From Cultural Identity To Design Identity

Under the pressure of globalization, how to utilize native cultural identity to realize design identity has become the focus of research of the design history and theory in the developing countries. After the concept "Industrial Design" has been introduced until 1980s, there are many discusses about this question in China. The cultural concept, however, was limited in the frame of "Comparison of Chinese and Western". Firstly, this dissertation has indicated that present cultural study in design pays more attention to pre-modern and post-modern culture, whereas skirts around modern culture; then standing on the side of modernism, retrospect the history of Chinese and Western modern design according to contemporary problems; moreover in the process of modernization, under the context of globalization, reflect the relationship between design and culture. Secondly, it emphasized the truth that China design, at the preliminary phase of reconstructing of culture and design, must depend upon itself to solve the problems in daily life, accumulate actively nourishment for the rebuilding cultural identity, rather than waiting for the disappearing cultural identity. Thirdly, in the view of modernization, Chinese pre-modern culture, Western modern and post-modern culture will place different influence on China design: due to distinct core value, the influence of pre-modern culture is only partial and complementary. Owing to Chinese developing reality, the influence of post-modern culture only offers the broad perspective instead of practical example. At last, modern culture is the basis of modern design, therefore modern culture and principle of modernism design are always worth to strive and pursue for China design.