3c: Brainstorming Field Research Options

here are some of the field research options that i have come up with.

interview Prof. Bacalzo, professor at metro in the industrial design department.
survey various I.D. (industrial design) students
go to the museum of modern art
go to the Fredrick C. Hamilton building (denver art museum)
interview Prof. Klein in the I.D. department

3b: Writing search strings

here are some of my search strings
+modern+industrial+design
+industrial+design
+industrial+design+trends
+modern+furniture+design
"modern design"
"modern design trends"
industrial design AND modernism
furniture design AND modernism

3a: generating key words

so, here is my research question to generate some key words.
What are the current trends in industrial design and, more specifically, furniture design?
The key words being "current trends", "industrial design", "furniture design"

"current trends" leads to modern trends, modern movements
"industrial design" leads to design, designer, designers, modern design, modern building methods, modern furniture, modern aesthetic, modernism,
"furnitue design" leads to designer furniture, modern furniture, furniture designers, modern designs

2c: Developing My Research Question

"What" Questions
-What is Aesthetics?
-What are aesthetic things?
-What effect does aesthetics have on people?
-What design firms and artists are making a difference?
-What different world views effect aesthetics?
-What does "designer" mean?
-What effect does an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere in the work place create?
-What effect does an aesthetically disturbing atmosphere in the work place create?

"Why" Questions
-Why is aesthetics important?
-Why do people pay more for aesthetics?
-Why does aesthetic taste change?
-Why is northern Europe so good at making things that are aesthetic?
-Why is

"When" Questions
-When was the philosophy of aesthetics introduced?
-When did aesthetics become a major concern for humanity?
-When were there major break-throughs in the field of design?
-When

"Where" Questions
-Where did the term "aesthetics" originate?
-Where is most of the good design coming from?
-

"Who" Questions
-Who are some good designers?
-Who are some major philosophers in the field of aesthetics?
-

"How" Questions
-How is aesthetics achieved
-How is aesthetics related to design?

"Would and Could" Questions
-Could an aesthetic mind-set help the environment?
-Could an aesthetic mind-set help urban and suburban developement?
-Would people be more concerned with aesthetics if its effects were well-known

"Should" Questions
-Should aesthetics have an effect on peoples economic choices?


I will continue to edit this post as I come up with more questions

2a: Exploring My Topic

So, here is the plan for exploring my topic.
I will continue to look for design and aesthetics web sites
I will talk to Prof. Bacalzo about aesthetics
Questions for Prof. Bacalzo
--What is your understanding of the term "Aesthtics" and what affects does that have on the real world for you?
--Why is it important that the things that you design/have designed look good (other than the fact that you designed them)
--What influences your view of aesthetics?
--ETC......
I will talk to Ian of Superhero's about aesthetics (using the same ?'s)
I will talk to other students in the design department about aesthetics (using the same ?'s)
I will look up books in the library and in book stores about aesthetics
I will go to the DAM (Denver Art Museum) and look around


I will continue to edit this post as i do these things.

1c - create a link to my delicious account

delicious.com/paulhcroft

1b - my topic

The topic I have chosen is the philosophy of aesthetics. I chose this topic because I think it is important to understand how the way things look affects people. Also, my major is Industrial Design, which combines the ideas of form and function. The value of aesthetics is something that many people, especially in this country, seem to overlook. I would like to discover how and why things are inherently better if they look better.
Aesthetics is defined as the philosophy of art and beauty. It comes from the Greek word aesthete, which means "one who percieves". Thus, if something is considered aesthetic, it is percieved as beautiful or artistic. The inverse of this, something that is un-aesthetic, is seen as plain or unappealing.
The depth of this philosophy is incredible. There are many angles by which to study aesthetics, such as the value of aesthetics, aesthetics in nature, man-made aesthetics, etc. Because I want to be a designer, it is important for me to know what makes some things look good and some things look bad. Also, what affects does aesthetics have on people and why? Is it worth a substantial amount of money for something that looks good and will last for generations when you can buy a similar, less attractive and less well built item multiple times if it breaks? These are all questions that are important for designers to ask and be able to answere.