From the symbols to see the cultural meaning of design

From the perspective of design, we can understand culture in this way: The common life patterns that a certain group of people (such as people) have include: language, religion, politics, economy, and art. All cultural connotations are embodied by concrete, visible artifacts or behaviors, and design is the creation and organization of these artifacts and behaviors. Therefore, design and culture are inseparable. It can be said that design is an expression of culture, and culture is the core of design behavior.

Some of our feelings about design and culture are often sentimental. If we need to understand the relationship between design and culture, we can use the concept of symbols. "People are the animals of symbols," symbolic thinking has become one of the basic tools for human expression and communication. We use some of the basic ideas and theories of semiotics to examine the cultural implications of design.

From the perspective of semiotics, we interpret the cultural meaning of design in three levels:
1. Design element. Elements are the smallest units that make up a design. In visual design, elements include color, text, and graphics; elements in product design mainly refer to forms, materials, and colors.
2. The order between the elements. Order mainly refers to the mutual relations of elements, such as balance and contrast.
3. The overall design. Elements and order are combined with each other and interact with each other to fully present the design.
In the design work, these levels are mutually exclusive and seamless, embodying the cultural connotation of the design. We can use this point of view to look at rice packaging designed by Japanese designers.

Among its elemental levels are: calligraphy, seals, paper bag materials, etc. These convey the connotation: a long history, traditional packaging. At the same time, the seal also reflects the quality of rice and the reputation of the shop. Looking at the level of order again, the arrangement of Chinese characters is a handwritten style. White paper is also attached to the paper bag to reflect the manual feeling. The style of the paper bag adds to this style. This reflects the quaint taste of handmade packaging. Finally, look at the overall level of the design. The styles rendered in the first two levels make the whole design point to this meaning: “traditional old shop packaging,” which brought people back to Japan before the industrial era.

Why did designers create this cultural atmosphere? Let's look at the background of the design. After the Second World War, the Japanese government stipulated that uniform prices should be used for both high-quality and low-quality rice. Therefore, rice producers do not pay attention to the quality of rice, and the packaging is also very simple. This makes important products in this life to be of no quality. In the packaging design of this high-quality rice, the original researcher used some specific elements and order to bring people back to the cultural scene that valued the quality of rice in the traditional society, so that the overall level of design reflected “the rice culture in the traditional era”. "Mill culture before industrial civilization" means this.

After reading the examples, we come to a symbolic analysis of these levels of design to experience the cultural implications of design.

First, the cultural meaning cultural <br> <br> design elements element is the result of long-term cultural accumulation, this accumulation is mainly reflected in the agency hierarchy. Different levels of intermediaries will change the cultural meaning of the entire element symbol. As an example, when we go online, we see a symbol "" on the browser interface. This symbol refers to the "Homepage". In the designer's design, the intermediate layer between the signifier and the sign of this symbol is “home—a small house with a chimney” so that the user thinks of the house and thinks of home, thus completing the “Homepage”. One refers to the meaning. There is no word "Homepage" in Chinese. For us, "homepage" is not related to "house." We are just told the meaning of this button, and then remember. At this time, the mediation level of this symbol is changed to the “inform-remember” empirical model. In other words, we have received this symbol of Western culture to our culture. In this era of Western culture's dominance, many Western symbols have become international universal symbols through this model, and people of all cultural backgrounds have accepted them through “information—remember”.

Correspondingly, many of the design elements of traditional Chinese culture are difficult to enter into the world's cultural exchanges. For example, the Chinese painting of bamboo, foreigners who see Chinese paintings of bamboo, may feel the vitality, but can not feel the Chinese literati spirit it represents, because the symbol of the intermediary level after many years of painting, poetry and even literary life experience Accumulated. The recognition of Chinese culture by Western audiences can often only be obtained through the "information-remember" model. However, we are less vulnerable to the promotion of our culture.

Second, the cultural level of the order of <br> cultural <br> order embodied in the traditional Chinese architectural design is very clear, our ancestors the "gift" as a direct order to use architectural elements of the organization, we often say " The “Ninth Five-Family Respect” comes from the 9:5 ratio of length and width in the palace to symbolize the residence of the Son of Heaven. The concept of “ritual” is also reflected in the urban planning and design. “The craftsman occupies the country, Fang Jiuli and the other three doors. In the 9th and 9th latitudes of the country, the 9th track was painted and Zuzuzue Right Club faced the market.” This embodies the supremacy of imperial power. On the other hand, this kind of order has a strong symbolic meaning. Its reference directly points to the center of our culture. Its cultural meaning is more direct and profound.

In the design, if we can learn from the order in traditional culture, we may be able to reflect our traditional culture more profoundly.

Third, the design of the overall cultural <br> <br> this level, the entire design is seen as a symbol that level through an intermediary such interaction elements and order to realize its meaning, which is the core Cultural connotation.

A successful design can fully and accurately reflect the cultural meanings that the designers have to express. It can create a corresponding cultural atmosphere and arouse people's resonance. This is also reflected in product design. If a brand's several products can be recognized by consumers, it will form a benign brand culture. When designing a follow-up product, the designer inherits the design elements or the order of the successful product to continue its brand culture. This is a manifestation of the design of the overall cultural connotation. A more successful example is the New Beetles of the German Volkswagen Company. Its design draws on the elements and order of the popular Beetles, which has made people feel the Beatles in the 1920s and 1930s.

The interpretation of the cultural connotation of design from the perspective of symbols can also allow us to better express our traditional culture in design, instead of reflecting “Chinese taste” in a general way.

The work of local designers will not deviate from the cultural circle of their own ethnic groups. We must look for opportunities to make traditional culture deeply rooted in people's hearts and lay the foundation for Chinese culture to become the world's forest. In the performance of traditional Chinese culture, we should also do a little more profound, to get rid of superficial "Chinese taste" design.

â–  Li Honghai Xu Bangyue

Source: "Decoration"