Self Reflection (IAR222)

1. Before I took this course, I was unsure about the way today’s design was influenced. I wondered how some things were thought up and how we came to design spaces the way that we do. There is a certain way that designers think nowadays, and I always wondered why that is. Since taking this course, I have learned the progression of design. I have realized that as people change throughout history, so do their needs. Therefore, we design spaces and buildings according to people’s needs. We reference the past, and also consider the future, to create the things we use today.

2. Sullivan and Adler designed the Schlesinger and Mayer department store much like the way we design buildings today. Most of the decoration has been left off, focusing on the building’s natural aesthetics. The store is covered with large windows with a rounded corner entrance. It has a very open floor plan, which many buildings, houses especially, try to keep today. This building was very modern for its time, and current designers use many of its features as influence.

3. Today’s designers try their hardest to create something totally new. The reality is, we will always fall back on history as influence. Instead of trying to create something new, we should take what we’ve learned from past designs and give them new meaning. Designers today should apply new ideas to old design, making way for more progression in the future, instead of trying to get ahead of our time.

4. My topic from the [icons of modernism] assignment was consumerism. In the 1950s and 60s, consumerism was about buying the best items out there because everyone else had them. It was about fitting in and connecting with people in a material way. I believe this idea of “keeping up with the Jones” is still present today, and possibly about getting ahead. Everyone seems to buy the most expensive item just because its what everyone else wants. Then, once everyone has it, they want something better. In the 21^st century, consumerism is not just about having what everyone else has, but about having something better. I believe this is very obvious in today’s technology.