It’s been very long time since I last wrote here. Sorry about that, I was busy a little bit. Meanwhile a new semester started and we already have plenty of boring academic stuff to do in all subjects. Our English classes are not an exception: we have a lot of tasks for our homework, and this semester is going to be full of reports, essays and presentations. So, I thought it would be a good idea to publish my homework right here. Any objections? 😉 Then, let’s get started!
The first task that our English teacher, Victoria Vladimirovna, gave us, is to prepare an article on the topic “What is design?”. I’ve done a little research on the net. Take a look at what I found.
Report: What is Design?
Design is everywhere – and that’s why looking for a definition may not help you grasp what it is. The word design means different things to different people. There are broad definitions and specific ones – both have drawbacks. Either they are too general to be meaningful or they exclude too much.
Wikipedia gives the following definitions:
One definition given by designer Richard Seymour is ‘making things better for people‘. It emphasises that design activity is focused first on human behaviour and quality of life, not factors like distributor preferences. But nurses or road sweepers could say they, too, ‘make things better for people‘. There may be no absolute definitions of design that will please everyone.
Scientists can invent technologies, manufacturers can make products, engineers can make them function and marketers can sell them, but only designers can combine insight into all these things and turn a concept into something that is desirable, practical, commercially successful and adds value to people’s lives.
There are many misconceptions about design. Magazines often use the word design when they mean style or fashion. For example, when they show a toaster or bottle opener which is well designed, the result is that people think that design is all about how things look. Design is also about how things work. In reality, the way how a product looks is something that (usually) happens at the end of development process.
Designers, unlike artists, can’t simply follow their creative feelings. They work in a commercial environment, which means there are many points to consider. Designers have to ask themselves questions such as: ‘Is the product really wanted?‘, ‘How is it different from everything else on the market?‘, ‘Does it fulfil a need?‘, ‘Will it cost too much to manufacture?‘ and ‘Is it safe?‘
Design is fundamental. People often need reminding that everything around us is designed and that design decisions impact on nearly every part of our lives, be it the environments we work in, the way we book holidays, or the way we go about getting the lid off the jam jar. When those things work, it’s taken for granted, but, as Bill Moggridge, founder of international consultancy IDEO, says: ‘A lot of trial and error goes into making things look effortless‘. And I completely agree.
Сочинение на тему «Моя будущая профессия – дизайнер»
на английском языке с переводом на русский язык
My Future Profession as a Designer
Моя будущая профессия – дизайнер
The aspiration to beauty is a natural characteristic of a human. Everyone would like to live in a picturesque place, have a nice house with a harmonious interior, and wear stylish clothes. The sense of beauty makes people admire historical sights, visit art galleries, exhibitions, and concerts of their favorite singers or musicians. Sometimes the wrapping of a present is as important for us as its content; when we choose a book or a magazine, the visual appearance of an edition is also very significant.
Стремление к красоте – естественное свойство человека. Каждый хотел бы жить в живописном месте, иметь хороший дом с гармоничным интерьером и носить стильную одежду. Чувство прекрасного заставляет людей восхищаться историческими достопримечательностями, посещать картинные галереи, выставки и концерты любимых певцов или музыкантов. Иногда упаковка подарка так же важна для нас, как её содержимое; когда мы выбираем книгу или журнал, внешний вид издания тоже очень значим.
Therefore, it is obvious that design plays a great role in the modern world. It existed in all the epochs: for example, ancient Greeks and Romans paid attention to architecture, fashion, and even makeup. Later, European aristocrats built luxurious, richly decorated castles and mansions, bought carved furniture and silverware, invented various models of dresses, shoes, and hats. However, since the 20 th century, beautiful things have become commonly available: now every person takes care of design during his or her daily life.
Поэтому очевидно, что дизайн играет огромную роль в современном мире. Он существовал во все эпохи: например, древние греки и римляне уделяли внимание архитектуре, моде и даже макияжу. Позднее европейские аристократы строили роскошные, богато украшенные замки и поместья, покупали резную мебель и серебряную посуду, создавали разнообразные модели платьев, обуви и шляп. Однако с XX века красивые вещи стали общедоступными: сейчас любой человек в своей повседневной жизни заботится о дизайне.
