Color transformation as a way to escape from the transhumanism of the design environment

Pankratova Aleksandra Vladimirovna PhD in Philosophy Associate professor, Department of Design, National Research University “Moscow Power Engineering Institute” 111250, Russia, Moskovskaya oblast', g. Moscow, ul. Krasnokazarmennaya, 13 S, kab. 605 sashaoscar@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

This research is closely related to the study of design as a cultural phenomenon and the transformations that occur with the modern design environment.

This research was carried out at the expense of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation No. 22-18-00407, https://rscf.ru/project/22-18-00407 /. The project is related to the research of the color environment in the educational space and in the space of cities: the development of scientific foundations for the formation of the color environment of the modern educational space, as well as the adjustment of the color environment intended for the elderly. Along with the fundamental aspects, the project explored the scientific foundations of the formation of the color environment of the modern educational space. If the study of the phenomenology of the existence of color in the landscape reveals professional and cross-cultural features of color perception, then the focus on the artificially colored environment, which is graphic design, allows you to see the general cultural ideological and ideological shifts that occur in modern culture. This study focuses specifically on this part of the color research problem.: how does modern design reflect the vector of transhumanism in culture and what ways can design as a cultural phenomenon get out of this transhumanistic impasse.

The article is also part of a broader study of design as a cultural phenomenon, which sets out in more detail the reasons why modern design has come to the vector of transhumanism.

The modern design environment acquires the features of transhumanism: design no longer performs its main functions of helping the user interact with the object world and the world of information, but on the contrary, complicates this interaction. Modern design is increasingly focused on artificial intelligence, assuming it to be the main agent of communication, and ceases to relate to human organs of perception. If earlier, in the design of Internet content in the early 2000s, there was a clear system for highlighting hyperlinks, button design, transitions, differentiation and systematization of information, today almost all Internet resources have switched to a minimalistic design, weakened contrasts, small print. It is more difficult for a user to interact with the information environment today, since it is not adapted to human perception, which needs contrasts, composition, and grouping of elements. The same trend can be read in interior design. For example, in shopping malls navigation is not obvious, the recipient is lost in a monotonous environment, the room system is not subject to logic, but rather resembles a rhizome in its structure. If earlier design, following the laws of composition and color harmony, focused on the organs of human perception, today the opposite trend has emerged in design. The design does not take into account the peculiarities of human perception: contrasts, decorativeness, labeling and grouping of elements are disappearing, they are increasingly being replaced by a monotonous white background and inexpressive layout of content without any decorativeness. That is, the design focuses not on the perception of a living person, but on machine perception. Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used today instead of a living designer, but if a living designer could appeal to the logic and aesthetic perception of a person, then artificial intelligence does not appeal to anyone, it simply produces content in which there is no semantic selection. For example, the artificial designer of A. Lebedev's studio, the neural network of Ironov, produces a huge number of logos, but they all do not contain an idea, meaning, but are a set of information noise.

The most important factor in humanizing a design is color. Currently, color has almost completely disappeared from design, both from the virtual and from the subject environment. Color is an essential element of human perception of the world. Color-coding of reality is necessary for a person, but a machine does not need it. Today, all major Internet resources are abandoning color in favor of the most concise, colorless type of pages. It is quite difficult for human eyes to perceive such an environment, but designers still copy each other's minimalistic solution, arguing that it is relevant and modern. But this "modernity" of design is determined by the general vector of transhumanism of modern culture, and design is only the most striking marker of this trend.

In this study, the possibilities of returning design to its direct functions – identification and navigation – were identified using the color transformation of the design environment.

The purpose of this study is to explicate the possibilities of color transformation of the modern design environment. Today, the design environment is almost completely devoid of color, which is one of the markers of transhumanism in modern design. This situation can be changed in simple ways, and one of these means may be color transformation.

