Calligraphy as a Metaphoric Tool for Basic Design Courses

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to show that works of art (painting,music, sculpture, literature, etc.) can be used as means of guidance forthe designers, and triggering creativity. On the other hand, the secondarypurpose is to prove the mettle art of calligraphy as a tool of guidance forthe freshmen and a trigger for creativity in the context of basic designdiscipline.During the fall semesters in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, the main themefor Basic Design Course at Karadeniz Technical University, Departmentof Architecture was chosen and determined as “Anatolian Arts”. Withinthe context of the chosen theme, it was tried to reveal the potentialrelationship between “Anatolian Arts and Basic Design Elements andPrinciples”, moreover, the usability of Anatolian Arts as a tool of design. In this aim, from the whole semester, only one sample of practice hasbeen chosen to put forward the hypothesis of relationship between artsand education increases the creativity in terms of basic design elements(dot, line, direction, shape/form, distance, size, proportion), for thisstudy; a sampling through “basic design elements” with the “art ofcalligraphy” has been made. Within this hypothesis, the “art ofcalligraphy” and its characters were introduced briefly and thischaracteristic situation was questioned in the given design problems bymeans of “basic design elements”.In short, this study, which exemplifies the state of calligraphy as ametaphoric tool in design education, focuses on the partnerships ofcalligraphy and basic design elements. Design elements such as “dot”,“line”, “direction”, “shape/form”, “distance”, “size” and “proportion” arereinterpreted in the context of the characteristics of calligraphy. Thus,the art of calligraphy has become a metaphoric tool.