On Industry Design and the “People Foremost” Design Concept

Some western countries have put forward to the "people foremost" design concept at the end of the 1960s. This is a significant leap in thinking in the history of the design. However, complexity and uncertainty of the "human" factor of the "people foremost" design concept determine the relativity and limitation of its ideological foundation for the design. Meanwhile the "people foremost" design concept exist relative limitations. A "human, machine and environment" comprehensive systematic design should be established for product design. This is also the social responsibility and historical mission of designers.

The 20th century is a rapid development times for the industrial design, and also the important times which each industrial design thought forms.In the 1950s, western countries appeared a large number of the massive cement construction and the high-level glass construction, and by this achievement "modernity" symbolic symbol.Many high-rise construction internal spaces narrow and small crowded, sometimes reaches tens of thousands of people to work in a tall building, does not suit human's life.In the mid-1960s, the West appeared the argument in the construction and the urban planning aspect, has formed in US to the modern architecture, psychological and the symbolic aspect critique, the evolution for after modern theory, thought gradually the pursue actual work can the rationality takes the mass production only goal the design deficient emotion color.In 1965, a report named "function principle today" was made in the Deutscher Werkbund, criticized the procedure to take the function principle as the ideology and the guiding ideology, and pointed out, besides the determination use; one form also had the symbolic mark function.In 1968, also some people proposed that the function principle cannot be regarded as the supreme principle of design.From this, in the last stages of 1960s, followed the semiotics production, western countries proposed "people foremost" design concept, which is the most revolutionary progress in the industrial design thought field.It in view of the function principle design concept flaw, proposed the industrial design does not have take the machine function as a starting point, but must take human's operation behavior as the starting point, take the human to the product the understanding as the starting point.This design concept in view of the function principle technical rationality, emphasized cultural the function, emphasized the user the thinking mode, the behavior custom to the product design vital role, jumped out the idea of " take the machine as base " and "take the technology as base", not only to industrial design, moreover to the engineering design, the computer semiotics and so on has all had the very tremendous influence.After 1990s, the "people foremost" design concept has formed the quite comprehensive rationale, as a result of the psychology motion theory and the cognitive psychology thorough development.

The Relativity Limitation of "People Foremost"
The "People foremost" thought suggesting that, on one hand, feasible man-machine interaction is in harmony especially, make industrial design product usage of especially convenient people.Another aspect , this thought suggesting that it has satisfied the unlike people's need , has broadened the angle designing that thereby , has enriched the content and form of the product, feasible industrial products no longer is "thousand people one aspect", but let a consumer have more choice.Therefore, the design thought is to have certain advanced.
Though the design thought has promoted for the modern industrial development, have progress, at the same time also have a little limitation.Exactly be that industrial civilization advances by leaps and bounds in "people foremost" concept controlling time, human society is confronted with austere energy resources, crisis and ecological crisis more, even human being self's the warning existing to accept nature having a heart of stone than the all times going over.
Therefore, carrying out investigation and discussion and the self-examination on "people foremost" design is very necessary.

In the Designing Thought of "People Foremost", the Complexity of "Person" Factor Has Decided the Designing That Ideological Foundation Has the Relativity and the Finiteness
First, for different race there are very big differences between physiology and psychological factor.Do not have two pieces of completely identical leaf in the world also do not have same height and weight.The same chair is suitable to the thin people, but might not fit plump people.People who are different in social status, life arrangement of ideas are also different to identical product on mentality need.According to Abraham H.Maslow who is humanism psychologist in USA, his Exceed nature motivation theory brought forward that five kind different horizontal demand level of person: physiology need, safe need, belonging need, respecting need, self-realization need, the people not having been satisfied with physiology need and safe need are surely busy with life, will not require the product to embody extra value, however, those people already get satisfied will show higher requirements, which is a user and the manipulator want harmoniously coexisting with imitation thing-product ,feeling that the body and mind is delighted and be able to satisfy self appreciation of the beauty and art need.
Second, the diversity of cultural decides the people in different cultural backgrounds are different to the appreciation of the design beauty request.The diversity in Nature makes our world to be wonderful.Culture is also so-called.Human being is primitive, the forefather is peculiar.Different culture is necessity.Every nation culture is to be created by and be developed on the material world basis, ecological environment in the world differs from one another, the different ecological environment forms different cultural system.And because of the difference between natural environment and history human environment, the economic activity has also differed from one another, even material conditions has reached identical degree, the meeting long range keeps the difference on culture as before.The culture difference surely leads to the diversity of people's world outlook, the outlook on values.Be imaginable, Arab and American are absolutely not likely identical to some specially appointed object or cognition realizing.
Third is that the region difference is also to varying degree deciding people with design demand difference.Ancient times bending in productivity, the life environment is a very important factor, which decisions people's understanding of the designing.The Europe building usually uses stone, but China building is much xylon.There is plentiful of mountain, stones are rich, the field is plain but much in living in a compact community of Chinese people, building drawing on local resources having brought up China, Europe being quite different in extremely low ancient times of productivity level uses material.Certainly, now the environment is still the standard that people uses the product design.To the automobile design, we require that the camion energy is relaxed to the automobile facing complicated landform, demand comfort, energy conservation, environmental protection but then to civil saloon.
Finally, "person" itself is a history concept, we also ought to use the sight developing change to treat a series of problem such as people's physiology dimension , various need , appreciation of the beauty , value orientation after a series of problems "People foremost" need is also unable completely identical under different historical conditions.
To sum up, "person" has been that one is complicated, the very strong concept of uncertainty, this has decided "people foremost" design ideological foundation to have the relativity and the finiteness.We ought to face with the attitude discriminating, developing, wield "people foremost" thought, avoid the metaphysics ossification appears to design thought.