Of course, the need for specialists in design is constantly rising. There are many types of design that require different skills: clothing design, advertising design (for example, the development of logotypes), website design tied with computer graphics, etc. As for me, I study book design at the university to work in a publishing: I am interested in the design of gift editions, albums, and books about painting. My future profession is rather traditional, but, in my opinion, it is one of its advantages, along with usefulness and aesthetic pleasure.
Конечно, потребность в специалистах по дизайну неизменно растёт. Есть много типов дизайна, которые требуют разных умений: дизайн одежды, рекламный дизайн (например, разработка логотипов), дизайн сайтов, связанный с компьютерной графикой, и т.д. Что касается меня, я изучаю книжный дизайн в университете, чтобы работать в издательстве: меня интересует дизайн подарочных изданий, альбомов и книг о живописи. Моя будущая профессия достаточно традиционна, но, на мой взгляд, это одно из её достоинств – наряду с пользой и эстетическим удовольствием.
Название: Interior design Раздел: Топики по английскому языку Тип: топик Добавлен 07:42:15 16 июля 2009 Похожие работы Просмотров: 388 Комментариев: 15 Оценило: 2 человек Средний балл: 5 Оценка: неизвестно Скачать
Interior design feng shui
Discovering Your Interior Design Style
The Use of Colour (Color) in Interior Design
Space Planning: The Step Beyond Interior Decoration
Modern interior designers at work
Interior design, sometimes called interior beautification or decoration, is the art of creating indoor areas into spaces that are attractive, relaxing, and functional. Interior design involves the cautious selection of items to suit the objective and overall atmosphere of an area. Many items help create an interior design, including furniture, lighting, wall and floor coverings, and window treatments.
Many think of interior design in terms of beautifying the rooms of a home. However professional interior designers often plan and create an interior design for hotels, motels, libraries, offices and many other buildings. Interior design projects are also carried out on the interiors of planes, automobiles, ships and trains.
Combining The Use Of Color and Crystals by Sharon Kasmira Most people are aware that clear crystal balls are used for specific purposes in feng shui. They stimulate chi energy and they also cause it to move in more than one direction. These are pure, powerful magnification of light, Chi and magnetism. They may be used anywhere, to empower any positive intention and are especially effective as protection from intense Sha Chi (negative energy).
Clear crystals should ALWAYS be hung with red ribbon or string cut into three inch increments. The qualities you wish in a certain feng shui area may be attracted through the use of these beautiful crystal balls.
Colored Crystal Balls for Feng Shui Purposes:
Green: The color for healing and the life force. (However DO NOT use around cancer patients because green is the color for growth). It’s a good color in kitchens (life force and nutrition), «wealth corners” (the color of money), or anywhere to stimulate money Chi. One client hung a huge 60 milimeter emerald green crystal at his new business location and has had steady increase in business since!
Peach: One of the healthiest colors in color therapy it represents general health, healing and well being (okay around cancer patients). Many of my clients hang these in their baths (especially effective hung beneath skylights).
Blue: Use it to enhance a spiritual connection, peace, and stimulate intuition. Good in meditation rooms to focus energy and in bedrooms (blue is the color said to help insomnia). Many massage therapists find it’s energies soothing above massage tables.
Pink: This is the color of love, happiness, and compassion. Good for «relationship corners» and in bedrooms, especially over the bed, hanging directly above the heart area, or from a center ceiling fixture. I always recommend a pink crystal ball in the center of a new baby’s nursery to radiate love and happiness.
Golden: This represents abundance! Also great for wisdom and intellectual stimulation. Good to use for activating «prosperity corners” (some are actually a champagne color to denote luxury), «wisdom/knowledge corners», over your desk, or anywhere you’d like the energy of gold. Also a good color to use for the career position.
Red: The color of fire. It’s considered very effective for lifting and balancing the energy from computers. These should hang between the monitor and you, at about arm’s length above eye level. Also very good for Fame/Recognition (it’s the color associated with this position). Red crystals are also excellent for blessings, rainbows and joy in your car.
