1. The emergence and development of postmodern design

The post-modern concept in design first appeared in the field of architectural design. Robert venturi, an American architect and theorist, first clearly put forward the anti-modernist design thought. His book Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, published in 1966, is a declaration of internationalism and modernism. In the book, he first affirmed that modernism is a great contribution to the process of human civilization, and pointed out that modernism completed its historical mission in a specific period, while the ugly, mediocre and rigid style of internationalism restricted the display of designers' talents and led to the monotony of appreciation. He believes that modernism is out of date, and the brilliant changes created by modernist masters have become new shackles. Although Venturi did not clearly put forward the rules of post-modern design, his keen interest in buildings with chaotic style, vague meaning and metaphorical and symbolic significance guided the development direction of post-modern design. In 1972, another book published by Venturi, Learning from Las Vegas, shows a clearer preference for fuzzy style. It can be said that the traditional and chaotic aesthetic taste of Venturi is the embryonic form of post-modern design style.

After Venturi, Charles Jencks, a British architect and theorist, made great contributions to the establishment of post-modern architectural design theory. He took the typical modernist residential area designed by the famous Japanese modernist architect Mao Yamazaki as the death moment of modernist architectural design at 3: 32 pm on July 1972 and 15 in the United States. He was also the first person to put forward the concept of postmodernism in architecture and design. He has published a series of works on postmodern architectural theory, such as Postmodernism, Today's Architecture and Postmodern Architectural Language. Jencks listed and analyzed all the new architectural thoughts in detail, and classified them into the category of post-modernism, which made the word post-modernism widely circulated.

The anti-modernist design thought, which originated from the architectural design in the 1960s, was prominently reflected in the architectural practice in the 1970s. 1977, Venturi and his wife Denise Scott Brown designed a roadside shop for the best American product company, which is famous for its adventure. Above the eaves of exaggerated low straight lines, there is a wall decorated with huge bright flowers, and its eye-catching visual effect directly draws lessons from the popular style of the 1960s. The Italian Plaza in New Orleans 1925-designed by Charles Moore is a typical embodiment of post-modernism architectural design thought. This square was built in 1975-1980, which reflects the designer's preference for Roman-Mediterranean historical style. This design is also the result of Moore's close cooperation with architects who are proficient in local culture. The design of this square not only considers the aesthetic taste and lifestyle of local residents, but also considers the coordination with the surrounding environment. In the design, the square absorbed the black and white lines of a nearby skyscraper and turned it into a concentric circle from big to small. Moore also directly moved the map of Italy to the square design. The water from the fountain in the center of the circle flowed down from the height symbolizing the Alps like a waterfall, with five typical classical columns on both sides. Moore's design combines classical style and magical imagination and becomes a classic of post-modern design. By the end of 1970s and the beginning of 1980s, postmodern architecture was gradually accepted by consumers and won the trust of some famous customers. 1980, Michael Graves, regarded as the most innovative architect in the United States, defeated the pure modernist architect twice and accepted the design project of the public service building in Oregon. 1980-1982 The building is like a building built by children with building blocks. The shape of the cube reflects the classical simplicity, and the small lattice window forms a strong contrast with the huge scale of the building, which makes the building full of an exaggerated sense of expansion. The large windows criss-crossing in the middle separate the building, and a pair of huge chestnut pilasters contrast with the white walls of the small windows on both sides, which plays a powerful supporting role in the visual effect of the illusory building. This masterpiece, which is deformed and freely created in the classical mode, has become a real public building that contains the dignity of the past and the vitality of the present. New york at&t1978-1983; T) new york headquarters building is the largest and most famous masterpiece in postmodern architecture. The building was designed by famous architects philip johnson 1906- and Berger (2006-) in the 20th century. This is a compromise work, which mixes architectural language. The overall shape of this skyscraper is similar to that of a tall boy. The building is supported by high feet, adopts the classical architectural language-arch, and borrows the form of15th century Italian Renaissance church. In this way, Johnson moved the classical style to the modern high-rise building, and integrated the grandeur of the Baroque era with the modern commercialized pop style. This is a work that skillfully used the immortality and symbolic significance of previous works. The rise of this series of post-modernist buildings has made the post-modernist theory well explained. [Next Page]

