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Diseo en Chile

Diseo en Chile, es desarrollada a partir de cinco puntos devista: Allard nos propone un debate en torno a las denicionesy evolucin histrica del trmino; Neira asume la realidad deldiseo grco en Chile; Eyquem establece que la denicin deldiseo es dada por la propia experiencia; Puga nos iluminasobre las reales posibilidades de la industria en la materia, ynalmente Eames nos permite, a travs de expresiones de suacercamiento al proceso de diseo, volver al principio: qu esel diseo?

Design in Chile, is developed from ve points of view. Allardproposes a debate around the denitions and historical evolutionof the term; Neira assumes the reality of the graphic design inChile; Eyquem establishes a denition of design carried out fromhis own experience; Puga lightens us about the real possibilitiesof industry in the matter, and nally Eames allows us, throughexpressions of his approach to the design process, to return to thebeginning: what is design?

Diseo como disciplina?Jos Manuel Allard Serrano

Una disciplina es una variedad de objetos, prcticase informacin que denen un campo de conoci-miento. Disciplinas como el derecho, la medicina ola losofa abarcan modos de aprender y obedecermodos de conocer y conformar. Especicar elobjeto de estudio estableciendo los lmites del temaes la primera tarea de cualquier nueva disciplinaintelectual.Resulta difcil denir la disciplina del diseo y,por lo tanto, aquello que le es propio. El trmino

diseo se aplica indistintamente en diferentescontextos, cubriendo una nutrida lista de ociostales como: el diseo grco, el diseo de vestuarioel diseo de interiores, el diseo arquitectnicoel diseo de productos, el diseo corporativo y eldiseo estratgico, por nombrar algunos.Pese a los numerosos intentos acadmicos porunicar estos saberes, el debate sobre lo que es

Design as discipline?Jos Manuel Allard Serrano

A discipline covers the range of subjectstechniques and information that dene a eldof knowledge. Disciplines like law, medicineor philosophy include ways of learning andobeying, ways of knowing and conforming. Therst task of any new intellectual discipline is tospecify the object of study, and the limits of thesubject matter.It is hard to dene the discipline of design, and

what properly belongs to it. The term design isapplied indiscriminately and in different contextsto a broad range of skills, from graphic designfashion design and interior design to architecturaldesign, product design, corporate design andstrategic design, to name a few.

Though there have been many attempts byacademics to unify these areas of knowledge thedebate on what design is, is far from resolved,

Bourdelle, LArch de Herakles

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and interpretations of the term. He believes design, like many other term, creates ambigbecause it has more than one common meanIt can refer to a process the act or practicdesigning; it can mean the result of that proa design, a sketch, a plan or a model; it be the products manufactured with the hela design as in designed goods; or it can beappearance or look of a product as in I likdesign of that dress.

A further source of conict in the denitiodesign is the provisional nature of its langu

The meaning of the word design has chanover time, so any attempt to dene it must tinto account its historical evolution.During the Renaissance, for example, dis(which, in practice, meant drawing) is the creaconceptual phase that normally precedes execution of a painting, a sculpture or other wof art. Although all artists considered design of their artistic activity it was not until the and 19th centuries, with the beginning of

diseo est lejos de ser resuelto, dejando elcampo plagado de disputas territoriales.Resulta interesante revisar algunas denicionesde diseo:Diseo es lo que ocurre cuando se encuentra artee industria, cuando las personas comienzan a tomardecisiones acerca de cmo deben lucir los productos

producidos industrialmente para las masas 1.Diseo industrial2es un proceso de creacin, invencin

y denicin separado del medio de produccin,que involucra una eventual sntesis de factorescontribuyentes y a veces conictivos en un conceptode forma tridimensional, y su realidad material,capaz de reproduccin mltiple por medios mecnicos.