Aurora Borealis: These irredescent crystals are subtle, yet powerful, rainbow energy to activate Chi in any area. Especially good hung beneath skylights and excellent in workout areas. These beauties are breathtaking in the 40-50 millimeter sizes!
Violet: An excellent color to stimulate and inspire mystical, spiritual guidance and the upper Third Eye Chakra. Violet crystal energy helps develop insight, strengthen intuition, sense of contentment and peace in spirit. These also are popular in meditation areas, massage rooms and bedrooms. Colored crystals can be suspended with clear fish line, beaded string or any color ribbon or string. Using red, however, is the most auspicious color in feng shui and is believed to empower crystals even more! Enjoy!
Unless you’ve been lucky enough to build your house from the ground up, you will at some point be stuck with somebody else’s ideas of interior decoration. You may decide to live with the royal blue living room and daisy wallpaper in the kitchen, or you might feel a sudden urgent desire to paint the house magnolia. Neither solution is ideal, as in neither case are you permitting your own style preferences and creativity to find expression. But just how do you pinpoint your style?
One way is to turn yourself into a sponge. Absorb everything you come into contact with even if it doesn’t seem relevant at the time. I was once asked to design a bright, colourful and «fun» kitchen for a family with young children. I poured through design magazines, and visited countless shops for inspiration. But it wasn’t until I found myself watching a 1950s Tom & Jerry cartoon on television that the idea struck. The turquoises, blacks, yellows and pinks of the cartoon looked fresh and fun. A 1950s-style kitchen with all mod cons was the answer!
There is very little in modern design which is completely new. Most styles and changes in fashion are amalgamations, adjustments and improvements on previous designs and trends. Today’s stream-lined contemporary look harks back to 1930s modernism combined with a dash of 1960s spirit. And, yes, today’s turquoise, yellow and pink toasters, kettles and lemon squeezers have the 1950s to thank for their design. No one should blatantly copy the work of others as this is an empty exercise, but rather mulch together sights and sounds from your environment to create the style that suits you. Actively seek out inspiration from museums, stately homes, art galleries, show rooms, furniture catalogues, magazines, books, films, TV programmes and nature. Remember the colours, sounds and sights of your last holiday. Why did they make you feel happy? How can you use these elements to recreate that contented feeling in your own home?
Start a file in which you can put magazine cuttings. Take photos or buy postcards of places, buildings, furniture, beaches, sunsets… anything that inspires you. Carry a small notebook in which you can sketch ideas. Often the secret to why an architectural feature works is hidden in the proportion of one part to another. Photographing or sketching this accurately will be the only way of reproducing this later. The ancient Greeks were very keen on geometry and used it extensively in their buildings. Try to analyse why a particular room or building looks and feels right to you. What are the proportions? Is it symmetrical or asymmetrical? Are there a lot of decorative features, or is it very plain? By finding answers to these questions, you are finding your own style.
You may prefer a more formal environment. Perhaps you live in a Georgian house and want to highlight its elegant proportions. Visit stately homes of the period, walk through areas of your town where Georgian architecture exists. Visit Brighton with its light and airy Regency and Georgian buildings, or Edinburgh with its solid grey stone Georgian terraces. Consider combining elements of historic Georgian style with contemporary accents to add freshness and wit to the interior.
The more you explore and make a conscious note of the things that inspire you, the more confident you will become with your own style preferences. Always stay open to new influences. Keep your eyes and ears open. Your style is something which should grow as you grow. Your style is part of who you are. Why not make it part of your home environment?
Inspirational places to visit:
The Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
The Sir John Soane Museum, London.
Brighton Pavillion, Brighton.
Your local stately home(s).
The biggest influence on the human state of mind with the possible exception of the weather is colour. We are surrounded by references: «a red rag to a bull», «blue with cold», «green with envy», «in the pink». The psychology of colour and how colour affects human behaviour is now a serious course of study at universities. Hospital rooms, classrooms, fast food restaurants and offices are painted in colours to influence the behaviour and mood of the people who use these spaces. Even the products on the shelves of your local supermarket have been packaged in colours carefully chosen to attract your attention and encourage you to buy. So why are people so hesitant to use colour in their home environments? Why is the neutral space currently the ideal? Why are we afraid of colour?
