Abstract: Even in the 1980s, both Western and domestic design theorists noted a "semantic shift" in design, that is, a transition from issues of form-making to issues of meaning-making. Simultaneously, interest in the phenomenological understanding of things at the level of the senses began to grow. However, in domestic design literature, for various reasons, the theme of "meanings-sensations" has largely remained unexplored. Today, East Asian design theorists consider embodied sense-making as inherently aligned with their regional aesthetic tradition, linking it to the identity of East Asian design, whereas in domestic project science there is not even a terminological framework for discussing this topic. Therefore, the aim of this research is to problematize embodied sense-making in design. Relying on the semantic structure of the thing proposed by the director of the Japan Industrial Designers Association (JIDA) Murata Chiaki in 2017, the authors of the article reveal the Japanese understanding of embodied sense-making in design. The methodological basis of the research consists of methods for problem setting, cultural interpretation, commentary, and a comparative method with elements of comparison studies. In the course of the research, the authors reveal the cultural subtext contained in the semantic levels of the thing identified by Murata Chiaki. Thus, according to the authors, the "corporeality" of the thing suggests its perception not just through the five senses but through the entire body of a person. At the same time, the thing is perceived by a person as "void", as an "energetic concentration", and, therefore, as open to merging with the person's "self". In turn, the "sociality" of the thing suggests not only that the thing serves as an indicator of the social status of its owner but also that it connects all who have touched it: in the context of Japanese tradition, this refers to "energetic connection". Essentially, Murata Chiaki develops a "new phenomenology" in the spirit of the 20th-century Japanese philosopher Yuasa Yasuo, who sees the main difference between Western and Eastern perceptions of the world in that in the East, people turn to the "unconscious quasi-body" formed by the meridians of acupuncture medicine, while in the West, they turn to the unconscious located solely in the human brain.

Abstract: The article is dedicated to understanding the regional specificity of contemporary Chinese design. Although regional Chinese design is still taking shape, interest in it in our country is growing due to the strengthening economic ties between Russia and China. Due to the "Chinese economic miracle" from 1978 to 2019, interest in "Chinese design" is also observed in foreign countries, which has led to an increasing number of international publications in English each year that focus on defining the specifics of Chinese design. The works of Chinese theorists and practitioners of design, who question what it means to design "in a Chinese manner" and how to adequately represent China on the international stage, are being translated into English. The aim of the research is to determine the emerging semantic core of contemporary Chinese design that determines its regional identity. Since the authors consider regional identity in the context of forming the international image of the state, they rely on a research method initially used in territorial branding—the method of defining a "cloud" of "key words" that reflect the specifics of the design thinking of Chinese designers and characterize the "overall feeling" of "Chinese design". During the research, the authors identify the following "key words" that characterize contemporary Chinese design: adaptability and diversity, naturalness, connection to tradition. The adaptability of Chinese design, according to the authors, implies the contextuality of the design goal and corresponds more to intuitive than rational searches for fundamentally diverse design solutions. Since naturalness is traditionally understood by the Chinese through the "metamorphoses of things", their transition into their own opposites, contemporary Chinese design is characterized by the logic of "transformation" and the vision of "one within another", as well as a desire to create a "living form", or "silo-form", characterized by curvature and internal dynamics. As for the connection to tradition, in China today, it is realized either through the elegant "new Chinese style" (xin zhongshi) or through mass culture with its kitsch and pursuit of "luxury", through the so-called "national wave" (guo chao).

Abstract: The relevance of the research is determined by the role that design has to play in the modern world, being a tool for alienating a person from his own body. According to the authors of the article, only thinking that inherits a different civilizational and cultural code from the Western one can resist the process of dehumanization of design, conditioned by the very logic of the development of Western civilization. Following the American design philosopher T. Fry, the authors consider the type of thinking rooted in the Eastern tradition to be promising today, since it is based on the idea of the world as a "single body". According to the philosopher, being, in essence, relational-correlative, this thinking can allow a Westerner to "stand" in an ever-changing world.
In order for a Western person to start thinking truly "sustainably", he needs to start living the experience of his body in a different way, relying on a different understanding of corporality. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to answer the question of what it means for a designer today to "think bodily" based on the Eastern understanding of corporality.
The authors of the article identify the main aspects of the "consciousness" of the body, which, in turn, is the support for the "bodily-oriented" thinking of the designer. Interaction with the world at the body level presupposes spontaneity (when the designer creates a sketch "instantly", but as if in passing) and relevance (when the design decision exactly corresponds to the time and place). The response occurs under the condition that the designer is internally calm, "empty", that is, likened to the world. The authors of the study conclude that for an Oriental designer, "thinking bodily" still means feeling the living connection of everything with everything in this world.

