DOI: 10.55804/jtsuSPEKALI-18-3

Introduction

It is difficult to compare designs, because there are no universal measurement scales. When talking about the European measurement of the Georgian design, a comparison of similar design activities synchronously in time can be an objective tool. Moreover, the research of the Georgian design lacks materials obtained on the basis of such comparisons. Therefore, we will try to fill this gap.

Results and Discussion

During the 19^th and 21^st centuries, design processes in the world moved in the context of two trends of development. The first trend is characterized by the integral movement towards the internationally oriented, global design. The second trend is the differential movement towards the regional, nationally oriented design. This statement shows that these two design trends are essentially different in content. The latter depends on many factors and ways in which  design of a particular community moved and those reasons that created a basis for its emergence and further development. When it comes to Italy, Finland and Japan, they have demonstrated the desire for the nationally oriented version of design throughout the 20^th century and the early 21^st century. It differs from the design of Germany, the United States and Great Britain, which vividly presents its internationalized modernist version.

Therefore, the Northern Hemisphere is represented by the powerful countries  -   the leaders of the design process. What is going on with the design in the Southern Hemisphere? According to the conducted studies [Даниленко, 2006:16-17], this part of the world is poorly developed in the field of design in some cases and because of this, it mostly imports a corresponding product. Single appearing cases copy the achievements of designers of the North.

These two trends outline what the global design space is like. Projecting generalized features of a design development of a specific country or a group of close countries onto it gives us opportunities to consider a place of each of them in the global placement of this industry.

While comparing the cultures of Georgia, the Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic and some Balkan countries in terms of their designs, it can be argued that, on the one hand, they are developed (and it is not the design of the South), but, on the other hand, the design sphere in such countries as Georgia, the Ukraine, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro (not to mention Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia) is still poorly developed compared to the global processes. The world does not know much about it. Comparing the designs of these countries with the northern leaders, we see that during the 20^th century, their design practices aspired to the modernist trends and gained something, such as the desire to follow the global trends and fashion. At the same time, it tended to have its own characteristics in some places. Manifestations of the nationally oriented design of the subject-spatial environment are the results of this process. Georgia, like the Ukraine, has more than 70-year history of existence as a part of the USSR, which has brought devastation of the national consciousness. As for Georgia, in this respect the situation differed from the Ukraine and to a greater extent, from its other neighbors in terms of consciousness, protection and preservation. Their architecture, graphics, design of consumer goods produced samples, which were filled with national forms. These forms were borrowed from the folk art. The similar processes took place in Poland and the Czech Republic. In this regard, the Balkans, in particular, provide numerous examples of rather witty samples of “folk design” of the environment. Such a desire deserves attention as an example of not falling under a general suggestion of one's own cultural values. At the same time, this trend contradicts the urban essence, which is the “birthplace and residence” of design.

In order to resolve this contradiction, we suggest to look at the design of Finland, one of the northern countries. The Finnish (Scandinavian) design shows the tendencies of the partial “immersion” into the traditional culture. It is rather an example of how a qualitatively reinterpreted traditional form is born for the modern, urban and technological world. In the final result, it is the same national product. In other words, a culture, which is “immersed” from top to bottom, is a source of design ideas. Japan is another clear example of such an approach to sources of design activity, when in the process of finding a compromise between the industry borrowed from the West and the traditional culture, there was interweaving of innovations with traditional aesthetics.

There are more than two dozen Central Eastern European countries and more than a dozen Balkan countries and many of them meet the fate of Georgia. It should be noted that, firstly, we will discuss such countries as Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia. They demonstrate the limited number of examples of how borrowed and reinterpreted design samples look like something qualitatively new and interesting. Some of these breakthroughs have already happened. In the beginning of the 20^th century, the Czech cubism was usually attributed to design breakthroughs, which, on the one hand, had the roots of the Western European style and, on the other hand, had its own personal concept of “variation with crystal”. The world art criticism bypasses the similar examples in other countries.

Most of the countries of Central-Eastern Europe, the Balkans to a lesser extent, which had their own styles and trends in accordance with the world trends of the late 19^th century and the early 20^th century did not become widely known to the world. Let us recall the similar processes with the so-called “Japonism”. It originated in France and had manifestations in Europe. For example, manifestations of “art nouveau” with its interesting examples in performance were not sufficiently noticed, but took place in Central-Eastern Europe. To some extent, the similar situation happened with Italian rationalism (Milan, the group of young architects). It has spread widely in other countries. We cannot deny the fact that the world is also “guilty”, that it “did not notice” these phenomena and perhaps, to blame the one, who did not break through to the highest level and the world did not see him.