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that serious transformations related to transhumanism are currently taking place in culture. There is a possibility that the entire culture may be reoriented from humans to non-human communication agents. Already today, the trend is being comprehended due to the fact that machines communicate with each other, excluding humans from communication ^[1]. Proponents of the philosophy of flat ontologies (Jan Bogost, T. Morton, A. S. Vertushinsky) give a theoretical and ideological justification for transhumanism, arguing that the ontological status of a person is no higher than the ontological status of artificial intelligence and other inanimate objects ^[2]. T. Morton, a proponent of the ecological line in philosophy, argues that a person is not obligatory at all There is a creature on the planet, and the destruction of humanity can even be a positive phenomenon for the planet ^[3]. These ideological trends find their direct expression in modern design: modern design increasingly acquires features and properties that are not adapted to human organs of perception. It is especially difficult for representatives of the older generation to interact with the modern design environment, since modern design is simply not designed for deteriorating eyesight and for normal, habitual communication.

Therefore, the study of transhumanistic trends in design is important for understanding modern culture as a whole. And an attempt to find ways to overcome the vector of transhumanism by transforming the color environment seems promising for preserving the design phenomenon itself in culture.

Theoretical foundations of the study

Modern design is an expression of the philosophy of flat ontologies. In this sense, representatives of this trend in philosophical thought can also be named among the theoretical foundations of this study: Jan Bogost, T. Morton, A. S. Vertushinsky. Modern flat design is modernism brought to its logical conclusion – the stylistic period of the early twentieth century, when a design episteme, a system of thinking within design was formed, and the main features of good design were identified – minimalism, internationality. Also, in previous works, we have shown that the modern color environment of modern design mainly uses simulacra signs - the most inexpressive signs, devoid of both content and, in most cases, form. Speaking about simulacra and simulation, we rely on the work of J. Baudrillard ^{[4, 5]}.

Research material and method

The research method is a semiotic analysis of the modern design environment. The research material was the work of students of the Design Department of the National Research University "Moscow Power Engineering Institute", completed in the autumn semester of 2024. Students of the Graphic Design profile were given a task on the color adaptation of the educational environment. Based on the students' design decisions, conclusions were drawn about the possibilities of color transformation of the modern information and subject environment by means of design.

In this article, the research focuses on a very specific part of the design environment: the graphic design of educational institutions: identity, navigation system, Internet content. In the natural human environment, where there is also a place for design, there are a large number of non-design factors: lighting, human activity, aging of materials, various connotators. Therefore, the design fits more organically into the natural environment. In this sense, the artificial virtual environment, hyperreality, is more representative of the study of design as a cultural phenomenon. The digital environment very specifically expresses the trends and transformations that occur with design under the influence of deeper ideological shifts taking place in society.

At the same time, the design environment of educational institutions is the most representative, since it is such an environment that should build a particularly friendly and user-friendly interface for user interaction with content. It is in the educational environment that it is especially evident that today design does not solve its main tasks.

In addition, it is the chosen body of material that is very well suited for the experiment that is offered to students: to perform a color adaptation of the design environment, given that the current situation does not meet the minimum requirements of human perception. At the same time, the result was not so much a well-executed design, as an explication of those common points, the paths that all designers took to improve the color environment.

Discussion and analysis

Modern design emerged as a special system of thinking and establishing logical relationships in the period of modernism. Now it can be argued that there is a specific design episteme that developed in the 1920s: modern designers reason in the same way as their colleagues from VKhUTEMAS and Bauhaus ^[6,7]. It was during the period of modernism that the first design schools were created, the principles of teaching design were developed, in other words, the foundation for the thought process in design was laid.

The main idea of modernist design was the desire for internationalization, the essence of which was expressed by the famous motto of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: "less design– more design." Proponents of this approach sought to eliminate social inequality through the unification of the habitat. They believed that creating equally comfortable living conditions for all would lead to equality, to overcoming social contradictions.

