Reading discussion

Eskilon suggests throughout the reading that major world events, such as the industrial revolution and the Great Exhibition, have flow on effects in the design community. Events such as these, create new design technologies, ideas and concepts that are explored and built upon. I see this as a butterfly effect, as these designs breed more designs and so on. An example of this is the Great Exhibition, which displayed designs from all over he British Empire including works from India. Although seen as a failure the more exotic installations from India proved to be greatly influential in the expansion on British design ideas into India and other countries.

Johnson B, n.d. ‘The Great Exhinition 1851’, accessed 4 August 2019, https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Great-Exhibition-of-1851/

New communications created worldwide design exploration and more effective communication skills. The advancement of communication design techniques such as posters began mainly in the industrial revolution, with the mass production creating a growth in their effectiveness. New technology allowed for more people to see these posters, therefore a wider audience could be communicated too.

Design changed with posters adopting new typographic layouts and event colour. Larger newspapers and printing presses were also able to be created with the new advancements in printing presses and machinery. A good example is on page 41 , with Astley’s circus poster that served to remind viewers of the dramatic ideas of the circus with the vibrant colouring and somewhat chaotic composition. The growth of design experimentation allowed for colour to be used in mass media and better, mechanical printing techniques meant more people could have access to the news.

Eskilon conveys that the new styles of the 1800’s were heavily influenced by the introduction of new cultures. Owen Jones is shown as an advocate for this as he did the Grand Tour and was influenced by the Great Exhibition

Governmental restrictions also effected design just like photography. The increase in new designs also led to conflicts with older ideas and doctrines. Pugin is used as an example as he was an advocate for the romanticized, Gothic style architecture rather than the newer design ideas.