DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2024.2.69753

Abstract: This article is part of a larger study of design as a cultural phenomenon. In this part of the study, the author examines the process that is currently taking place in the semiotic structure of design, associated with the active introduction of neural networks into the creation of visual content. Artificial intelligence products stylistically take the design away from the fourth-order simulacrum (from the flat design style) and return the design to using the third-order simulacrum as the main iconic form.The object of the research is the transformation of the semiotic design system. The subject of the study is a return to the third–order simulacrum in modern design. The purpose of the study is to show and try to explain how in modern design there is a return to the use of a third-order simulacrum. The research method is a semiotic analysis of modern design based on the methodology of R. Barth's semiotic analysis. The study is also based on J. Baudrillard's theory of semiosis in hyperreality and three orders of simulacra. The author sees the philosophical justification of the art of neural networks in the concept of flat ontologies. The study of the semiotic structure of design allows us to see that the logic of design development carries this phenomenon through successive stages of semiosis associated with a decrease in meaning and a diminution of being. In its development, the design consistently uses first index signs, a second-order simulacrum, then a third-order simulacrum as the main sign form. Nowadays, the main iconic form in design has become a fourth-order simulacrum. Next, design had to either end as a profession and phenomenon, or move into a new cultural paradigm that was not related to simulation. However, unexpected transformations have begun to occur in design, due to the active involvement of non–human agents - neural networks – in the creation of visual content. Neural network products are a typical example of a third-order simulacrum. Thanks to the use of neural networks, modern design finally acquires the vector of transhumanism and closes in simulation.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2024.1.69643

Abstract: The object of this research is the organization of visual culture in a vertically oriented paradigm. The subject of the study is the eidetic hierarchy as the basis for the organization of the visual environment in a vertically oriented paradigm. The purpose of this study is to explicate the eidic hierarchy as the basis of aesthetic representations in a vertically oriented paradigm. Modern culture has come to full aesthetic relativism under the influence of modernism. Today, everything is acceptable in art, so artists and designers are actively being forced out of the profession by neural networks. Neural networks are the product of a horizontally oriented culture in which any objects are recognized as equally valuable, since there is no appeal to the super-object. Therefore, today it becomes relevant to shift the focus of research attention to the opposite organization of culture – vertically oriented, recognizing transcendent reality. Such a culture should have clear criteria of art, determined by the eidic hierarchy. In distinguishing the vertically oriented paradigm, the author relies on A. G. Dugin. The author's main method is semiotic analysis, which makes it possible to see the transcendent signified in culture. The author also relies on Plato's teaching about the eidetic hierarchy of being. The main conclusion of the study is that in the vertical oriented paradigm there is a clear aesthetic hierarchy, which is absent in culture today due to its horizontal orientation. The vertically oriented paradigm is associated with the idea of the eidic hierarchy of being. The canon, which has been developing for centuries, has been a tool for depicting the eidic forms of things, not phenomena, but noumens. Reorientation to the presence of a super-object can be an opportunity to preserve the profession of an artist and art itself from aesthetic relativism.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2023.12.68776

Abstract: The object of the study is modern design as a cultural phenomenon. The subject of the study is design as a metalanguage of the modern information space – hyperreality. The relevance of the research is determined by the globalization of communication, characteristic of the modern socio–cultural situation: today communication takes place in hyperreality, which makes national languages a special case of communication - the whole world begins to communicate in a metalanguage understandable anywhere in the world, and today design becomes such a universal language. The novelty of the research is due to the very formulation of the question: until now, design has not been considered as a metalanguage of hyperreality. In addition, the study reveals the problems of modern design associated with the modern stage of its functioning in hyperreality.The purpose of the study is to show that in the conditions of globalized hyperreality, design becomes a metalanguage, a semiotic system built on top of the semiotic system, which is the modern information and communication space. The main method of research is the semiotic analysis of the design environment. The research is mainly based on the material of modern flat design, which is the most representative form of the existence of design at the present time. The main conclusions of the study: the socio-cultural environment of modern man is hyperreality. Hyperreality is a metalanguage in relation to primary reality. But hyperreality itself uses a metalanguage as the main language, this metalanguage is design. Design builds a system of images and connotations over the world of things, thus creating a metalanguage, or semiotic system of design. Modern design uses simulacra signs as the main sign form, since hyperreality in its development tends to distance itself from the primary reality, and develops its syntactic and paradigmatic structure, which is fundamentally different from the primary reality. The uniqueness of design as a metalanguage lies in the use of simulacra, signs that are fundamentally not expressive, not adapted for adequate transmission of information.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2023.11.33573

