Innovating by design in inter-war Greece, Entrepreneurial History Discussion Papers, (Paper 002)
Metamorphoses of formalism: National identity as a recurrent theme of design in Greece
Journal of Design History 20:2 (2007), 145-159 (special issue on south-eastern European design).
The tension between tradition and modernity occupies a fundamental position in the history of the modern Greek state. The discourse on national identity and on the concept of 'Greekness' has been central to this tension. Within this discourse, the design of locally produced objects has been endowed with a special national aura and products have been viewed as exemplars of idealized qualities. Throughout the twentieth century and well into the twenty-first, examples of local design production reflect the continuing presence of national identity concerns in the production of three-dimensional artefacts. Such examples illustrate the controversial influence that the issue of national identity has had on the development of design in Greece. I argue that the diachronic obsession with Greekness has limited many design endeavours within the realm of formalism. This is further elaborated by suggesting a critical rethinking of design classifications along national lines. The concept of national identity is questioned and it is suggested that it obscures the depth and complexity of design historical processes.
City Lights: A detail of Greek inter-war modernism
Published in Design Issues, vol. 23, issue 1, winter 2007, 18-27.
Rethinking design history from an evolutionary perspective: Background and implications
Published in special issue of The Design Journal (vol. 8, issue 3, 2005, 50-60). An earlier version was presented in: design - system - evolution, 6th European Academy of Design Conference, 29-31 March 2005, Bremen.
Artifacts are human creations that evolve over time under the influence of multiple factors. Numerous theories have been applied over the course of time to explain this process and establish related historical accounts. This paper discusses the role and potential of an evolutionary perspective on design history. From this perspective, artifacts are viewed as manifestations of ideas which are replicated and propagated, in other words as memes. In this sense, design history is viewed as a history of ideas on how to live and interact with others, rather as a succession of forms and styles. Good designs are not ideal forms, but fitting forms which have evolved through adaptation processes within particular social, economic, and technological contexts. The evolutionary approach proposed points to the need of actually re-interpreting the history of industrial design, re-evaluating our historical understanding of products, and indeed rewriting design history to accommodate a wider conception of the nature and role of artifacts. The paper explores the implications of such an approach on design education, where history currently holds an important but somehow ambiguous position. Radical changes in design practice may result from a revised curriculum, as well as from the adoption of the evolutionary Open Source model. It is argued that an evolutionary understanding of design history may have direct and crucial contribution to the development of strong and socially relevant design practices.
Unwanted innovation: The Athens Design Centre (1961-1963)
Published in special issue on the Global Future of Design History of the Journal of Design History, 18.3, 2005, 269-283.
This paper presents the activities of the Athens Design Centre (ADC), a largely ignored aspect of Greek design history. The ADC was founded in the early 1960s by a group of industrialists, architects, economists, and other professionals, in conjunction with a scientific body, the Greek Society of Industrial Morphology (GSIM). Although the ADC was a purely private initiative, it was modelled on public institutions which were operating abroad as national agencies for the promotion of industrial design, especially the British Council of Industrial Design. The ADC was basically a commercial undertaking, whose aim was to educate producers as well as consumers on what constitutes 'good design'. The people who conceived of this body had hoped that its operation could boost product sales and empower Greek firms in the new environment of the European Common Market. Despite high expectations, the ADC was unsuccessful and short-lived. Its private nature and the commercial stigma it was bearing prevented it from attracting a wider range of supporters, especially from the public sector and the academia. In general, it was an over-ambitious and in a sense heroic venture, which tried to imitate too closely its international counterparts and finally played a marginal role in the Greek design scene.
Facing the West: Greece in the Great Exhibition of 1851
Published in: Design Issues , vol. 19, issue 4, Autumn 2003, 82-90.
This paper explores the prehistory of industrial design in Greece , through original research on the Greek participation in the Great Exhibition which took place in London in 1851. Although the participation of the young Greek state was very modest, it was at the same time a remarkable event, which triggered numerous reactions, both positive and negative. Despite its limitations, the Greek participation in the Great Exhibition highlighted the European dimension of the young state and nourished the powerful but controversial ideal of westernization.
Exploring the designed world: Some aspects of course development in the Greek context
Published in: International Journal of Art and Design Education , vol. 22.3, Autumn 2003, 297-304.
