Historical and Cross-Media Sources for Visual Ideas

 Objective: To demonstrate how designers can draw on the past history of design to create contemporary designs Although you cannot know exactly what was in a particular designer’s mind, there is no doubt that the repertoire of historical art and design is an important source for new design. This project is intended to help you understand how the historical repertoire of visual ideas can be used in the creation of new work. General Instructions: For this project you will need to identify three contemporary functional designed objects in three separate clippings that exhibit features derived from historic design or art styles. The contemporary designed objects must be current fashions. The historic sources of design ideas may be similar objects from an earlier era; or the source may even be from another medium; for example, architecture or interior design style that a dress borrows ideas from. Procedure: 1. To start with select six to eight contemporary examples of fashions. • Contemporary means created and published within the last six months. Six to eight examples are recommended so that you will find the next step – matching – easier. Note the source of each clipping: title of publication, page #, month and year. You will need to provide this information for each example used. • These examples must be clippings, digital images or clear photocopies from recent (NO EARLIER than January 2019) issues of magazines such as Vogue, In Style, ELLE, or other leading fashion magazines. Catalogues are not an acceptable source. Again magazines must have been published within the last six months. • The contemporary source idea you select as showing historical borrowing may be a whole form, or a specific detail or feature of the design. Look for historical borrowing that is seen in combination with other features that create a new, modern idea. Avoid simple, generic design that might be associated with any period. Look for specific and distinctive features, and pay attention to the details of cut and shape. In selecting images that appear to display historic influence, do NOT choose designs that are intended as historic reproductions, such as period theater or masquerade dress, intended as copies made for the purpose of re-creating the period.