To achieve this goal, it was proposed to abandon the heritage of the past, national traditions and cultural characteristics in favor of simplified geometric shapes and neutral surfaces. Designers sacrificed uniqueness for the sake of creating a universal habitat. V. Benjamin, noting the growing interest in standardization and the desire to turn unique phenomena into something homogeneous, wrote about "squeezing uniformity" out of unique phenomena ^{[8, p. 293]}. P. Virillo notes a break with all varieties of logocentrism ^{[9, p. 48]}. After all, logocentrism presupposes the principle of hierarchy, including aesthetic hierarchy. Aesthetics, in principle, were abandoned, replacing the "aesthetic feature of the composition with a production feature of the design" ^{[10, p. 93]}. The rejection of the principle of hierarchy is important for the art and design of modernism: this is the only way to achieve true internationality. M. Herman, exploring modernism, writes that the rapprochement of Russian culture with Western culture was only part of the global integration process ^{[6, p. 30]}.

If we discard all national, cultural, gender, ideological and taste differences, then the only thing that all people have in common is the desire for comfort, cleanliness and hygiene. "Hygiene, cleanliness and comfort are common values above national values" ^{[11, p. 427]}. Describing the ideology of the Bauhaus, F. Whitford writes that the teachers of the Bauhaus and VKhUTEMAS even subordinated their appearance to modernist laconism and wore something similar to work overalls or monastic robes ^{[7, p. 129]}. Therefore, cleanliness, simplicity, laconism, minimalism have become the basis of design and are considered a boon by default, both a hundred years ago and today.

Postmodernism was a brief phase of resistance to modernism. Designers of the 1960s and 1980s tried to combat the monotony of modernism by adding game elements, quotes, irony, decorative motifs and even cultural and national references and reminiscences to their works. Nevertheless, postmodernism turned out to be just a continuation and development of the logic of modernism, since it did not set itself the task of overcoming the fundamental principles of the latter – the positivist materialist paradigm. In a way, it is postmodern design that has achieved true internationality, since any cultural differences are erased by the ideology of consumption. It is in postmodernism that the tendencies of "erasure of personality" are especially evident ^{[12, p. 197]}, the suppression of one's own individual preferences in favor of universal consumption.

Today it is obvious that international design serves as a tool of globalization. Designers are involved in world politics, in the struggle between the ideologies of nation states and global corporations. The creation of a unified simplified design environment around the world is beneficial to those forces that support the ideas of globalism.

International design fits into a number of other major social changes of our time – the democratization of public consciousness, consumer culture, the liberalization of values and a departure from the spiritual aspects of culture.

Therefore, modern design, having passed the stage of postmodern experiments, turned again to the direct principles of modernism, as they better correspond to the goals of globalization. Today, design in all areas strives for minimalism, simplification and democracy. Modern design, more than ever before, follows the principle of "less is more".

This is the most important practical problem of modern design. Striving to simplify and create absolutely identical products for everyone, modern design ceases to take into account the basic requirements of ergonomics and human perception, ignores the individual needs of people related to gender, age and nationality. Today, design offers everyone the same product, not only not focusing on the difference in tastes, but not even taking into account the difference in health, age and gender characteristics.

The entire virtual space, what can be called hyperreality, is gradually turning into a plane devoid of any color, compositional or spatial characteristics.

The most noticeable characteristic showing the described trend is the color content of the design environment, more precisely, the almost complete absence of color in modern design. Designers use, at best, soft, featureless shades, but more often they abandon color altogether. Fonts are selected small and non-contrasting, and are not highlighted in color. Hyperlinks and transitions are not marked in any way. Any Internet resources today have abandoned colored backgrounds, a white background reigns everywhere. Navigation icons are becoming less noticeable, linear, and colorless. The newest trend is emoticon sets, devoid of color and reduced to simplified lines.

The same trend can be traced in the subject environment – in interiors, public spaces. Navigation systems are becoming less visible and expressive, and the spaces themselves are complexly organized, devoid of logical structure and hierarchy, more like a rhizome. The color environment of fashionable interiors approaches the achromatic scale, and all repeat the same featureless solutions one after another.

Although designers consider such solutions to be modern and relevant, such an environment becomes extremely uncomfortable, especially for the elderly. The human eye needs contrasts, and small elements, even if elegant in terms of design, cause discomfort after a certain age. If more recently M. McLuhan could say that technologies take over the functions of our eyes and become external extensions of a person ^{[13, p. 97]}, today technologies interfere with our organs of perception, do not expand our capabilities, but narrow, which contradicts the obvious functions of technology.

