Using two historically different product design examples examine how Essay

Using two historically different product design examples examine how design has contrubuted to a particular stereotyping of Nature - Essay Example Designers are the translators of technological concepts and prototypes into marketable products. All types of products from foodstuffs to houses and landscapes; have undergone some kind of design. In fact design is the new engine of modern consumerism. First developed by Raymond Lowley, and later developed by US Government psychology â€Å"think tanks† such as Edward Berneys, in the 1930s to enable USA to experience economic growth; consumerism was a fundamental paradigm shift from product durability to product ephemerality. Ephemeral products are short lived thus encouraging people to go out and buy the â€Å"modern†, â€Å"latest†, â€Å"in vogue† or simply â€Å"new† products, while constantly disposing of old ones, Raizman, D (2003). The emergence and development of computers played a crucial role in the new culture of consumerism. As this culture grew; and played a key expediency role for government, encouraging people to concentrate on consumption, thus leaving the important role of running the state to the politicians from the 1950s onwards; computer design became its key component. With the advent of television in the 1960s, consumerism went global and thus dictated the way of life worldwide. Through advertising, television became a conduit of international communication and consumer culture. Guy Julier (2007) notes that design is currently dominated by the belief that the identity of the consumer is defined by the products they buy. Consumerism is undoubtedly well rooted in societal culture. Computer design soon took on aesthetics and ergonomics, which today dominate hypermarket shelves, glossy magazine covers, shop windows and homes. Claudia Dona (1980) noted that the world is overflowing with our own creations which besiege us and often distance us from one another physically and mentally. There is a social distance, which seems physical, between those who drive a certain design of car and those who don’t, even