Est especcamente vinculado al desarrollo de laindustrializacin y mecanizacin que comenz con larevolucin industrial britnica cerca de 1770 3.El diseador industrial es un especialista tcnico enapariencias visuales. Est contratado por un industrialcon slo un propsito: incrementar la demanda por sus

productos aumentando su atractivo a los consumidores.l es remunerado por el xito logrado segn este

objetivo. El xito o fracaso del diseador industrialdepende de su habilidad para crear y mantener

ganancias. El diseador es ante todo un tcnicoindustrial y no un educador de gustos pblicos. Bajolas condiciones existentes, su negocio es crear ganancias

para su empleador 4.Todos los hombres son diseadores. Todo lo quehacemos casi todo el tiempo es diseo ya que el diseoes bsico para toda actividad humana. El programau organizacin de cualquier acto con un propsito

predeterminado constituye el proceso de diseo ()Diseo es escribir un poema pico, realizar un mural,

pintar una obra maestra, componer un concierto. Perodiseo es tambin limpiar y reorganizar el cajn de un

escritorio, cocinar un pie de manzana, escoger lado enun partido callejero de baloncesto, y educar a un nio() Diseo es el esfuerzo consciente por imponer unorden signicativo 5.En su sentido ms general, diseo es una forma de

poltica: la humanidad luchando por darle forma asu entorno y su sociedad, de manera de satisfacer susnecesidades 6.

Lo cierto es que los lmites de cualquier discipson difusos ms que precisos y, en general,radios se sobreponen a las fronteras de odisciplinas.En su libro Design History and the History of Desiel historiador del arte y diseo John Waplantea la discusin sobre las distintas denicioe interpretaciones del trmino. Segn Waldiseo, como muchas otras palabras, prodambigedad porque tiene ms de un signiccomn: se puede referir a un proceso (el o prctica de disear); al resultado de ese pro(un diseo, un sketch, un plano o un modelolos productos manufacturados con la ayuda d

diseo (bienes diseados); o a la apariencia o looun producto (a m me gusta el diseo de ese vestidOtra razn para encontrar conictiva la denide diseo es lo provisorio del lenguaje. La paldiseo ha cambiado su signicado a travstiempo. Por lo tanto, cualquier intento de dediseo deber considerar la evolucin histdel concepto.

and remains a mineeld of territorial disputes.Let us take a look at a few denitions:Design is what happens when art meets industry,when people start making decisions about how mass-

produced products should look.1

Industrial design2 is a process of creation, inventionand denition that is separate from the meansof production. It involves the eventual synthesis ofcontributing and sometimes conicting factors in athree-dimensional concept, and in a material statewhich can be reproduced by mechanical means. It is

specically tied to the development of industrializationand mechanization that began around 1770 with theBritish industrial revolution.3

The industrial designer has a specialist expertise invisual appearances. He is hired by an industrialist fora single purpose: to raise the demand for his productsby increasing their attraction for consumers. He is

paid according to how well he does this. The industrialdesigners success or failure depends on his skill atcreating and sustaining prots. The designer is aboveall an industrial technician, not an educator of public

taste. In the current conditions his business is to createprots for his employer.4Everyone is a designer. Everything we do almostall the time is design, because design is basic to allhuman activity. The program or the organization ofany act with a predetermined purpose is a process ofdesign () Design is writing an epic poem, making amural, painting a work of art, composing a concerto.But design is also cleaning and tidying a desk drawer,baking an apple pie, picking sides in a street basketball

game, bringing up a child () Design is the consciouseffort to impose meaningful order.5In its most general sense design is a form of politics:the human species struggling to give shape to its

surroun-dings and its society in order to satisfyits needs.6

What is clear is that the limits of any disciplineare more blurry than precise, and in general theradius of one overlaps the boundaries of others.In his book Design History and theHistory ofDesign7, art and design historian John Walker putsforward the debate on the different denitions

Design in Chile

1 Bayley, Stephen. Art and Industry.Boilerh ouse Project, London, 1982;pg. 9

2 Debe entenderse que en ciertosambientes acadmicos ingleses yestadounidenses diseo es diseoindustrial. En este sentido, lo quepor ejemplo entendemos como diseo

grco o textil puede ser tambinconsiderado diseo industrial ya queel diseo de una pieza grca o textilsuele estar mediado por procesosindustriales.