Some countries of Central and Eastern Europe, such as the Czech Republic, demonstrated their global impulses in the field of industrial design in the 1930s at the industrial exhibitions. In the period (a decade or more) after World War II, nothing significant was added. Thus, the Czech Republic and Poland de facto lost their independence. Georgia and the Ukraine (being a part of the USSR) did not have it at that time.

The Czech industrial design was not born in a vacuum. It was motivated by the good, high-quality engineering and technical environment and the level of the technical education as its component. However, the tradition of Germany, the birthplace of functionalism in design, which historically influenced it, also worked there to some extent. All these reasons gave it the opportunity to reach the high level of the functionalist engineering design at that time compared to other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. We will not list all known industrial objects, which now we call the examples of Czech industrial design. Let us mention only some of them: firstly, the automobile Tatra-77, “Bhmerland” motorcycle, table lamps, functionalist chairs and armchairs; secondly, such objects of the communist era as hand tools by Kovarzh, the T3 tram, the car “Skoda Felicia”, etc. This could not be said of light industry goods. There was a lack of goods in this field throughout the Soviet bloc countries.

The modern Czech design of the late 20^th century and the early 21^st century became more versatile. Firstly, those areas, which were previously held back by censorship, namely, the graphic design, advertising products and media, found its development. This provides the example of how design reflects the peculiarities of the national mentality of the Czechs. In addition, because of this, it looks so “regulated”, “documented”, “structured” in its own way, not like the design of the Germans. This is especially noticeable in the artworks of the engineering design. Other segments of design, namely, those that rise to applied arts and graphic media, can also confirm these characteristics. It should be added that manifestation of humor and irony is a feature that is characteristic of the Czechs. Meanwhile, all the design made by the Czechs (with its features and characteristics) comes from the desire to use technologies of the Western life and adapt them to your life as soon as possible. The leading design educational center is the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. Along with it, four other universities in the Czech Republic issue diplomas of designers, among them two universities and two higher technical schools in Prague, Brno, Zlin and Usti nad Labem. Design training in these institutions is based on the powerful engineering component. Design is also taught at the Faculty of Architecture of the Prague Academy of Fine Arts [Даниленко, 2012:13, 20].  

Poland impresses with its subject-spatial environment, especially, with such quality as the spontaneous “artistry”. This is noticeable, because it is “surrounded” by the German functionalism from the north and west. Let us note that the important aesthetic attitude to a technical thing took place for the first time  in Germany  (the works of Relo, Semper, Mutesius and the heritage of the Bauhaus). This could have influenced the Polish culture, but it did not happen (we mean fascination with rational-functionalism). The Poles take into account the lessons of the German industrial-functional design and their usual significant economic advantage. That is why there is still no noticeable industrial design in Poland. However, other areas of design have a great advantage in their “artistry”. We are talking about the artistically saturated areas of design. Firstly, it is the graphic design. This is where the Poles are noticeable. Let us recall the Polish poster, back in the days of Moscow communism, which prevented the destruction of the Polish natural “artistry” in itself. In this aspect, the  Poles are recognizable even in the 50s-60s of the 20^th century by their ability to play along with authorities by depicting enthusiasm of builders of communism and at the same time, to create other posters for themselves with a unique, complex artistic essence. It was a figurative metaphor that encouraged a viewer to form his own opinion about a subject of this or that poster. It was the artistic “breakthrough” for that era. Today's Polish design best manifests itself in the environmental design, especially, in the historical environment, demonstrating a successful adaptation of ancient cities to the modern life.

The graphic design continues its best traditions of the 20^th century. Now it is going through a difficult time of searching for identity in the new historical realities, to some extent finding it in the natural Polish way with its creativity, artistic taste and brightness. These manifestations can also be seen among ordinary citizens. Therefore, they are able to create sheets of paper masterfully (with humorous inscriptions) attached to walls, doors, pillars, which are an integral part of the Polish urban environment. Similar to this, there are other objects that demonstrate ordinary people’s artistic awareness, for example, it is reflected in improvisations on counters of shops, on flower beds, clothes, etc. Poland has every reason to develop a professional design of high quality that has its own identity. Regarding art academies, it should be noted that there are more of them in Poland compared to the countries under consideration. Today there are seven of them. These are the academies in Krakow, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdańsk, Łódź and Katowice. The academy in Krakow is the classical one with the tradition of fine arts. Design is also widely represented at the academy. You can find the industrial, graphic, environmental designs with a number of branches from each educational program. The design programs are also presented at the academies of Warsaw, Wrocław and Poznań [Даниленко, 2012:19].