This does not mean to say that dramatic colours do not have their place. Far too many houses are decorated in various shades of beige (I think «taupe» is the current fashionable term although this is being challenged by «string»), and the standard neutral colour for new dwellings is still the veritable magnolia. Subtle, muted wall colours (like off white and taupe) are fine, and very easy to live with. But contrast and enliven them with bright highlights in your accessories and upholstery. Consider a multi-coloured rug, some coloured ceramics or glassware, vivid prints or paintings, or squashy cushions in jewel tones. The overall effect will be airy and soothing yet the flashes of colour can bring in your personality and be your signature touches.
Have fun with colour. Be brave! Be bold!
Space Planning: The Step Beyond Interior Decoration
The past shows us examples of space dividing which may or may not be desirable solutions for the way we live today. The 1960s and 1970s gave us plastic and metal shelving units, open on both sides and jutting out across our living rooms. The style has moved on but the principle is still useable, except today we would use fabric panels, glass bricks, chrome retail shelving, or folding bamboo screens to achieve the same result.
All of these changes (except for the bathtub under the floor) have been made without changing your structural walls and are usually limited to one room. Redesigning an entire floor (or whole house) is an altogether larger project. Cramped and muddled rooms on a single floor can often be rearranged to create the feeling of more space.
Don’t forget about mirrors and glass. The early 19th century architect Sir John Soane adored mirrors and the space-expanding effect they had on his interiors. His house in London was been preserved, complete with all its architectural quirks, mirrored ceilings and walls, and interior porthole windows. Large Victorian mirrors, bereft of the huge mantles and sideboards over which they used to hang, create an elegant illusion of doubled space simply by being propped up against an empty wall.
Sand-blasted glass panels, glass bricks, and etched glass are all being used in creative new ways to help increase light and a sense of space and airiness in today’s homes. Today’s glass designers can create everything from glass staircases to glass fireplaces. And this glass isn’t fragile! It’s tough, strong and beautiful.
Be brave! Make your living space work for you.
The client’s brief was to refurbish the entire interior to a luxury modern standard. An essentially open plan feel was obtained by the wide arches leading from lounge to dining area and from dining room to kitchen. In the lounge a modern «hole-in-the-wall» fireplace was installed fronted by slate-topped storage. This was topped with a streamlined cantilevered shelf.
In the dining room a warm and welcoming wall colour sets off the contemporary design of the bespoke radiator covers. An air of simple elegance is maintained by the simple lines of the dining furniture.
The bespoke kitchen continues the American walnut theme set in the lounge. A glass splashback ensures easy cleaning while the modern design emphasis is maintained by the stainless steel extractor, stainless steel venetian blinds and 20th Century design classic bar stools.
The family bathroom again uses bespoke joinery and cabinetry but is softened by the use of solid oak and caramel coloured mosaic wall tiles.
The en-suite bathroom is a different story. Luxuriously finished in limestone tiles this room is a pure indulgence. The large frameless shower maximises the visual impact of the floor-to-ceiling tiles. The relentlessly modern design sees the dual wash basins sunk into black granite. American black walnut reappears here to underline the luxury of the finish. The jacuzzi bath is faced with limestone tiles, thus giving the room a weighty solidity. The waterfall tap adds a touch of classic luxury. The bespoke joinery is continued into the master bedroom where the headboard, again in American black walnut, provides personalised storage options.
Interior design is closely related to other existing interior features, such as any special part of a construction, and the style that has been built into an indoor area. For example, an attractive bay window, archway, or fireplace may be part of an area’s existing interior design. If some feature does not suit the planned interior design, new furnishings may assist to draw attention away from it. On the other hand, the interior design plan may be used to attract attention to a particular feature. Before developing an interior design consideration should be given to what the area is to be used for, the life style of those who will frequent it, and the available budget for the interior design. Conducting thorough research of interior design sites is time consuming. However it is imperative that sufficient research is conducted before arriving at a final decision. We trust that the sites on interior design that have been made available for you to go to below will suit your needs