Abstract: The object of the study is culture in terms of its aesthetic component (art and design). The subject of the study is design as a cultural phenomenon. The author suggests that design from a philosophical point of view contains meanings that are not described by the traditional number of aesthetic categories. The author demarcates the categories "design" with the categories "art" and "aesthetic", consistently identifying differences in the following parameters: 1. functional difference; 2. difference of origin; 3. semiotic difference. Having distinguished the design category from the art category, the author reveals the specific semiurgical essence of the design category. Semiurgic design is associated with projective activity, that is, the activity of creating new signs. Design is associated with the design of secondary reality and the gradual doubling of the world. The main conclusion of the study is an attempt to derive the formula of the philosophical content of the category "design". The philosophical category "design" is associated with the aesthetic organization of secondary reality and is characterized by projectivity (orientation to innovation), transitivity (orientation to real application), functionality (orientation to optimal application), immanence (lack of connections with the transcendent) and semiurgicity – the function of creating new signs. The semiurgic nature of design lies in the constant reproduction of itself, since the discourse of design "new" becomes synonymous with design and loses the meaning of the dialectical negation of "old". The design is associated with the symbolic doubling of the world. Moreover, this doubling does not increase the meaning and value of being, but, on the contrary, enhances the illusory nature of being, since design, unlike art, is not associated with pointing to a transcendent reality.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2023.10.44134

Abstract: The object of this research is design as a cultural phenomenon and its historical formation. The subject of the study is the modernist design episteme, which began its formation in the paradigm of modernity. The purpose of the study is to show that in the modernist project, the development of design as a cultural phenomenon was not rigidly determined, and could have taken a different path. However, the historical choice was made in favor of American functionalism and European international design. International design creates a subject and information environment that is suitable for any country, regardless of the cultural context. This design meets the goals of globalization. At the same time, the essence of design also allows for such applications as the aestheticization of reality and the preservation of cultural identity. The main conclusion of the study is that the historical development of the design phenomenon could have taken a different path. The current state of design is determined by the vector of globalization, which was set during the transition from to modernism. This vector is the result of a choice in favor of functionalism, a style that meets the ideology of globalization, the transformation of society into a homogeneous consumer environment. It was during the Art Nouveau period that the genesis of design could have taken a different path, since Art Nouveau was originally a project of aestheticization and spiritualization of the subject environment, however, history has developed so that design has chosen a vector of development associated with functionalism. The scientific novelty of the study is connected with this conclusion, since so far the history of design has been interpreted unambiguously, from the standpoint of the advantages of international style and functionalism. While the phenomenon of design is broader, and may include the possibility of preserving cultural identity, which was discussed in the modern era.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2023.7.43587

Abstract: The object of this research is design as a semiotic embodiment of the modern worldview, the quintessence of which are flat ontologies. The subject of the study is parallelism in the philosophy of flat ontologies and modern flat design. The purpose of this study is to explicate the philosophical problem of modern design, which is a consequence of the unconscious expression by designers of the philosophy of flat ontologies. The philosophy of flat ontologies struggles with anthropocentrism, insisting that a person should not have a privileged ontological status compared to other objects. In the philosophy of flat ontologies, a machine or a neural network are agents of action in the same way as a person. Modern flat design is an expression of this position, since the modern visual information environment is less and less adapted to human organs of perception, more and more transhumanistic. Both flat design and flat ontologies are a consequence of the horizontally oriented, materialistic line of philosophy, which forms the worldview of modern society. Thanks to the explication of the problem of flat design, it can be understood that the horizontally oriented line of philosophy is problematic for the further existence of man. The main conclusion of the study is that the horizontally oriented line in philosophy – materialism and positivism – in their logical development lead to the philosophy of flat ontologies, which postulates the same ontological status for human and non-human agents. Such a position is antihuman and transhumanistic, and this becomes evident in the philosophical analysis of modern design. The main stylistics of modern design is a flat design, which uses fourth-order simulacra as the main type of signs. The use of simulacrum signs in design creates an environment that is increasingly less adapted to human organs of perception, a transhumanistic environment.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2023.3.39042