Abstract: The article is devoted to understanding the current concept of Japanese design, called "monozukuri" associated by the Japanese with the realm of the sacred, as it refers to the act of putting a new soul into a thing. In the Japanese tradition, "monozukuri" is also associated with "hitozukuri" (lit. "creating people"), that is, with the idea that a "good" product is produced by a "good" person. Therefore, design as "monozukuri" is broader than the understanding of design as a "craft". In the course of the study, the authors turn to the "artisanal source" of Japanese design, namely, the Westernized understanding of "handicraft" within the Mingei movement (developed since the second half of the 1920s), and then turn to overcoming this understanding in the later concept of Japanese design, which is represented by MUJI company (founded in 1980-year).
The purpose of the research is to understand the current concept of Japanese design, which is the most theoretically developed. The methodological basis of the work consists of historical (historical-genetic and historical-comparative) and analytical (formally descriptive and stylistic) methods of art criticism.
In the course of the study, the authors note that in Japan, where the social status of a master of traditional arts has always been very high, understanding design as "monozukuri" gives social weight to the profession of a designer. The authors of the study conclude that the requirement for the mental and physical development of a designer today should be considered not so much as a tool for mythologizing his personality, but rather as a condition for improving the quality of his work. This is all the more important because the development of technologies designed to facilitate the work of a designer, according to the authors, may lead to further emasculation of the profession.

Abstract: The relevance of the research is due to the ignoring of the topic of physicality in design propaedeutics, which makes it impossible to rethink and develop the avant-garde theory of composition in accordance with the requirements of the time. The authors of the article note that the linear logic of composition construction, accepted as a standard in Russian propaedeutics, is rightly criticized today by foreign researchers for reductionism. According to the authors, if the West is dominated by interest in the nonlinear logic of constructing a composition based on the iterative mathematics of fractals, then Eastern designers are looking for their competitive advantage in the international arena, turning to the subtle differentiation of experience and using the rhythm of empty and filled instead of geometric connections of forms. From the point of view of the authors of the study, the "oriental approach" is productive for the development of the designer's bodily sensitivity to form as a result of compositional shaping, and, consequently, in one form or another it can be applied in domestic propaedeutic courses. The purpose of the study is to use the example of specific composition exercises to show the current direction of development of "body-oriented" propaedeutics in design, according to the authors. As tools for developing the designer's bodily sensitivity, the authors consider composing poems containing pauses, since these pauses, on the one hand, give the listener time to perceive the poem with his whole body, and on the other hand, allow him to feel a one–body connection with the world: to feel the connection between things, between people, between things and people. The visual embodiment of pauses is the "excessive" ("dense") empty space between image elements or between material objects, therefore, as propaedeutic exercises, the authors propose to create compositions in which the emphasis is placed on the "movement" of empty space. At the end of the article, the authors turn to the structural basis of the composition, which allows us to consider it as a "force-form", since the composition connects elements with each other using empty space, which allows the viewer to feel the "lines of force" that transform the composition into a single organism. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the importance of "body-oriented" propaedeutics, which allows the designer to rely on a stable foundation without going into reductionism, as well as to see non–obvious relationships between different elements of reality and anticipate the development of emerging situations.

Abstract: The relevance of the research is due to the ignoring of the topic of corporality in Russian Design Studies due to the dominance of the semiotic approach in it. The authors consider the phenomenological theory of architecture, supported by a number of domestic researchers, to be the most productive, from the point of view of revealing the topic of corporality in the design research.
The purpose of the article is to identify culturally determined differences in Western and Eastern approaches to "embodied" design thinking in order, ultimately, to be able to assess the prospects for the development of "bodily-oriented" design in Russia. The methodological basis of the research is based on general scientific methods of description and comparison with elements of comparative analysis.
In the course of the study, the authors of the article note that English-speaking specialists rely on new approaches in cognitive science of recent decades. Since one of the most important conclusions of post-cognitivism is the idea that meanings are created in a proprioceptive way, Western designers tend to create an environment in such a way that it pushes a person to move and freely explore space. On the other hand, the results of the research of post-cognitivists contributed to the fact that the shape of an object or interface began to be considered by designers in terms of their communicative qualities. From a methodological point of view, the ideas of post-cognitivists contributed to making design more contextual and adaptive. In this regard, there is some kinship between the "Western approach" and the "Eastern approach", however, "embodied" design thinking is considered in the East not just as thinking based on the designer's own bodily experience, but as an instrument of his poetic "resonating" with a single body of the world.