The studio holds a major position in design teaching. Various types and forms of studios have existed to support different teaching and learning needs and strategies. This paper refers to the role of the studio in a new, multidisciplinary Master in Design offered by a private art and design institution in Greece. Issues and challenges presented by this new course are discussed, and adopted responses are described. The paper focuses on the use of studio space in practical projects related to the history of design and technology. These projects are employed as a means to question conventional methods of history teaching and to explore relevant educational analogies, such as the 'surface versus deep' and 'cathedral versus bazaar' approaches.
See me, feel me, touch me: Emotion in radio design
Published in: Design and Emotion, Episode III: The experience of Everyday Things , edited by Deana McDonagh, Paul Hekkert, Diane Gyi, and Jeroen van Erp, Taylor and Francis, London, 2004, 382-386.
Emotion and experience are often referred to as the 'buzzwords of current design practice, research, and education', as well as to 'new design paradigms'. However, research indicates that emotion and experience have already played a crucial role in design throughout the twentieth century, but haven't received much attention from design historians and researchers. This paper will focus on the role of sensorial and emotional aspects in the design of radio sets. Recent research by the author suggests that radio sets may be classified into five formal types. Four of these types, which constitute the mainstream radio set production, follow a largely functionalist approach and present strong visual affinities to each other, as well as a sense of formal continuity. However, despite the functionalist label, these radios present significant emotional features. The fifth group of radios (termed 'independent' or 'emotional') represents an explicitly emotional approach. This group, which is extremely varied, eclectic, and in many senses marginal, draws visual inspiration from nature, daily life, and popular culture. The respective radio sets take the form of animals, sunglasses, or cartoon figures, to give a few examples. Such radios are interpreted in this paper as an expression of design based primarily, if not exclusively, on emotion. Furthermore, it is shown that the emotional approach has influenced the design of mainstream radio production itself. The paper discusses how the sensorial and emotional aspects of radio design have been used to mediate technology and technological change to the wider public. This mediation is regarded by the author as partially successful, because of the superficial or extreme nature of most design solutions. However, the emotional and sensorial approach to the design of technical products for daily use appears to be a very promising field for the exploration of poetic ways of living.
Shaping technology for everyday use: The case of radio set design
Published in The Design Journal, vol. 5, issue 1, 2002, 2-13.
The concept of interface is critical in the design domain, as it influences the scope for action by the user of products. The study of interface in past generations of products may inform the design of new ones. The present study deals with the form of the radio set, which is considered as a significant historical example of product-user interface. A context-based model proposed by Krippendorff has been employed to support the analysis of the development of radio set design. The analysis has shown that the radio has provided morphological standards for a vast range of consumer and professional products. The radio has also influenced usage patterns and models of interaction related to technology. Designing new products brings into question these existing standards, patterns and models, given the increased complexity of new technologies and of contemporary life in general. Further research is necessary into the users' perception of technical consumer products, as well as into their understanding of technology through such products.
Struggling for existence: A brief history of the beginnings of industrial design in Greece
Published on the ThinkCycle website.
An outline of Greek design development since the mid-19th century.
History in the studio: Issues and challenges for a multidisciplinary Master in design
Presented in: The changing face of design education – 2nd International Engineering and Product Design Education Conference, Delft University of Technology, Delft, 2-3 September 2004
Traditionally, the studio has been the established learning environment in architecture and design, with a central role as the place of experimentation, information exchange and socialization. Nowadays, new communication technologies and remote interaction increasingly question the old studio culture, which becomes outdated and does not satisfy the demands of current practice. Nevertheless, the importance of physical presence and participation remains. The role of the teacher is also in a state of redefinition. The metaphor of the party host, as proposed by Krippendorff, might be useful in this respect. On the basis of the party host metaphor, the teacher may be conceived as a person facilitating the very interactions between students and their own educational development. This is relevant to the 'bazaar' versus 'cathedral' argument. The 'bazaar' model emphasizes the importance of participants/students who are treated as co-developers, as opposed to the hierarchic 'cathedral' model. Thus, the student continuously re-designs his/her own understanding within distributed, interactive networks. The paper explores the above issues by focusing on the experience of a new multidisciplinary Master in Design. This course has been under development during 2002-2003, and was offered for the first time during the academic year 2003-2004 by AKTO art and design, a private college in Athens, Greece. This postgraduate course attracts candidates from various disciplines, including but not limited to interior design, product/industrial design, graphic design, illustration, photography, fashion, fine art, comics, animation, as well as engineering. The paper discusses the re-assessment of the design studio within the context of this course, which presents fresh challenges to the teaching group. The multidisciplinary character of the course in particular plays a crucial role in the development of an innovative studio culture and is viewed as a key resource for everybody involved.