Abstract: The research is devoted to the issue of changing the understanding of design and its current state. Although design originated in the West, today the East is beginning to play an increasingly important role in its development. As a product of modernist culture, design initially followed the principle of "form follows function", but after a "semantic turn" it began to be understood as meaning-making, and form followed meaning. However, today the understanding of meanings only through the prism of "language" has exhausted itself, the understanding today is that design not only intellectually generated meanings, but also senses–sensations, therefore Western design theorists and practitioners began to look for alternative ways of developing design, which turned out to be consonant with the path that is being followed in the East today. The purpose of the article is to summarize some of the results of the alternative "linguistic" understanding of design in the West and in the East. The subject of the study is the change in the ways of meaning formation in modern design. Research methods used in the article are:
- methods of synchronous and asynchronous analysis, that allowed us to analyze transformations in the understanding of design, both historical and regional;
- the method of generalization, including comparative analysis, allows to understand the difference in approaches to design and shaping in different regions. The article presents modern design as a multicultural process, where different regions contribute to the general "theory" of design. However, the current eastern way of design is heterogeneous. Here we can highlight the Japanese vision of design – the "meditative approach", which involves reflection of sensations, reliance on personal experience, as well as the Chinese vision of design that is just taking shape today. We see China's potential contribution to the development of design in the inclusion of "embodied mind" in the design process, when the correctness of the chosen solution is determined not only by speculative calculations, but "resonates" with the feelings of the designer and the customer, as well as in the concept of "living form", when not only compositional or functional connections between elements are seen, but also the coherence of their movements. The Chinese approach can be called "vitalizing".

Abstract: In her research Tretyakova compares two similar yet different aesthetic categories that have got widespread use in the culture of consumption: Western brave Glamour and Japanese grotesque Kawaii. The aim of the research is to outline differences in these categories that are caused by their regional specifics. Such comparative analysis allows to define national specifics of Russian design in terms of the culture of consumption. Aesthetics of both Glamour and Kawaii have got an advertising component: glamour is a simulacrum of beauty that presents the charm of luxury, ideal appearance, and success, and contemporary Kawaii is a simulacrum of 'cuteness' that presents the charm of love and tenderness and imperfect or immature beauty. Both aesthetics have similar functions in contemporary culture of consumption as the basis of advertising myths about attractiveness. While glamourization is more typical for the West, Japan is more appealing to Kawaii. This is caused by cross-cultural differences. The research is based on the analysis of a famous essay In Praise of Shadows written by a Japanese writer Jun'ichiro Tanizaki (1886–1965) in 1934 where he called Western aesthetics as 'aesthetics of light' and Japanese aesthetics as 'aesthetics of shadow'. Using shine and brilliance as the most important expressive means, glamour presents the Western 'aesthetics of light'. Contemporary aesthetics of Kawaii relates to the traditional Japanese 'aesthetics of shadow' and, first of all, to the category of iki that unites a challenge and submission, luxury and mildness. In aesthetics of Kawaii sumbission presents child-like proportions, faintness and etc. which can verge on challenge. 

Abstract: Although there are many researches concerning the Beauty, as known in Europe as well as Russia aesthetic categories are traditionally abstract and consequently not applicable in practical use for example in design. Therefore, the author of this research offers to find concrete categories of traditional aesthetics and then incarnate it in objects. As an example of this approach, he takes a work of Japanese philosopher Shuzo Kuki (1888–1941) “The Structure of Iki [Beauty]” and basing on it, he offers concrete incarnation of such Russian aesthetics category as Toska [Melancholy]. Using interpretation of Toska by Nikolay Berdyaev (1874–1948) the author formulates “Structure of Toska” and extends Toska to arts defining melancholic beauty of Toska in ornaments and colors. The author concludes that melancholic beauty of Toska in our culture is connected not only with the visible void but also with an ornament, which expresses our spiritual aspirations and therefore becomes an essential part of the Beauty in Russia.