Style over Substance?

Artemis Yagou

Artemis Yagou MHMK Macromedia University for Media and Communication, Munich

Keywords: Design Reception, Emotions, Greece, Italy, Style

Abstract

Transnational exchanges and influences are crucial in understanding design; this essay focuses specifically on the reception of Italian design in Greece. Italian design has had a steady and powerful influence on Greek design in the post-war period. In particular, the sensorial and emotional aspects of Italian design have been highly valued and exploited for commercial purposes.
However, this paper argues that the reception of Italian design in Greece has been one-sided and superficial. Emotional aspects of Italian design have held a privileged and perhaps excessive role, while parameters of production, manufacturing quality and long-term strategy have been neglected or ignored. This situation may be treated as a missed opportunity for Greek design to learn and benefit from the Italian design scene.

Design reception, Emotions, Greece, Italy, Style

Author Biography

Artemis Yagou, MHMK Macromedia University for Media and Communication, Munich

She is a Greek design historian and teacher, based in Munich, Germany. She lectures for MHMK Macromedia University for Media and Communication and for Globe Business College (both in Munich).
Her book Fragile Innovation: Episodes in Greek Design History explores Greek modernisation from a design history perspective. Her research focuses primarily on the uses of nationalism in design, on design education, on the history of dress, and on design in the context of the history of technology.
She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of «The Design Journal».

Style over Substance?

The Reception of Italian Design in Greece

Abstract

Author Biography