3 Heskett, John. Industrial Design.Thames & Hudson, London, 1980;pg.10

4 F. Mercer. The Industrial DesignConsultant. The Studio, London, 1947;

pg. 12

5 Papanek, Victor. Design for the RealWorld: Human Ecology and SocialChange. Thames & Hudson, London,1972; pg. 17

6 Walker, John. Design History andthe History of Design. Pluto Press,London, 1990; pg. 33

7 Mercer, op. cit., pg. 12

1 Bayley, Stephen. Art and Industry.Boilerhouse Project, London, 1982;pg. 9.

2 In some academic circles in the UK

and the USA design means industrialdesign. What we call graphic design ortextile design, for example, can also beconsidered industrial since the designof a graphic or a textile is normallymade by industrial processes.

3 Heskett, John. Industrial Design.Thames & Hudson, London, 1980;pg. 10.

4 F. Mercer. The Industrial Consultant. The Studio, Londonpg. 12.

5 Papanek, Victor. Design for thWorld: Human Ecology and

Change. Thames & Hudson, L1972; pg. 17.

6 Walker, John. Design Histothe History of Design. Pluto

London, 1990; pg. 33.

7 Mercer, op. cit., pg. 12

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Por ejemplo, en el Renacimiento, disegno (que enla prctica signicaba dibujo), es considerada la fasecreativa y conceptual que generalmente precede ala ejecucin de una pintura, escultura u obra dearte. Aunque todos los artistas consideran el diseocomo parte de su actividad artstica, no es hasta lossiglos XVIII y XIX (con el inicio de la RevolucinIndustrial en Europa y Estados Unidos), queel trmino diseo pasa a ser considerado unaactividad de jornada completa, llevada a cabo porespecialistas entrenados, empleados o comisionadospor empresarios. Como consecuencia, el diseadordeja de producir lo que disea.El siglo XX marca un cambio importante en

cmo la idea de diseo 8es explorada en el discursocontemporneo. Desde Adolf Loos a WalterGropius, el objeto o artefacto atraa el centro dela atencin. Mientras Loos criticaba la presenciade ornamentos con distraccin a la experienciade las cualidades formales, Gropius vea al objetocomo la encarnacin de los valores espirituales deuna poca. En aos posteriores, el debate sobre elbuen diseo se concentr en las problemticasde cmo la forma de los objetos puede enriquecerla calidad de vida. A esto se le sumar el discursoracionalista de los aos 50 y 60 que impulsaba elorden formal como ideal de diseo 9.

industrial revolution in Europe and the UnitedStates, that design came to be thought of as afull-time activity for trained specialists, employedor commissioned by businessmen. The designerthus ceases to produce what he designs.

The 20th century sees a signicant shift in the waythe idea of design8 is explored in contemporarydebate. From Adolf Loos to Walter Gropius, theobject or artifact becomes the focus of attention.Loos criticized the presence of ornament asdistracting from the experience of the formalqualities; Gropius saw the object as incarnatingthe spiritual values of the times. Later, thedebate on good design came to center on howform in objects could enrich the quality of life.

The 50s and 60s contributed their rationalistapproach, which argued for formal order as thedesign ideal.9

Despite reactions against restrictions of formamong pop designers such as Memphis or thenewwave designers, who stressed the object morethan the complicated process of ideas behindit, the emphasis shifted back in the 80s and90s. The change was driven by recognitionthat objects have been situated in a variety of

ways, which were not clearly understood orproperly studied, by designers, historians, critics

A pesar de las reacciones contra esas restriccionesformales, diseadores pop, como Memphis y losdiseadoresnew wave,quienes enfatizaban al objetoms que al complejo proceso de ideas que las guiaba,el nfasis es revertido en los aos 80 y 90.Este cambio est guiado por el reconocimientode que los objetos estn situados en una variedadde maneras que no estaban claramente entendidaso adecuadamente estudiadas por diseadores,historiadores, crticos y tericos que establecieronlos precedentes de la disciplina del diseo en laprimera mitad del siglo XX. Como consecuencia,los discursos contemporneos no representan unquiebre con el pasado. En cambio, representan una

visin mas amplia del diseo al incorporar temticasy problemas que a menudo eran detectadas peroque no eran desarrolladas en profundidad.Los objetos siguen importando como experienciassimblicas pero hay una creciente atencin enlos contextos psicolgicos, sociales y culturalesque dan signicado y valor a los productos y a laprctica del diseo como disciplina10.