Throughout the 20^th century the design of the USSR and the Georgian design as its component developed from the design movement of the 30s, which had existed exclusively in an industrial society with a constant shortage of household items (household accessories, personal goods, clothing, furniture, etc.). Similar processes took place in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe that belonged to the Soviet bloc countries. There were new products of the 60s of the 20^th century, but they did not differ in variety and there was no choice. Over time, diversity of goods did appear, but not so much that people had an opportunity to create a culture of consumption. Today it becomes clear that on a mental level, the Soviet society could not implement design and accept it. At the same time, the insignificant part of society still went abroad (isolated cases), some people watched foreign movies, which made it possible to see household items and enjoy convenience, thoughtfulness and their aesthetic qualities.

According to the official propaganda of that time, all these were considered as a moral decay and worshiping the Western culture. Meanwhile, the Soviet industry constantly copied the designs and forms of the Western models. For this reason, the state system of incentives was created in the form of the Chamber of Commerce (individuals or enterprises, which did it, received bonuses). This system included introduction of a quality mark (a kind of response to the Western world) for the best industrial products. All these links of the system were initially stillborn. Over time, they became formalized and could not improve the situation. Thus, on the one hand, the official industry would allegedly repel design as a trick of the West. On the other hand, it still made its way from the same West. The ideologized economy also did not allow them to be realized, even if they were copied from the Western design developments. This necessitated creation of departments responsible for implementation, which resulted in a significant number of employees engaged in this business. The very system of regulation of this process was not economically profitable, because the state took away profit received by enterprises and no one was interested in developments, primarily, in design ones. The planned economy gave its results. It was necessary to fulfill the plan and with innovations, it was impossible to carry it out.

The design of the Ukraine in the beginning of its development had all the features that occurred in the beginning of the 20^th century. Firstly, this is understanding of beauty of car shapes, development of artistic and subject spheres, including art and industrial schools, museums, etc. The development of the forerunner of the environmental design, which was influenced by the architectural environment and development of the basics of the graphic design in printed products should be added. For the most part, these were common phenomena. However, surprisingly, the Ukraine still demonstrated something. Communism really “gained momentum” only in the 1930s and by that period the significant events had taken place in the artistic life of the Ukraine. Accordingly, the advances in the graphic design were initiated by experimentation of futuristic artists and writers. Other components of design, such as the environmental one, were developed in the spirit of the officially sanctioned non-national constructivist angle. Cultivation of elements of the Ukrainian national architecture was eventually punished by official authorities. Moreover,  in contrast to Georgia, constructivism in the Ukraine acquired the status of Russian. The situation regarding the development of the industrial design as a whole was similar to the Georgian one in a matter that the industry after the World Wars did not gain appropriate power. However, in a different sense it had the better basis and opportunities for development of its engineering and design sphere. This is clearly illustrated by the products of machine-building industry of Kharkiv.

The next period of our comparison is the 1950s-1980s. It is necessary to state once again that the design of the Ukrainian SSR, as a component of the design of the USSR, inherited the peculiarity of existence in an industrial society from the design of the 30s. The design in the Ukraine at that period was essentially identical with the spirit established in Moscow. The subject of numerous developments of Kyiv and Kharkiv branches of All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Technical Aesthetics (VNIITE) and the departments of artistic modelling at the factories and design institutes is an example. The design of the Ukrainian SSR tried to follow the German functional-rationalism, but it did not always succeed. Today, this field is not so powerful, because the practice of the industrial design currently is not well-developed in the Ukraine. Therefore, the emphasis in practice has changed towards the environmental design, media design, and here, as you know, not only design, but also artistic technologies are used. These technologies are not only German, but also Italian. The Ukraine has its own design developments. For example, in the mechanical engineering practice they are presented by Antonov AN airplanes. There are rich works of “artistic design” in the environmental and media field. However, due to the decline of industry, the industrial design has stagnated, while the demand for developments in the fields of the environmental and graphic design is increasing. The new forms of stimulation and socialization of the results of design activity are emerging [Даниленко, 2012:21-22].

All the design heritage of the 60s-80s passed to the 1990s i.e. to the design field of the independent Ukraine. In general, it corresponds to the industrial-oriented design of the modernist model, with the differences not for the better. The Ukraine of the Soviet period and its tradition underwent the more twisted functionalism with backward technologies. During the 1990s, the market for design services emerged. Firstly, in such industries as the graphic and environmental design. Designers began to acquire the ability to survive in market conditions. Regarding the overall picture of design practice, it can be said that it demonstrated the imitation of the modern fashionable forms of the Western model. However, only the repetition took place during that period   -   the world did not recognize the Ukraine as a state of design developments.

