but design might not have embellishment. (of course, one must be careful how to define embellishment because each serif on each letter is an embellishment and therefore no embellishment would mean no graphic design at all.) “Mere embellishment” it would seem to me is the use of devices without a clearly defined or misguided purpose. If something is over-decorated it is not because embellishment is inherently bad, but because it is incorrectly used, unnecessary, and/or distracting to the main purpose.
Any thoughts?
2 comments:
The narrow, literal sense is always the wrong way to take anything.
Design and embellishment are not the same thing.
Quality of design lies in the functionality. A calendar's function is to tell you what day it is. Vignelli's calendar does that, without embellishments, in a beautiful way. It is a good example of good design because it is simple, yet aesthetically pleasing and functional. No extras needed. If a calendar can't be enjoyed without embellishments like pictures of cats or space to write things, then it is poorly designed.
Embellishments are afterthoughts, things used to make up for poor design. If a "producer" needs to make something blue to sell it, then it is because of a lack of design. Advertisers depend on these embellishments because adding them is easier and cheaper (more economical) than improving the design of something.
Would color make a difference if everything wasn't so equally poorly designed? Or if we actually saw a well designed ______, could it appeal to the general public without being the same color as it's best-selling competitor? Could the color be based on the design or the product rather than some study of the human's subconscious and still sell? Why are we even talking about sales and money? What about simply enjoying things?
Good points.
Although, couldn't one argue that embellishment is always serving some function?
and that what you really mean is that quality of design lies in showcasing the right functions?
How do we define what the right functions are?
Is it subjective preference or is there an objective truth?
If it is subjective preference, then a cat calendar is well designed in the eyes of the cat beholder (because it fulfills its functions in a way that she most prefers). If there is objective truth, what is it?
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