1968 “WHAT IS GOOD DESIGN” Filmstrip designed and made by DFW

Having taken on the Chair of the Design Council’s Promotion and Education Committee around 1961 I tried to promote design within schools and found there was virtually nothing that really told the story of “What is good design?” Good design (if it was mentioned at all in the Art curriculum) was still regarded as the visual aspects of an object with no mention of its functional characteristics or use of materials – they were not art concepts – I doubt if the curriculum has changed.

So I sat down, worked out a Good Design Theory and script based on drawings I had made, took the photographs, made a Teacher’s Commentary and published it. The rights were bought by the NSW Dept. of Education and that is the last I heard of it. I still have a copy of the filmstrip in my collection but it is hard to file in the usual way. It would still be relevant to today’s theory of design if updated to bring in the element of sustainability and recycling which became an issue in the following decades – but are not regarded as Art matters. Neither are they solely Technology matters – Design sits between !