Today, the design has reached an absolute minimum, has reached its limit. This limit passes into a qualitatively new state, following the laws of dialectics. The design changes its functions, or more precisely, ceases to perform its original functions.

The initial function of the design was to identify objects and help users navigate the environment. Now these functions are not only not performed, but also replaced by the opposite ones. Instead of highlighting objects, the design hides them, and instead of helping with navigation, it makes it difficult. The design does not distinguish the object from the background of others, does not give it individuality, but on the contrary, hides the object in a homogeneous mass of the same.

Thus, having reached the limit of minimalism and internationality, design as a cultural phenomenon has turned into its own opposite.

Design has always been the practice of solving "surface problems" ^{[14, p. 15]}. Speaking about the metaphysical essence of design, G. N. Lola calls it a "boundary phenomenon" ^[15]. Design has always been on the borderline between the world of things and the world of meanings, organizing user interaction with the environment. But today it can be stated that design has retreated from its borders, left its metaphysical post, and now there is no intermediary between man and the environment in the person of design. A person is faced with hyperreality without the ability to adapt to its chaos, because design is no longer engaged in organizing this environment. This situation can be conditionally called a "design dead end".

Perhaps if design persists as a cultural phenomenon, it will have to go beyond the current state and find new forms of expression.

The presence of high-quality design is manifested in the fact that the user feels comfortable and enjoys interacting with surrounding objects. Such an environment should be intuitive, non-confusing, and aesthetically pleasing. The main purpose of design is to facilitate the perception of information and interaction with the outside world, while improving the aesthetics of reality, making reality more beautiful. These initial functions formed the basis of design as a cultural phenomenon, and, perhaps, in order for it to continue to exist, it needs to return to these principles.

The problems of modern design are especially pronounced in those areas where it should provide support, such as interaction with the elderly or schoolchildren and students, that is, when creating a gerontological and educational environment.

It is difficult for older people to cope with the modern environment, which often does not take into account the peculiarities of their senses, whether it is visual impairment, headaches or complete loss of vision. Despite the declared inclusivity, the modern design environment practically does not meet these criteria. For example, there are no smartphones or mobile phones specifically designed for blind people.

The problems of modern design are also acutely felt in the educational environment. Where design is intended to facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge by young people and simplify their daily lives, it often turns out to be ineffective. Moreover, modern design does not even try to decorate educational spaces, neglecting its aesthetic functions. Meanwhile, using design tools, it would be possible to draw the attention of young people to important aspects of education, emphasizing key points and creating an atmosphere stimulating creative thinking.

To find theoretical and practical solutions to current problems of modern design, the Design Department of the National Research University "Moscow Power Engineering Institute" has launched a project on color adaptation of the educational environment. Students specializing in graphic design have chosen various objects of the educational environment, including the corporate identity of the university, departments, colleges and the visual appearance of educational institutions. Their task was to develop design solutions for color adaptation and redesign of existing educational spaces, taking into account the perception of both students and teachers. The students chose to analyze the visual content of various educational institutions. The analysis of the corpus of material led all students to approximately the same conclusion: graphic design is not expressive, does not attract the attention of students, does not help in adapting to an educational institution. This analysis was the first step for students when implementing projects to redesign the visual environment for an educational institution.

Results

The students completed projects on the color adaptation of the educational environment of various institutions. Since students of the Graphic Design profile took part in the project, the color adaptation mainly concerned the information environment – identity, design of Internet resources and social networks and the visual communication system inside the building. Among the projects were the redesign of corporate identity and Internet resources for the NRU "MEI", for the College of Architecture, Design and Reengineering No. 26" (GBPOU "26 FRAME"), for the Technological College No. 21 (faculty of "Megadesign"), the Moscow State College of Electromechanics and Information Technology (MGKEIT) and a number of other educational institutions institutions.

