The Origin of Product Semantics (I)

Abstract: Product semantics is a discipline that applies the concept of research language to product design in the field of industrial design. This article progresses from the rapid development of production technology, the ZTE of the consumer stratum, the environmental crisis and the loss of modeling and the exploration of design culture. It discusses the requirements of the product form design to seek the context of psychology, society, environment and culture, and gives the symbolic Characteristics, the rise of product semantics is also a matter of course.

Keywords: product semantics cause industrial design

Product semantics is a discipline that applied the concept of language research to product design in the field of industrial design in the 1980s. This concept was formally presented in 1984 by Professor Klaus Krippendorff of the University of Pennsylvania and Professor Reinhart Butter of The Ohio State University. In the same year, the American Industrial Designers Association During the annual meeting (IDSA), it is clearly defined that the so-called product semantics is a study of the symbolic characteristics of man-made objects in the use environment, and applies their knowledge to industrial design. This refers not only to physical and physiological functions, but also to mental, social, and cultural aspects that are called symbolic environments. Product semantics is getting more and more attention around the world, causing people's great interest. Its formation is obviously not accidental. This article tries to elaborate on production technology, consumer stratum, environment and culture.

1, the rapid development of production technology

In the first three decades of the 20th century, modernism has arisen worldwide, especially in Europe and America, and various modernist design activities have developed rapidly. In Germany, the first epoch-making modern industrial design education institution has been established- Bauhaus, all of which makes industrial design a truly independent discipline. It emphasizes the principle of function first and form second, pursues new forms of material expression, and emphasizes the outstanding features.

The design of modernism was once unprecedentedly high and entered the stage of maturity and worldwide popularity. It was even called international modernism. At this stage, industrial designers consider issues such as: selecting appropriate materials, construction of machinery, ease of manufacture, ease of use, etc. Proposals and solutions are immediately reflected in the production plan, and the design language is designed to "form and function together. A grammar is a specification of aesthetics and quality, and it is realized in the material world.

During the Second World War, the European economy was hit hard and industrial design was almost stopped. The United States has fostered Europe through the Marshall Plan and other methods. It has enabled Europe to gradually recover its pre-war dynamism in the 1950s and into the heyday of post-war development in the 1960s. The third technological revolution, the advent of the "computer age", the emergence of new materials, new energy, and new technologies have greatly changed the face of traditional industries, and the efficiency of work has been unprecedentedly improved. At the same time, nuclear power, superconducting, polymer synthesis, bioengineering, artificial climate, seawater desalination, cosmic shuttle flights... The mechanical age is changing to the electronic age, and electronic technology has enabled the development of products to be miniaturized and integrated circuits, and a large number of new generations have been adopted. Electronic products of large scale integrated circuit chips emerged. The connection between the original form and function of industrial products has been weakened. The form of electronic products does not express the structure and function as clearly as the mechanical products, and the phenomenon of "black box" and "uniformity" has emerged.

The "formal and functional oneness" modelling law can no longer be reflected in product design. Another result of high-tech products such as electronic products is that it provides realistic possibilities for free-form modeling. With the help of computer technology, products with different shapes can be easily produced on the same machine. Today's advanced technology means that contemporary designers can put the products created by improvisation into machine-based mass production without problems, and the original mass production is transformed into multi-species and small-batch production. With the development of technology, the gap in function and performance of the products produced by various companies has been greatly reduced. It has become an important means to use the differences in appearance to compete in the market. At the same time, it also makes the other creed of modernist design--the formal structure of the product--reflecting the function as clearly as possible and meaningless.

2. Zhongxing of the consumer class

After ten years of human rejuvenation after World War II, all European countries have achieved relative prosperity. From the analysis of income, a new social class known as the “middle class (including blue-collar and white-collar class members, knowledge divisions, some small business owners, agricultural workers, etc.)” has expanded and become the backbone of Western society’s consumers. Their intention to spend has largely determined the direction of industrial design. These people have completely new requirements and attitudes towards their own living environment, living standards, and spending habits, which are almost completely different from those before the war. The manufacturing and retail industries that were heavily hit and destroyed in the wartime were basically restored and developed by the mid-1950s. Western economists said that Western society at that time had entered a real consumption era. In addition, the “post-war babies” born during the post-war baby explosion period began to become young people in the mid and late 1960s. They have changed the structure of consumers in terms of quantity and become the largest consumer class, with their demand and taste ratio. Their parents are more modern.

The pursuit of change and fresh, practical and eager to have a cultural meaning, artistic taste of post-industrial products. Due to the rapid development of space technology in the 1960s, space exploration reached the peak of the Americans' successful landing on the moon in 1968, causing the world’s countries to enthusiastically love and chase the cosmic technology. People think that living in an unprecedented high-tech, high-consumption paradise.

“Using the throw-away” consumerism has become the main method and behavior of Western consumption. As a result, the wealth that has grown as the economy grows has not been converted into bank deposits, but has increasingly been used to purchase novel and interesting products. Especially after the development of the so-called "plastic era" in the 1960s, various plastics (such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, etc.) began to be widely used in various industrial products such as telephones and televisions. Other parts such as home appliances, office appliances, and automobiles, as well as various packagings and containers. The production cost of the product is even lower, which greatly stimulates the consumer's desire to purchase. The former luxury goods have become used and thrown away at this time. This consumption trend means that consumers or the market’s expectation of the product has undergone a fundamental change compared with the previous (especially the post-war period), and the function and structure of industrial products have thus fundamentally changed. A series of design principles promoted by modernist design—from the reliability of product performance to durability, to the robustness of product styles, and the unsuitability of outdated products, are no longer appropriate, and physical capabilities are clearly not meeting people’s needs. The principle of "unification of form and function" is no longer an inevitable principle.