Abstract: The relevance of the research is associated with the emergence of a new approach in aesthetics, which can contribute to the development of a "body-oriented" design theory, as well as the formation of promising design concepts. The problem of the research lies in the low degree of formalization of the "embodied approach" in the domestic "science" of design. The authors of the study note that in the West, the most well-known trend within the framework of the "embodied approach" in aesthetics today is the so-called "somaesthetics" of the American philosopher R. Shusterman, in the article they describe the influence of this particular direction on the development of modern design thought. In the framework of the study, "somaesthetics" is considered as a "design project" aimed at transforming a person's body-mind, or his soma, so that through a developed "sensory receptivity" he can open up to a new aesthetic experience in everyday life. In the course of the study, the authors of the article come to the conclusion that "somaesthetics" acquires special relevance in environmental design and digital design, aimed at creating an exciting experience of human interaction with technology. Since the ultimate goal of "somaesthetic design" is the "somaesthetic transformation" of a person, the authors of the article bring it closer to Japanese design. However, according to the authors, for oriental designers it is important to understand the "one-bodyedness" of a person with the world, while in the context of "somaesthetics" the world is thought of as a source of fulfillment of human desires. In the design plan, this leads to the fact that the "oriental" design focuses on returning the consumer to his "somatic consciousness", while in the framework of "somaesthetic design" his task is to become aware of his body.

Abstract: The relevance of the research is justified by the need to develop a multidimensional space of understanding in the field of "body-oriented" design, involving both Western and Eastern designers. Within the framework of the article, the authors turn to the phenomenological "theory" of architecture as the most internationally influential "body-oriented" approach, emphasizing, however, that a phenomenological "theory" cannot be built exclusively on the Western model. The problem of the study lies in the insufficient degree of reflection of culturally determined differences in the phenomenological "theories" of architecture: at least two – Western and eastern, based on a fundamentally different understanding of physicality. The goal is to establish a difference in the understanding of physicality by Western and Eastern designers, to take a step towards a comprehensive understanding of the "space of possibilities" for the development of "body–oriented" design. The authors of the study compare the approaches of Western and Eastern architects in two directions: interpretation of the experience of moving a body in space and attitude to the material. In the course of the study, the authors of the article point out that the difference in the understanding of physicality between Western and Eastern architects lies in the fact that in the West physicality is understood as the "embodiment" of a person, and in the East as the "communication" of a person with the world. From the point of view of interpreting the experience of moving a body in space, the authors of the article conclude that the "Western" approach is aimed at intensifying the proprioceptive experience and forming a sense of "flow" of space, and the "Eastern" approach is aimed at creating conditions for a person to live a personal experience of traveling through mountains and a sense of "one–bodyedness" with the world. From the point of view of the attitude to the material, the authors of the article come to the conclusion that the "Western" approach tends to the slow living of sensations in one's own body (flesh) in the process of its interaction with the environment, while the "Eastern" approach is associated with spontaneity, which is a consequence of the developed human ability to "resonate" with the world (we are talking about an empty body, or a body as a "place of non-being"). From the point of view of the development of "body-oriented" design, the authors of the study note the attractiveness of the "Western" approach to design in today's rapidly changing world, however, according to them, such an approach requires full dedication from the designer.

Abstract: The relevance of the research is justified by the need to develop the bodily self-awareness of future designers. The problem of the study lies in the somewhat simplified perception of bodily experience by Western designers, since in the West the development of conceptual thinking is a priority. In the course of the research, the author hypothesizes that practicing Oriental calligraphy can contribute to the development of designers' bodily self-awareness, since calligraphy is a product of "somatic-oriented" thinking rooted in the Eastern tradition. The author of the study considers "somatic-oriented" design in the context of an environmental approach, but suggests moving from the opposition of man and environment rooted in the West to understanding their relations as mutually generating and even "one-body". The author analyzes the first attempts to develop "somatic-oriented" propaedeutics at the Bauhaus and comes to the conclusion that relying on the bodily experience of the teachers of the basic course served purely theoretical tasks, which ultimately demonstrated the priority of conceptual thinking over thinking "somatic-oriented". The eastern avant-garde calligraphers have been moving in the opposite direction, moving from the linguistic meaning of the sign to its "embodied" meaning content. Since they rely primarily on bodily consciousness, space in calligraphy symbolizes a single world "body" (while space in European painting is, to a large extent, the space of linear movement of the mind). The empty space of a calligraphic work is filled with sensations and embodied meanings. The author of the study concludes that, propaedeutically, attention to this empty space can allow a designer to start thinking by the way, when the designer "sees" a new object where it does not exist yet, but where it cannot but be – that is, where its appearance seems absolutely natural.

