INTRODUCTION
When Apple’s Donald Norman introduced the User-centered design in 1993, he not only shifted the focus towards the user of a product or service, but also permanently established the scientific approach to the design process. Today designers more than ever have to take into account the meaning, emotion, brand value, functionality, and ambience of a design when deciding on a specific course of action for their projects. To complicate things further, hundreds of research papers are published annually, each of which sheds light on specialized aspects of the psychological and emotional effects of specific design elements. The DSD meets the need for practical information that paves the way for the creation of psychologically appealing, meaningful design. Its logical spatial structure wherein colour functions as a classification system, taps into the innate human language and sign system. As such the DSD is a unique source of information and inspiration for highlighting intuitive creativity. It is the culmination of decades of study and research that synthesizes some of the findings and insights of anthropologists, philosophers, sociologists, neurologists, biologists, A.I. scientists, psychologists, marketing specialists, graphic designers, artists, architects, and product developers in a single logically consultative application. In its present form the application hosts around 1500 keywords connected to many design elements. Additionally the database offers quotes from over 160 relevant books and scientific research papers.
ABOUT
Inez Michiels is director at CITY OF 8 design semantics research association and co-founding board member of the ICA-Belgium Interdisciplinary Colour Association. She obtained a Master of Arts from the Artesis-Plantijn Hogeschool in Antwerp. In cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and the University of Antwerp, dep. of communication sciences she did research into the link between art and emotion. She published a series of papers and books on design semantics. She is a guest lecturer at the University of Antwerp, dep. interior architecture and at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore US, dep. graphic design. She is a member of the AIC Study Group on Environmental Colour Design.
LINKS
The DSD is momentarily in transfer to a new format: https://sites.google.com/view/city-of-8/dsk-graph
Download DSD full paper @ AIC PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COLOUR ASSOCIATION CONGRESS (AIC2021). p.897