This course provides an overview of design history from 1850 to 1950, the critical period for the formation and development of design and the design professions. There are three primary goals. The first is to provide an understanding of the role that design has played in the evolution of the competitive free market system at national and global levels. The second goal is to demonstrate how design emerged as a powerful tool for corporate and cultural identity in this period. The third goal is to develop an understanding of some of the basic influences on the formation of design theory and practice in the twentieth century. This is accomplished through the presentation and discussion of primary economic and cultural forces, philosophical ideas, artistic and social movements, and significant individuals and artifacts that represent the period. The course traces both the chronological and the contextual development of design, providing students with an understanding of design as an evolving concept.