Post-modernism design in the field of architecture has promoted the post-modernism design movement in other design fields. After experiencing the exploration and practice of some radical design groups, the post-modern design peak began to brew in the late 1970s. 1976 established a studio named "Alchymia" in Milan, Italy. This studio provides a space for designers to display design samples, which are the design products that they can freely display their design talents after getting rid of the shackles of industrial design.

Ettore sottsass, the designer of the studio "Akamia", left the studio on 1980, and then set up the Memphis group at the end of 198 1. It became the most striking post-modern design activity in the 1980s, pushing this long-brewing design movement to a climax.

The organization has never systematically expounded any design ideas or methods, but only used their design works to show their different design methods from modernist design. Their design mainly breaks the shackles of functionalism, emphasizes the decoration of objects, boldly and even rudely uses bright colors, showing a completely different design concept from internationalism and functionalism. 198 1 In September, "Memphis" held its first exhibition in Milan. Those light, lively, optimistic and strange objects covered with beautiful plastic sheets or decorated with colorful light bulbs aroused great interest. The audience showed great enthusiasm for these furniture and other items that were completely different from traditional designs.

Sottsas is one of the founders of Memphis. Although he left the organization soon, his design left a lot of thinking. His masterpiece is a bookcase with a strange shape, which is covered with plastic and brightly colored, very much like an abstract sculpture, and its collage combination hardly provides room for placement. There is no doubt that it does not have the function of a bookshelf. He also designed many items with unknown uses and vague meanings. His design products far away from modernist design principles completely caught people off guard, and it is still a controversial topic in the design field.

The design of other members of Memphis also shows a new way of thinking completely different from modernist design. For example, the table designed by Hans Horein, the wood on the table is sawed into five different levels, and its functional weakening is difficult to match the traditional concept of the table. Peter Shore's furniture design is more creative. The desktop he designed is a sharp triangular plate supported by geometric blocks, and the colors are extremely bright yellow and green. Peter Shore's design genius is also reflected in a series of teapot designs. His cylinder, triangle or irregular cube design, painted with bright colors, is similar to children's building blocks, which is far from the function of teapot. Matteo Dunn's series of lighthearted teapots are named Naked Birds, and the animal-like shapes are very interesting and humorous. Memphis is a colorful world. For example, the urban effect map designed by George J. Sutton in 1983 is composed of houses with different shapes and bright colors, similar to building blocks.

The "Memphis" design movement was the most striking event in the field of world design in 1980s. Their exhibitions in various countries spread their new design concepts to the whole world. Their designs not only provide theorists with a topic to reflect on modernist design, but also inspire designers to create. Since Memphis, although there have been no influential radical design groups and organizations, and post-modern design activities have gradually declined due to lack of practicality, novel and unique designs have been constantly produced, and their anti-modernist design characteristics are also extremely obvious, and these designs have gradually been accepted by people. Post-modernism design concepts and aesthetic principles have gradually penetrated into the minds of designers and consumers.

