The rise of non-material design

In the the 1990s, with the popularization of computers, the establishment and expansion of the network, a so-called "information society" seems to quietly, "digital" although there is no real way to the level of life, but "digital" products not only their own rapid replacement, but also the impact of traditional products and transform the same rapid and profound Information is immaterial, and it is actually called "Immaterial society". For design purposes, the formation and development of the information society firstly make the traditional design become the object of transformation. As a convenient and ideal design tool, the computer has led to a series of changes in design means, methods and processes, thus beginning to enter the "digital" design era; On the other hand, design ranges, definitions, essence, The function and the education aspect, also began to take place the important change.
The rise of immaterial theory is one of the content of change, immaterial design is relative to material design. After entering the postmodern or the information society, the computer as the design tool, the virtual, digitized design becomes another kind of design form which is opposite to the material design, namely so-called immaterial design. The appearance of immaterial design makes the existence of design rich, like having wings, he not only realizes himself, but also reveals the immaterial nature of material design.
As early as the 1980s, Western design scholars had begun to study the transition of backward industrial society, such as the Symposium on "Design, technology and the future of post-industrial society" convened by the Interdisciplinary Research Center of the Department of Arts, Northwestern University, and a series of international academic conferences. This paper probes into the design of computer intervention in contemporary information environment and the change of manufacturing industry in electronic environment. The debate over the design of the end of the 20 century and its trend is becoming fiercer. The 90 's, the electronic space of the virtual design, information design, network interface, such as the design of the central topic, this kind of design, all involved in the digital language programming problems, are immaterial nature, so "immaterial design" topic highlighted.
"Immaterial design" is the product of social immaterial, it is the design of information design, and it is based on service design. Significant changes have taken place in the information society, at all levels of social production, economy and culture, reflecting the transition from a society based on the manufacture and production of material products to a service-oriented economic society. This kind of transformation not only expands the scope of design, but also enhances the function and social function of design, and leads to the change of design essence. So that some western scholars define design as a "forgery" field, design from the "manufacturing" of the field into a "forged" field, from a good form and function of the culture to a non-material and pluralistic reproduction of the culture, that is, into a non-material virtual design, Digital design as the main feature of the new field of design, the function of the design, existence and form, and even the essence of design is different from the material design.
From material design to immaterial design, it is a reflection of the process of social immaterial, and also an ascending form of progress involving its own development:
　　
Handicraft era → material design → manual creation mode → manual product form;
Machine times → material design → machine production mode → machine product form;
The information Age → the coexistence of material design and immaterial design → the coexistence of industrial products and software products, and the coexistence of machine production mode and digital production mode;
　　
such as car design, the car itself, which used to only design material, now requires more consideration of non-material traffic and environmental issues; washing machine designers, not only consider the design of the washing machine itself, but also consider the way and possibility of a laundry service. A company that manufactures vacuum cleaners in Japan has been welcomed by the design of a leasing system for vacuum cleaners. The Japanese GR Metro Company has designed a fast subway + rental + Bicycle Transportation Service, providing passengers with user-friendly, flexible and fast traffic conditions. From material design to immaterial design, it reflects the change of design value and social existence: from the satisfying demand of the function to the stimulating demand of the commercial doctrine, and then to the ecological demand of the non-material (reasonable demand, humanized demand). A series of changes have taken place in people and objects, design and manufacture, people and environment, and people's understanding of design.
The establishment of immaterial theory and the proposal of design theory are important events in the development of contemporary design. In the history of modern design, if we combine the art and industry as the first milestone in the second half of the 19th century century, the new unification of the Bauhaus practice and the promotion of art and science can serve as a milestone, emphasizing that the functional design is the third milestone, Then as an important characterization of post-modern design of immaterial design, can be said to be the fourth milestone.
But the concept of immaterial design is only just beginning in our country, and the theory of immaterial design has just begun. February 2001 by the Hunan University Industrial design department, Nanjing Art Institute, China Industrial Design Association in Changsha, Hunan, held a "non-material design and sustainable development of industrial Design Road Forum, the non-material design of the first discussion." Non-material design in the international theoretical circle is also "Avantgarde", has not yet been understood by most designers, it also has a considerable number of ambiguity and ideal color; in China, understanding and acceptance of non-material design is more specific and difficult, in a society where material demand is still very urgent, Advocating the design of service values and other non-material attributes seems to be a long way off. Fundamentally speaking, the product of the contemporary technology development of immaterial designer can be said to be the product of the integration of science and technology and art.
In theory, immaterial design is a kind of transcendence to material design, and the development of contemporary science and technology provides the conditions and path for this transcendence. As the early existence form of material design, immaterial design has become a relatively independent existence, which is undoubtedly the product of the further combination of art and science.