The Thought of "People Foremost" Has the Relative Timeliness and Uncertainty on Resolving Product Design
From the classification of the products, not all products can guide the leading thought that the person designs with "people foremost" action.Guided by "people foremost" design thought, "person" becomes the service of industry product design.Every designs activity all wants to spread out with people.But in fact, within the design range relating that, some design that the product service must not be person.Human society has experienced taking the steam engine invention as the first time Industrial Revolution representing, has forged ahead stage that the machine produces greatly.After developing for more than two hundred years, nearly all products in human society is important till the shuttle, the space craft, till the screw nut, the electronic component all can be molten by batches.Principle inspects absolute and dialectical relation of relativity therefore, using Marxism truth, "people foremost" design thought can be impossible for the design applying to all product categories.The factor of "people" has already been the less important factory for the product design consideration, replacing by the function factor of product.Thereby, if still should be people foremost, must have damaged the functionality of the product, have been to lose more than gain.Various pet toys, ornaments etc. for instance, being that the pet produces in the late years since the pet is hot but appear, that the person serves a marriage partner is no longer person already, therefore not likely "people foremost".In short, "people foremost" have set a limit for designing partner, thereby, have reduced the range of designing partner, restricted the development of the designing thought.
As for applicative aspect, there exist several contradictions which are very difficult to make concessions in "people foremost" design thought.Be rational science and the humanistic spirit contradiction first.Exactly as, foregoing words is stated "people foremost" thought origin is west Renaissance period "humanism" whose nature is to embody showing solicitude to person.But design itself and reason such as mechanics of materials, theory of mechanics there are existing rapid and intense connection in discipline.The scientific law of reason discipline self is an independent of will of man's.Therefore, emphasizing reason analysis excessively in design, will lead to idea deficiency designing the work humanity , lose "soul" thereby, make to design in outside; emphasizing humanistic spirit excessively, the meeting makes to design the support being short of necessary reason science.In design, although the two's purpose is identical, existence is burning contradicting.Second is universality and individuality contradiction to design partner.Refer to common character that object has something in common.But, one object has the certain individual, peculiarity as everybody existence.For instance, the automobile designs, Europeans is unlike from inside dimension to outside model request evidently to automobile parameter Asians.That in other words, the automobile as the means of transportation common character is invariant, changes but specifically for different area being unlike a race but being going to be used for out different design.Therefore, when guiding design "people foremost" in the object universality and individuality balancing point should be forever endless being seeking.Third is to count the contradiction with case."Person" in "people foremost" has universality, the request designs that therefore when guiding design being unable to have adaptability common.Being that the designer studies designs universality of the design partner, thinking all is to take great majority as reference; the data carries out design and according to the group counting out.Person is the independent factor, have different carriage characteristic each, and person is to be in "development", everyone's behavior habit is also be unable completely identical, that any designs common adaptability as a result all is relative.Person is considered "people foremost" as the entirety, the existence having ignored consumer case, needs thereby in having designed that the consumption having ignored some part smart group.Point Four is rational and extraordinary gauge contradiction.Design that physiology, mentality needing to satisfy person demand, messenger person high-effect but work or lie fallow comfortably.But demand of different people to similar products differs from one another.For instance, judge's seat must have coming to demonstrate his awe-inspiring the high back, but, the dining hall seat needs only comfortable usage meal person having a meal.Therefore, "People foremost" take that artificial to responding to understands and explains as guiding ideology of plan, directionality, be not accuracy, certainty."People foremost" can only be able to determine the nature but unable quantitative explanation.