Second, the query of post-modern design

Postmodern design has become the focus of media attention for a time because of its bright colors and sensational display effect. However, post-modern design has not changed the essence of modernist design, it just made some superficial articles on modernist design or made some amendments for modernist design. Modernist design is based on democratic ideas, industrial production and meeting the needs of the broad masses of people's lives. Its emergence and development conform to the trend of the times, and its solid ideological foundation will not be shaken by some gorgeous colors and unusual ideas. On the premise of meeting the needs of life, the mainstream of contemporary design is still functional modernist design. Moreover, as a practical art, the functional requirements of design will become a permanent standard. Modernist design emphasizes standardization and systematization, which is a very useful design method for the earth becoming smaller and smaller due to the increasingly developed transportation and communication. In today's global economic integration, it can provide convenience for people who speak different languages in different countries. Standardized logo and sign design can even become a world language, bringing convenience to people. Compared with the solid ideological foundation and rational characteristics of modernist design, postmodern design with strong emotional color is extremely fragile, and its challenge to modernist design basically stays in style and form, and does not involve the core of modernist design thought. Postmodern design only pays attention to the form and content of design, and explores the purity and romanticism existing in the disorder of creation, which is culturally understood as a kind of laissez-faire emotion. So after a period of glory, it declined. In the long history of design development, postmodernism may be just a wave, reflecting dazzling brilliance in the sun, but it immediately merged into the river. [Next Page]

Product design is closely related to the background of the times. No matter its structure, shape, color and decoration, it will be deeply branded with the times. On the contrary, designing products will also help us understand the times, people's wishes, ideals, dreams, disappointments and hidden hopes and aspirations. Design is not only a technical standard and functional requirement, but also expresses the philosophy, ideology and complex cultural phenomena of a society, which shows the progress of human civilization in a material way. Post-modern design shows that people have doubts about the development prospect of modernism, and the general nostalgia at the end of the century and the complex emotions generated under the new cultural background have replaced the purely functional aesthetic needs. On the other hand, the development of high technology replaces direct communication between people with telephone; Floppy disks have replaced the fun of reading; More authentic CD records have replaced live music enjoyment; Television has expanded our vision and perception; All kinds of advertisements have influenced our judgment. Today, we have lived in a software era of symbols and images. Symbol production overturns all other forms of commodity production, and the value of symbols attached to objects is more meaningful than the objects themselves. Individuals are overwhelmed by inexplicable symbols, representations and spatial torrents. In such a space narrowed by information dissemination, all beliefs about modern progress, rationality and human consciousness have been lost. Freudian psychology shows that we are controlled by the unconscious? Quot is ruled by a hidden iceberg, and linguists also imply that we are created by language, not its creator. People have questioned the belief in absolute truth, or that we are formed and influenced by a series of signs, symbols and metaphors. Now people can completely redesign different items according to their personal needs and appreciation. On the other hand, this means that society has entered a state of spiritual fission from deformation. This characteristic of the times, which is operated by mass media, was expressed by the French philosopher jean baudrillard, who created a word "ecstasy of communication", which means that we are lost around the label of a Dionysian sacrifice. Although the ritual activities of drunkenness have not yet begun, what is related to this is only the surface rather than the essence. Fashion style, CI design and the active activities of advertising companies have influenced us. Postmodernists try to get rid of the fate of human alienation in the increasingly technical and commercial social development. They are eager to pursue greater freedom and complete liberation of human nature in the world submerged by symbols, and to pursue greater self-expression and self-satisfaction. Therefore, they expressed their pursuit of a new way of life in post-modern design. However, postmodernists have not found what they expected to represent the main characteristics of contemporary culture and life in the constant movement and change.

Postmodernism, as a style and an expressive meaning, has been criticized by many people, especially those who still believe in modernism completely or partially. Many people think that postmodernists have retained the unrestrained vanguard in the modern movement, resulting in paintings that no one can understand, books that no one can understand, buildings that cannot bear to witness, vague product functions, and lack of sensory appeal. Postmodern architecture is a "sample" composed of historicism and eclecticism in different styles and periods. Others believe that a large number of post-modern cultural phenomena are only "decadent" modernism, and its colorful appearance is just some utopian fantasies. However, the power brought by post-modern design and the challenge to modern design can not be ignored. We can't ignore the objective existence of books and chairs just because they can't fit in the bookshelf, but consumers show enthusiasm for them, which is also worthy of consideration by designers and design theorists.