During the semiotic analysis of the existing color environment of educational institutions, the following natural features were identified.

1. White background, no colored accents and dies.

2. Small fonts, lack of labeling of important elements.

3. The lack of illustrations and a relatively small number of photographic materials.

4. As the first three points show, the signifiers in the design signs are kept to a minimum. From a semiotic point of view, designers mainly use index signs, schematic signs that reduce expressiveness.

5. In addition to index signs, which sparingly convey basic information, simulacra signs are used - completely devoid of content, empty information, not only having no serious internal content, but also not decorated with an interesting external form.

6. If, in rare cases, a color is used, it happens by accident, the color does not carry information, it is part of a simulacrum sign.

Such a color environment does not facilitate user-friendly interaction with the outside world, both informational and substantive. The design does not help the user, does not decorate, and is often practically absent.

Despite the differences in the initial conditions of projects related to the peculiarities of various educational institutions and areas of graphic design chosen by each student, approaches to solving the problem were based on similar principles. Perhaps the way out of the "design impasse" will follow similar directions.

In all projects, the color adaptation included the following changes:

1. Increasing the brightness of colors and cleaning them.

2. Increase the color saturation.

3. Introduction of colored backgrounds and bright elements.

4. The use of color contrasts and aestheticized shades.

5. The use of spectacular color combinations.

6. The introduction of large color spots to improve navigation.

7. The inclusion of color graphics and images based on the use of color.

This transformation of the color component of the design environment is aimed at making it easier for users to interact with the information space, both in the subject world and on the website of an educational institution. Convenient interaction with the environment, clear navigation relieves stress, calms down. Users will experience less irritation, less visual tension. Moreover, the proposed redesign in all cases is not expensive, the design costs the same, regardless of whether the color is used in it or not.

Conclusions

Thus, the first step to breaking the "design deadlock" is to adapt the design environment in color. This adaptation involves the return of color to the design through the use of backgrounds, contrasts, nuances, gradients, interesting combinations, increasing brightness and saturation.

Color plays a key role in the perception of the surrounding world, its complexity and diversity. The design of the modernist era sought to simplify the world to a monotonous, dim environment, striving for complete homogenization and indistinguishability, which actually brought it closer to a state of non-existence. The same thing happened with design, which in the process of development began to deny its own foundations.

Modern design reflects the vector of transhumanism, which is clearly manifested in modern culture. According to A. Lebedev, "digital discredits consciousness and gives rise to robotization" ^{[16, p. 367]}. Gradually, the digital environment ceases to focus on humans and their perceptual organs and adapts to the use of non–human communication agents - machines, artificial intelligence. The process takes place gradually, almost in accordance with how D. Chalmers described the fading qualia ^{[17, pp. 316-320]}. In D. Chalmers's thought experiment, living cells of the human brain are gradually replaced by chips, which leads to a gradual weakening of the perception of the brightness of colors. If the fully human brain sees red, but the more living tissue is replaced with chips, the less vivid the color will be perceived. The perception of color gradually fades, fades, along with the fading of self-awareness. If D. Chalmers's experiment is theoretical in nature and is intended to show what qualia is, then the practice of modern design clearly illustrates this process, showing how design gradually reorients from human perception to absent perception when working with a machine. The color, accents, everything that human eyes need disappears, but so does the design itself, since the machine does not need decorative information.

The revival of design will be associated, first of all, with the return of color, with the creation of an environment reflecting the vivid diversity of the real world and at the same time using subtle color combinations. Y. Kristeva spoke about the revival as "the best way to go against the massive depersonalization and automation of bodies and minds" ^{[18, p. 54]}. Modernists sought to turn color into a plane and reduce it to zero. Perhaps designers will again pay attention to the importance of color harmony in the perception of the environment ^[19]. The design of the future is likely to re-create a color space that actively interacts with human perception.

Thus, the color transformation of the design environment, due to the need to move away from the vector of transhumanism, may be associated with an increase in brightness, color contrast, with the return of colored backgrounds and decorativeness to the design.