Addressing Studio Creative Practice | VA505

Communication design can be traced back to cave paintings 30,000 years ago, but it appeared as a term much later in 'New Kind of Printing Calls for New Design' (Dwiggins, 1922). Since, it became a kind of contest area to ​​many opposite concepts, one of which is simplicity vs. complexity. To look at an influential example, Modernism embraced simplicity as Industrial Revolution required (1760). Commercialism and capitalism were the drivers of design evaluation back then. Therefore, Modernism prioritized function over form to create a utopian vision of society. A good piece of commercial art had to be both beautiful and aesthetic. ( Rand, 1947) Although its primary examples are seen in the 1940s, postmodernism occurred as a rebellion against modernism. It shattered the utopian ideals and focused on skepticism, refusing to recognize authority. Simplicity and functionality have been replaced by complexity and contradiction, and many styles emerged from postmodernism between t

Simplicity reduces things to the essence, but this is not its priority in design. The foundation of simplification in design is based on Vitruvius’ principles and Industrial Revolution is its milestone. Centuries before Europe, division of labor - as a primitive mass production - was practiced in China. The Venetian Arsenal (1104) also operated similarly to a production line, but it is industrial manufacturing that is associated with simplification. After Industrial Revolution (1760), mass manufacturing supplanted craftsmanship, and Ford's methods (1913) were quickly adopted by other industries. Assembly lines necessitated the standardization of affordable goods to the average person. Therefore, simplicity occurred. Peter Behrens, Raymond Loewy, Louise Sullivan are the pioneers who address it as a functional way of design and production. Form (ever) follows function. (Sullivan, 1896) The major use of tall buildings was office work, as a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution.

Simplicity is about meaning. While thinking about contemporary design, I had assumed that the seek of simplicity causes sameness. Then, I realized simplification has always been a leitmotif in the history of design. The sameness is caused by a misunderstanding of simplicity.  As Robert Morris said, “The simplicity of form does not translate into an equal simplicity in experience”.  Simplification is not just searching for aesthetics. It aims to reduce the design to the essence. - - - Simplicity is about function. Simplicity not only has an aesthetic value, but  it also has a deeper perception.  The principles of Vitruvius *  (1st century, BC)  can be regarded as  the foundation of simplification in design. A  continuation of this approach is  “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” statement of Leonardo da Vinci.  The point is to  enhance the experience by r educing  the design to its meaning . A more recent example of the simplicity is Bauhaus movement. It defines the meaning as f