On 3 December, Professor J.W. Drukker delivered his inaugural
address as professor of History of Design at the University of
Twente. Of course, Professor Drukker generally looks at the past,
but on this occasion he will be making an exception and consider
the future. On the basis of current trends, the professor predicted
the future of industrial design. The fundamental 'form follows
function' principle, for example, is becoming obsolete, and is
making way for 'interface design'.
Since the eighteenth century there have been three technological
tsunamis, explains Professor Drukker in his speech. He is referring
to periods of rapid technological development in which society has
undergone far-reaching changes as a result.
The first of these technological tsunamis was the Industrial
Revolution, when improvements to the steam engine led to the
industrialization of many kinds of processes. The second
technological tsunami began in the latter part of the nineteenth
century, as a result of the emergence of the internal combustion
engine, electricity, and breakthroughs in the field of chemistry.
Now, we find ourselves in the middle of the third tsunami. This is
being caused by the advent of information in electronic form, and
its miniaturization and digitization.
According to Professor Drukker, it is usually almost impossible
to forecast the future, but once a tsunami has reached a given
level of momentum, we can to a certain extent predict its
subsequent development. In his inaugural address, he will therefore
be making a number of predictions about the future of his field:
this history of design.
Fundamental principle
One of the predictions Professor Drukker made during his speech
is that the fundamental 'form follows function' principle is
becoming less relevant. This principle states that the shape of a
product should be primarily based on its intended function. Any
product to which this applies is regarded as 'well designed'. In
the view of Professor Drukker, the principle is slowly receding
into the background because fewer and fewer products are providing
'natural' feedback about their function - as a result of
miniaturization and the greater use of electronics. To illustrate
his point, Professor Drukker used his heating boiler: "These
appliances are now so quiet that I cannot hear whether or not mine
is working. That's why they now come with a display that tells me
if it is on or off."
The same applies to computers, explains Professor Drukker in his
speech. They work just as well with or without the screen being
connected. Whilst this is no problem for the computer itself, the
user is completely lost. The basic 'form follows function'
principle is therefore gradually being overtaken by interface
design. This involves the design of 'separate' communication
systems that keep users informed about what a machine is doing.
CV
Professor Drukker studied quantitative economics and economic
history in Rotterdam, Groningen (NL), West Lafayette (US) and
Colchester (UK). He later taught quantitative economic history at
the University of Groningen and the history of design at TU Delft.
He has been professor of History of Design at the University of
Twente for two years, prior to which he was employed at the
university as a visiting lecturer.
Note for editors
For a digital version of the 'Things to come; an economic and
historical vision of the future of industrial design' speech,
please contact Joost
Bruysters, research information officer, on +31 (0)53 489 2773
or +31 (0)6 1048 8228 (mobile). er.
