Design + Culture – A Return to Fundamentalism?

Design and Culture have always been closely interrelated, but in many instances design is flaunted as the true measure of culture, rather than belonging to part of cultural context of the society. Design has become the embodiment of a larger process of creative ‘culture-mongering’ that has become a means to capture ideation, innovation and enterprise and made to stand for cultural identity.

Design has become synonymous with the labelling of culture; ’designed culture’, now represents not only the emblem of cultural prosperity, but is considered as a means to legitimatise whole areas of urban regeneration, and for gaining international recognition as well as mediating for social change. For example, the siting of the London Olympics in the east of London and the recent award to Qatar, to host 2022 World Cup Finals and to build national identity defined by football (an amazing feat for a tiny peninsula in Persian Gulf that was no more than barren desert twenty-two years ago).

This is further evidenced by the increasing visibility of design, and engineered art and architecture... Continue Reading