Jos Manuel Allard

Bachelor in Fine Arts, Graphic Design, The Corcoran School of Art,Washington, DC, EE.UU, 96. Master in Fine Arts, Graphic Design,California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), California, EE.UU, 98. Esprofesor de la Escuela de Diseo PUC y se encuentra desarrollando lainvestigacin Mauricio Amster en Chile, 1939-80 (DIPUC 2000/09c).

and theoreticians who set the rst guidelinesfor the discipline of design in the rst half of the20th century.

Thus contemporary views represent, not a breakwith the past but a broader vision of design,which incorporates issues and problems that wereoften sensed but not explored in depth. Objectscontinue to matter as symbolic experiences, butthere is a growing attention to the psychological,social and cultural contexts, which give meaningand value to products and to the practice ofdesign as a discipline.

Jos Manuel AllardBachelor in Fine Arts, Graphic Design, The Corcoran School of Art,

Washington, DC, EE.UU, 1996. Master in Fine Arts, Graphic Design,

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), California, US, 98. Currently teaches

in the Faculty of Design, Catholic University of Chile, and is researching on

Mauricio Amster in Chile, 1939-80 (DIPUC 2000/09c).

Grandeza y pequeezdel ocioJos Neira Dlano

Historiadores sostienen que la invencin de laimprenta y la tipografa en el siglo XV generun orden de informacin secuencial, repetibledando paso al pensamiento lgico y cientcoLingistas arman que nuestra visin del mundoest determinada por nuestra lengua. sta, a su

vez, se sostiene sobre medios visuales que inundantoda nuestra existencia. Segn lo anterior, qu roltendra en nuestra vida y cultura actual la profesin

de Diseo Grco? La pregunta sugiere que supotencial y relevancia son enormes: estructurarnuestra visin de la realidad, expresar visualmentela riqueza y complejidad de las ideas, ayudar aforjar valores culturales, inyectar el arte en losnegocios11. De acuerdo a estas ideas se puedeentender que la realidad chilena del Diseo Grcoes difcil y dura. Al menos aprovechar ese potenciales una gran tarea no slo para el contexto de Chile

La sociedad

En Chile la palabra diseo se asocia con novedoso, ala moda, entretenido, atractivo, importado, vendedor

The grandeur and pettinessof the craftJos Neira Dlano

Historians argue that the invention of theprinting press and typesetting in the 15th centurycreated an ordering of information that wassequential and repeatable, and opened the wayfor logical, scientic thinking. Linguists claimlanguage forms our view of the world. That

view, in turn, is based on the visual elementsthat invade our whole existence. So then whatrole does the graphic designers skill play in lifeand culture today? The question suggests it hasenormous potential and relevance, to structure

our vision of reality, to express visually rich andcomplex ideas, to help form cultural values, tobring art into business.10

In Chile, we infer, the world of the graphicdesigner is tough and difcult; but takingadvantage of its potential is a great challenge,and not just in Chile.

The Social ContextIn Chile the word design is associated withthe ideas of novelty, fashionable, fun, attractiveimported, saleable. Design is not a highly valued

8 Sobre la idea de diseo serecomienda revisar el libro: The Ideaof Design. A Design Issues Reader,

editado por Victor Margolin y RichardBuchanan, The MIT Press, Cambridge,M.A, 1995.

9 Algunos ejemplos son los diseosde Dieter Rams para la Braun y la

tipografa suiza promovida por EmilRuder y Armin Hofmann desde laescuela Kunstgewerbeschule deBasilea.

10 El autor se responsabiliza por las

traducciones e interpretaciones de lostextos citados que originalmente estnescritos en ingls.

8 On the idea of design we suggesttaking a look at The Idea of Design, ADesign Issues Reader, edited by Victor

Margolin y Richard Buchanan, The MITPress, Cambridge, M.A, 1995.

9 Some examples: the designs ofDieter Rams for Braun and the Swisstypography promoted by Emil Ruder

and Armin Hofmann from theKunstgewerbeschule of Basle.

10 The author takes responsibility forthe translations and interpretations ofthe cited texts that originally were

written in English.