Abstract: The subject of the study is a design episteme - a system of logical connections and ways of forming concepts within a semiotic design system. The design episteme is considered in dynamics: currently, a logical impasse is being outlined in design, inspired by the ideology of modernism. The ideology of modernism in its logical development leads the semiotic system of design to the use of signs-simulacra, which, in turn, leads to the practice of design to the end. The way out of this situation may be a turn in the development of the design episteme to a fundamentally different pole of thinking. The author uses the method of semiotic analysis, which allows to identify the main type of signs that is used in the modern design episteme. In addition, the methodological basis of the study is Plato's concept of the world of ideas as applied to modern design. Examples of aesthetic relativism in modern design are given as the body of the material, these examples explicate the defocusing of the design episteme. The main conclusion of the study is that the modern design episteme is in a logical impasse due to the use of a fourth-order simulacrum as the main sign form. A fourth–order simulacrum is a sign that not only does not refer to an internal referent, but also whose external form tends to zero. Such a sign does not imply the existence of design as a principle of organization and design of the interaction of the signifier and the signified in the sign. The design episteme, which does not imply design, is in a state of defocusing. The way to reassemble the design episteme is to switch to a different paradigm. From the materialistic and horizontally oriented paradigm of modernism, the design episteme should move into a vertically oriented paradigm. The basis for building thinking in the field of design in a vertically oriented system is Plato's concept of the world of ideas.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2019.8.30549

Abstract: The subject of the research is transformations of color perception and color environment caused by the influence of current epistem. The research hypothesis is that changes in the deeper structures of cogitation affect perception and use of color and consequently design. Design is viewed by modernists as a social practice and cultural phenomenon which determines the main difference of color and its functions as a sign in pre-design and modern worls. In her research Pankratova has used the method of knowledge archeology offered by Michel Fouñault. Being applied to design, this method implies analysis of structural elements of the design discourse, color being one of such elements.  The main conclusion of the research is that modern designers use color as a simulacrum sign. Presently, there are three basic characteristics of color whichi are color shade, intensity and lightness that describe color as something flat or part of the material world. The pre-design paradigm perceives color as eidos or part of the transcendental world. The main characteristics of color eidos are three-dimensionality, transparency, shine and analogousness. The main distinguished feature of color in the pre-design world is additional dimension. Today color is viewed and used in design as a two-dimensional surface that do not refer to any other referent. When choosing particular color, modern designers take functionality as guide and their choice of color is rather accidental. 

DOI: 10.7256/2310-8673.2018.3.27197

Abstract:   The subject of this research is the ideological transformation of the phenomenon of design. The hypothesis lies in the fact that the ideology of modernism, which still prevails in design, does not meet the sociocultural conditions of modernity. The design of modernism is addressed to the averaged consumer and does not consider the age, gender, ethnic and other peculiarities of a human. The author explicates the internal contradiction of modernism and demonstrates the danger of identifying modernism with design: no target orientation and internationality, declared as a goal of design in modernism, make modern not adjusted to a specific human being. Based on comparison of color arrangement of the environment of the three main periods in the history of design – modern, modernism, and postmodern – the author demonstrates the changes in ideology of design related to the peculiarities of episteme. The article reveals the problems of the modern design environment that inherits the principles of modernism. The main conclusion lies in the need for shifting towards the new paradigm design – the era of techno-vitalism, when on the background of the increasing technological progress emerges the inquiry for return of the panhuman meanings and values. Design of the era of techno-vitalism, which unlike modernism, supports the transcendent concepts, will become the service for creating the individualized objective-spatial and visual-information environment.