Abstract: The article subject is dialogue about the development prospects of the so-called “embodied approach” in design, conducted by Western researchers for the past ten years. Some of the Western researchers indicate the fundamental impossibility of creating the theory of somatic-oriented design in view of the fact that such a theory will have to rely on the “silent” knowledge of the body. The author of the article sees the exit in, firstly, to turn to the experience of Chinese and Japanese designers, for whom “embodied cognition” is deeply rooted in the regional tradition; and secondly, to form a categorical apparatus necessary for the development of the theory of somatic-oriented design, based on the category of traditional eastern philosophy, allowing to fix the experience of the body (we are talking about the image “хiang” and the intentions “yi”). In the course of the study, the author focuses on the specifics of the body's perception in the East, since oriental experience does not lead to the expansion of involved perception channels (use in addition to vision, for example, smell and hearing), but to understand the project as a spontaneous process, form as an “open” for the embodied meanings. For oriental designers it is important not to “gestalt” of previous experience, but an embodied intuition of the future, aimed at creating a product later in demand by society. In conclusion, based on the categories of eastern philosophy, the author of the study introduces the concepts of “embodied image” (spontaneously arising figurative-scheme of human interaction with the environment) and “embodied design intention” (the direction of the thought to the transformation of reality, based on the somatic relations of the designer with the world).

Abstract: Chinese calligraphy is viewed as the key to a more in-depth understanding of the Chinese cultural code; therefore, the goal of this research consists in determination of cultural meanings underlying the spatial structure and visual image of hieroglyph. In the course of this study, the authors advance the idea of the national Sinologist V. V. Malyavin, which implies that artistic realm of the works of Chinese calligraphy represents a “median” space for interaction of the two diverging planes of existence – revealed and concealed (“earlier Heavenly” and “later Heaven”). The study applies the culturological method for interpretation of artistic space of hieroglyph within the context of the traditional for Chinese culture spatial models. The formation of “median” space though the description of hieroglyph testifies to the competence of a calligraphist to find balance in the “flow of changes”. Hieroglyph represents a visual metaphor of the moving human body that is in the state of inner peace (which is reflected in the precision of internal connections of the symbol, its relation to the physical center, and sense of the “firmness” of emptiness.

Abstract: In her research Aganina analyzes calligraphy as a time-related intermedia and this is why the nature of the line movement and the sign pattern in general is one of the main criteria for evaluating the caligraphic piece. Considering that the aesthetics of the handwriting movement is more developed in the calligraphy of the Far East, the purpose of this research is to analyze movement as a category that creates the identity of Chinese, Korean and Japanese handwriting in order to review and to use the experience of Far Eastern calligraphy in the European writing. The methodological basis of the research involves the following: the problem statement, classification of aesthetic categories, comparative historical and axiological analysis, and iconological method. As a result of the research, the author concludes that the compositional movement of signs in the Far Eastern calligraphy directly and symbolically relates to the free movement of human body (and spirit) through the space. The fact that China, Korea and Japan have different concepts of the movement of spirit dictates differences in the nature of the sign pattern in the calligraphy of these countries. 

Abstract: Designing the visual interaction of a letter and a hieroglyph in a multicultural field of graphic design is a very topical issue. The problem is that in practice graphic solutions often turn out to be a vulgar stylization, since the figures of a letter and a hieroglyph are associated with fundamentally different cultures of writing. To solve the problem of stylizing a letter to a hieroglyph, the author of the article proposes to analyze the experience of Korea that uses a unique syllable alphabet that looks like hieroglyphs, and therefore is a bridge between letter and hieroglyphic writing. Accordingly, the object of the study is Korean calligraphy, and the subject is the visual adaptation of the Korean alphabet letter to hieroglyphs. The author of the article relies on Korean and Japanese sources, among which it is worth highlighting the collection of scientific reports at the international symposium in Niigata (Japan, 2015), devoted to the problems of aesthetics of calligraphy of China, Korea and Japan. As a result of the study, the author identifies three historically established ways of visual adaptation of Hangul to hieroglyphs (actual and for letter) which are not reduced to stylization since they express the Korean idea of beauty itself. Since the hieroglyphic letter is not rooted in the national tradition, the author considers the search for the identity of calligraphy with a brush as the most important task of the designer allowing to significantly improve the quality of stylizing the letter under the hieroglyph.