No matter how postmodern design ignores the function of products and deliberately uses materials and colors, postmodern design has greatly enriched the vocabulary of contemporary design, and many incredible expressions have been used by some designers and welcomed by consumers. For example, the sketch of "Hi-Fi" sound design by Michael Luke, a member of "Memphis", adopts a shape similar to children's toys, with thick buttons exposed and painted with bright colors. This design concept was directly quoted by Sony Electric Company of Japan, and their 1988 "ROBO" children's radio recorder adopted an eye-catching one. It can be seen that under the appearance of post-modernism design pranks, there is still hidden market potential, which opens up new design ideas for designers. With the intervention of post-modern design thoughts, design has become a complex cultural phenomenon associated with tradition, history, culture, nature and ideology. [Next Page]

Third, the practical significance of post-modern design to the development of China design.

China is a developing country with a slow industrialization process. When the trend of post-modernism design became more and more fierce in Europe and America, China's modernist design just started, and its economic development goal was clearly defined as "modernization". However, this does not mean that we don't need to study postmodernism, or that postmodernism is useless to our design and does not conform to the national conditions of China. With the development of communication and transportation, the earth is getting smaller and smaller, and ideas are spreading faster and faster. Many designers have seen postmodern design and accepted postmodern design ideas. How to treat this design trend has become an urgent problem. If you blindly follow the trend or ignore it, it will lead to misleading design.

Modernist design thought is based on democratic thought, and its purpose is to meet the daily needs of the vast majority of people. China is a country with a large population, and its economic development is still very backward. Meeting people's living needs is the main goal of China's socialist construction. Therefore, modernist design thought has a mass base in China. Modernist design emphasizes the functionality, standardization and mass production of commodities, which is irreplaceable for China's national conditions with low degree of industrialization. Internationalist style buildings use low-cost industrial building materials and emphasize reasonable functional layout, which can meet the living requirements of most people. For a country with a large population and lack of housing, modernist architecture with internationalist style will exist for a long time. Postmodernism design is a revision of modernism to a great extent, aiming at the weakness of modernism design, and the problems it sees in modernism design have a warning effect on us. China's design development lags behind that of developed countries, but we can learn from their development, accept their advantages and avoid their shortcomings. Only in this way can our design develop and progress on the right path. Like modernist design, it blindly pursues function and ignores people's feelings; Blind pursuit of simplicity, lack of decoration; Blind pursuit of innovation, ignoring tradition; Blind pursuit of unity and neglect of diversity are all things we need to avoid in design and development.

Postmodernism is the product of post-industry. Although the goal of China's industrial development is modernization, the post-industry characterized by electronic and microelectronic products is still developing rapidly in China, and the development of high technology has reached the world advanced level in some fields. It can be said that China is in a period of parallel development of industry and post-industry. Therefore, post-industrial post-modern design still has conditions for development in China. But just because China has the possibility of post-modernism development, we should not blindly follow the developed countries in Europe and America to take the post-modernism design road. We should understand the form of post-modernism design, as well as the complex social phenomenon behind it, and treat post-modernism design objectively, otherwise it will only produce some monsters that do not conform to the national conditions and people's aesthetics, such as the so-called post-modernism buildings that appear on the streets of Beijing.

In post-modernism, the main drawback of modernist design is to treat different places and people equally, thus ignoring national characteristics and local characteristics. Postmodernism advocates cultural diversity and its differences, openness and variability, and emphasizes the individuality and national characteristics of design as a part of postmodernism, but in postmodern design, it shows the return of classicism. China's design has just started, and the future development direction and ideas are worthy of consideration by designers and design theory researchers. China is an ancient civilization with a long traditional history. Thousands of years of history of arts and crafts have left us many precious heritages. The modeling and decoration of traditional crafts in China are the source of inspiration for our design and creation, and rich folk handicrafts also provide reference materials for our design. Our country is rich in traditional materials, and traditional handicrafts of folk and ethnic minorities, such as paper-cutting, batik, embroidery and other decorative patterns, can completely add luster to our modern design. Our predecessors made a successful attempt in inheriting the national heritage. For example, Chang Shanna, Xi Xiao Peng, Zhang Qiman and Professor Fennie Yuen from the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts all designed works for the Great Hall of the People, which showed a strong national style. As long as we pay attention to absorb nutrition from tradition in design, we can design products with our national characteristics, which will be unique to the Chinese nation and become a unique design power in the future world design field.