Governing and Being Governed Principle
Factor that product design asks to think many, any designs the result being that synthesis considers person, society, economy, technology, material etc. are many factor successfully."People foremost" design thought is only the theoretical direction that process gives macroscopic view to product design.Therefore, entire design process is hit by, now that for the designer the dialectical relation is responded to be grasped the "people foremost" direction with product design and be guided, being able to not deviate from, also a unable field one-sided exaggeration "people" factor, needs to have overall concept, draw a clear distinction between various influencing factor primary and secondary relation, finish harmonizing various relation.

Verify and Be Verified Principle
The "people foremost" is also the prerequisite checking that the person designs success or not except being engaged in the guidance principle designing that as the designer.We certainly cannot ignore the important factors like production and environment while using "people foremost" to carry out macroscopic view valuation on design plans.

The Uncertain Guidelines of Getting-involved-in
Design a Taoist temple as one kind, guide the macroscopic view thought designing that "people foremost" be not "all-pervasive" even if getting involved in all links also not being bound to seep needing to show to design."You are not a dog , how knows happiness of dog", therefore "people foremost" design thought just has no proper working post where one can give full play to one's skills or professional knowledge when we design an appliance in giving a pet.So the designer responds to concrete analysis of concrete conditions, cannot run after him blindly "people foremost".

Elasticity and Develop Principle
"Person" itself is a history concept, so we also ought to use the sight developing change to treat people's physiology a series of problem such as dimension, need, appreciation of the beauty, value orientation.Progress, the technology uninterrupted growth and the circadian rhythm ceaselessness are accelerated with society's development.All above various factors is in also all ceaseless change.This requires that in the design the designer need to dare to be innovative when facing the brand-new problem, initiative being in progress studies.

Inheriting "People Foremost" Critically and Building the Sustainable Development Design Thought
The development of designing thought can represent the productivity advanced of one area.This is the formation expecting the peculiar ideology because of the height that social productivity level develops has decided this period of time, formation also being able to be that some guide thought among certain design link.
In the different period and environment, we require that the "human" factors will be in one's own "post" gives different analysis.We need to show solicitude for the particular "people", want to have the "people" who shows solicitude for a group too; need to show solicitude for the modern "people", need to show solicitude for the future "people" more.The attention of design to person, perception answering culture and person first way these relatively stable aspect carries out the particular difference studying, being really then, this needs design discipline and other humanities subjects combine mutually in order to make large amount of basic research, guide concrete design.
The history carriage wheel has already driven today, to enter the 21 century, human society has already entered information civilization from industrial civilization.When those main current international community, the nation in the past once creativeness bringing forward the "people foremost" and proposing energetically the field already exceeds and critically inherit it now, we ought to laud as sacrosanct again unnecessarily neither with the person.
Design is one kind of culture.Every period's design culture will be surely continued like other culture.Good designing that the spirit and material are upper being going to certainly bring to descendants, inferior design is able to bring the loss, going ahead spiritually with matter to loss to the spirit and material for the descendants, such as the environment destroying, the resource dissipation and so on.A basic thought in industrial design is to be in harmony and unite, it not only explore product self's unification (function and the appreciation of the beauty unification), but also explore the product and fitting of person, product and environment more.Nature has its own rules, and does not allow our human being to develop without any abstinence, exploitation makes use of wantonly.Therefore, "people foremost" design thought must keep a foothold in this major premise -Sustainable development, be to build the sustainable development design thought.Energy conservation designs, environmental protection designs, the long effect designs etc. are the outcome waiting to be abide by a product to sustainable to design a train of thought.
Design that sustainable design thought encourages to harmonize human being and the nature, the sources of energy waits for the protection environment, economy material to design principle, both realize the system designing that behavior is brought into "man-machine-environment", social value and give consideration to natural value guided by organism's habits philosophy, promote the human being and the nature common prosperity.Be in harmony with other effect mutually to the factor designing that make design tend to rationalization especially thereby while paying close attention to person one's own post.