‘Designing women’ -Faye Toogood

According to this article paragraphs :

We argue that, for a woman with the requisite talents to attempt to become a successful designer today, there are three stages where barriers are likely to be perceived and imposed, barriers that a similarly talented man would not face. These are crucial in determining the position of women in both graphics and industrial design. (Women Designers — Is There A Gender Trap)

It seems fair to assume that the situation in contemporary design sphere is gender neutral, while it’s also fair to think that there is still a transparent gap between male and female designers and artists(Bauhaus women). Contemporary feminist furniture design is a fresh troop in the design field. Some of the design concepts are much closer to the family, from the female perspective.People-oriented,multi-dimensional expansion and the equal importance for form and content are also the basic concepts. Its aesthetic features are rich in color, mostly show in bright or fresh colors.Also, the curve is soft and graceful, fully consider the psychological needs of specific customers: functional and practical, tend to be simple and convenient to operate. Female care, equal dignity, self-realization, and ecological design are its cultural connotations( roly poly).

British based – designer Faye Toogood. One of the artworks from Faye Toogood, shown in figure 1, is manufactured with fiberglass.This furniture has drawn inspiration from the designer’s experience of pregnancy. The relative subject rarely explored by either male or female contemporary designers. British designer Faye Toogood designed Roly Poly armchair, a response to desiring a comfortable chair while pregnant(DESIGNING WOMEN,2019). Faye Toogood’s Roly-Poly furniture is attractive with the reassuring thick lines The latest furniture design from the Italian design company uses the sleek, warm shape of the limited edition Assemblage No 4 series. The low seat can add soft cushions to fill the curved bowl shape.It features a new sofa that further explores the aesthetics of Roly-Poly, highlighting the interplay between the elegantly curved arc of the scooped seat and the four stout and solid legs that support it( roly poly).

Her furniture and designed objects demonstrate an occupation for experimentation, pure self-expression, and instinct. All of her artworks are handmade by traditional artisans. Toogood as a former interiors editor of influential UK magazine The World of Interiors.She encourages to the public that makes conversations about gendered design, culture, form, and functionality(DESIGNING WOMEN,2019).

In the design of consumer activities, women as the main in the design process that play a  great role in design. Feminist design provides new materials for harmonious design and human design, enriching the contemporary Western design theory space. Based on an understanding of the characteristics of the family and women themselves, feminist designers are better able to grasp the design details and characteristics of family life (Women Designers — Is There A Gender Trap). Although feminist furniture design incorporates the physiological characteristics of the female group into the product form, there is still part of feminist furniture design emphasizes that its product form is important than product function in the design process. From the Design Journal mentioned: For instance, within Scandinavian design minimalism and functionalism are emphasized as ideals. As mentioned earlier, a ‘good’ person with ‘high’ morale does not lounge on the couch with a bag of crisps (Ahl and Olsson, 2002)(Good Taste Vs. Good Design). In my opinions, form serves the function. Functions are the heart of product design. The practicality of the design product is the most important thing that has to concern the designers and also influenced by the market.And it is the driving force behind the design object. Therefore, all aspects of design are linked with function, combined with feminist ideas. The final outcomes express through materialized forms.

Because designers are inevitably subject to the ideas and influences of their social context, their designs must reflect their values. The subjective thinking of feminist furniture design and the characteristics of diversified thinking enrich the design field. But does the design product that overemphasizes femininity actually cater to the male culture under patriarchy from the opposite side? From my perspective, in terms of design, women should more be involved in the design.Female consciousness is an important embodiment of the humanized design. To carry out humanized design, we must face the hidden female consciousness in the heart of human beings, integrate female consciousness into the creation of design, and make up for the lack of modern design.

References:

1.Bruce, Margaret, and Jenny Lewis. “Women Designers — Is There A Gender Trap?”. Design Studies 11, no. 2 (1990): 114-120.

2.Christoforidou, Despina, Elin Olander, Anders Warell, and Lisbeth Svengren Holm. “Good Taste Vs. Good Design: A Tug Of War In The Light Of Bling”. The Design Journal 15, no. 2 (2012): 185-202.

3.poly, r. (2019). roly poly. [online] Driade.com. Available at: http://www.driade.com/en/roly-poly-1 [Accessed 9 Apr. 2019].

4.DESIGNING WOMEN,ngv.vic.gov.au.(https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/designing-women/

5.Muller, U. (2015). Bauhaus women. [Place of publication not identified]: Flammarion.