Internationalism style design is regarded as an accomplice to reduce aesthetic feeling and destroy the perfect natural ecological environment of human beings. It turns the original traditional natural urban environment into a forest of glass curtain walls and reinforced concrete in a simple and mechanical way, and artificial cities are spread all over the world. The stereotyped glass boxes make the city completely lose its personality and cause irreparable environmental pollution. Against the background of post-modernism against industrial civilization, there are calls for protecting nature and environment around the world, especially for the waste of resources and environmental pollution in the development of modern industry. Design plays an important role here. As early as 1970s, Victor Parik, a famous American designer and critic, pointed out in his book Design for real life that "some occupations are more dangerous than industrial design, but not many". Under the influence of this trend of thought, a wave of "green design" has arisen all over the world, and "combination design" and "circular design" are the realization of green design thought. In developed countries, design has become a joint participation of product designers, government officials, banks, engineers and environmental experts, which is especially worth learning from. China's industrial development shows extremely serious signs such as environmental deterioration and waste of resources. The environmental pollution caused by the development of township enterprises has become extremely serious, and "white garbage" has become a serious hidden danger. China needs to spend a huge sum of money to control the polluted environment every year. If we can learn from the reflection of developed countries on the development of industrial civilization, we can avoid taking the detours that developed countries have taken before. Peter Domer, a famous critic, pointed out in his book Design Futures (Design since 1945) that "designers and engineers should work together towards the lofty goal of energy saving". Under the guidance of this idea, many large foreign companies, factories and design groups are committed to product design that does not pollute the environment, such as 3M Group in the United States and BWM Company in Germany. They regard the product design that can be easily disassembled and replaced at any time as the development idea of design. In Germany, there is also a Green Party that specializes in protecting the environment. Banks that issue loans supervise whether factories produce products that pollute the environment. In order to protect the environment, many countries have been controlling the development of automobiles and promoting cycling. Trams are replaced by cars because of their clumsiness and slow speed. But now, because they are safe and pollution-free, France has dug them up to serve the bustling streets of Paris. "Green design" has become an important content in 2 1 century. If we can get a warning from the western reflection on industrial civilization, realize the hidden dangers of industrial development, and embody the awareness of environmental protection in the design, we can avoid the environmental pollution brought by future design. [Next Page]

When the innovative modernist design originated in every corner of the world, the determination of modernism to create a new world made people lose themselves in the jungle of machines. When people realized the ancient tradition of human beings and the seemingly distant past, postmodernists appeared, trying to connect the past with the present and the future, and looking for the lost self in the sound of machines. Postmodernism design is an exploration activity in the field of design, which has obvious experimental characteristics. Its purpose is to break the dull atmosphere of internationalism style in modern design, and show that human beings are afraid of "losing control" in the face of the information age, which is the combination of utopian thought and material materials.

Charles Jencks believes that postmodernism is not only a reaction to modernism, but also a transcendence of modernism. Postmodernism recognizes the tradition denied by modernism, pays attention to absorbing and drawing lessons from the excellent cultural and artistic traditions of all ethnic groups in various regions, and surpasses modernism in integrating the essence of tradition and modern culture. Postmodernism is funny and full of doubts, but it does not deny anything, nor does it exclude fuzziness, contradiction, complexity and inconsistency, thus making the design colorful. This active participation and intervention in the new life enriches the connotation and extension of design.