In the design-leading countries, such as Great Britain, the state behaved differently. It is not the subject of our consideration, but we will mention it to understand the functioning of general design processes. Firstly, there was the place to fill the markets with interestingly “decorated” goods and competition by stimulating the high quality, perfect processing, investing money in these processes, creating procedures and appropriate mechanisms (design councils, publishing of “Design” magazine, establishment of design centers, private design offices). Over time, thanks to this movement, the world quickly learned and recognized British products. The similar processes took place in almost all European countries. Expert groups and design centers were created. In some countries, scientific institutions of design were established.

The similar movement, which spread across Europe, took place to some extent in the USSR and its satellites, but in its own way. The problem is that these processes can develop successfully under conditions of the market economy, but in the Soviet reality, they did not have such a result, despite the fact that it did not allow innovations in the field of design shaping and its introduction into industry. The copies taken from the Western models were mostly not implemented for the same reasons. If you look from a side, the design planning in the USSR and its satellites during the period of the 60s-80s of the 20^th century had the character of imitation.

The Western countries, in terms of searching for ways of development of their national designs during the 20^th century, showed something different, having interesting samples. Italy demonstrated the brightest version of design. We are talking about the so-called “New Design”, which in its concept had the anti-aprioristic and pluralistic inclination. It provided the basis for the formation of new design concepts of the late of the 20^th century. It was the Italian version that demonstrated the greatest adaptability to the post-industrial stage of society's development. The basis of the so-called conceptualism of the Italian design is based on the principles of polylogism or dialogism as opposed to the authoritarian (monologic) nature of the human technocratic consciousness. The last third of the 20^th century demonstrated the Italian design as the field of dialogue, perhaps, the polylogue of various segments of the modern culture. The interesting fact is that there is the practice of manifestations of the national consciousness and the sense of the regional ethnic humanity in the Italian design.

The Italian design practice is also important, because its representatives took part in the creation of the modern design of the architectural space of Georgia. Over time, these objects have become the visual brand of “New Georgia”, but more about this later.

The design practice of some Western countries, for example, France, follows the nationally oriented path, but at the same time, there are also the international, globalizing, general paths that proceed, in particular, from the classical rationalism, such as the aesthetics of the French rationalism, which still remains in the modernist concepts of design consciousness.

What about the situation with design in the conditions unusual for a progressive design community in the Balkan region? It shows another specific European design version. The peculiarity of the Balkan countries is their visual diversity of environments. In particular, Slovenia is somewhat similar to Italy or Austria, while Bosnia and Herzegovina is somewhat similar to Turkey.

As for Croatia, it is to some extent similar to Georgia (primarily, the tourist economy) and perhaps, these processes will be useful in some way for its design. This experience is relevant, because both countries undergo the processes that can be defined as modernization of a traditional look of resort countries. The only difference is that one of them is a “resort Adriatic country”, the other is a “resort Black Sea country”. Croatia is marked by the peculiarity of its landscape location, which affects the minds of its inhabitants, who make money on resort business. Accordingly, the design in Croatia, its European experience, is tuned in to the tourist economy and in general, to the minds of its inhabitants. The European experience is represented mostly by the adaptation of the Italian technologies and there is also the internationalized averaged design movement and copying of the Western trends.

If we talk about Serbia, then we immediately wanted to mention its architecture, which, on the one hand, should provoke the development of design. On the other hand, we see that there are almost no examples of design activity in the European Union. When we talk about architecture, it is its artistically filled samples of a living environment, or very interesting buildings in a mountainous area, skillfully designed on a complex terrain. A different situation occurs in those processes that directly affect the design. Therefore, the industry has the outdated technologies, everything is produced almost independently and an observer gets an impression of its material-spatial environment, as if it is preserved. Once upon a time, back in the days of the former Yugoslavia (its Serbian part), such things as clothes, furniture, shoes, jewelry were examples of the Yugoslav design. The USSR had no analogues in terms of quality. The war and international isolation had the negative effect on the economy, but the positive thing is that the revival is already taking place. It also concerns products of light industry, which are not yet visible. Taking into consideration the Serbian European choice, we hope that their design will be developed as a component of the European design. Therefore, young designers, students, are increasingly appearing on pages of design magazines dedicated to the Italian design. For this reason, it is being adapted to the Serbian practice.

Other countries that were once parts of Yugoslavia have the more separate design paths. Today, Slovenia already has enough design practice, which, so to speak, “went outside”. According to its characteristics, it is the mixture of the Austrian and Italian designs on the Slavic basis. Slovenia, with its subject environment, is a more western country (it is really “the western country”) and this is not very indicative. Such countries as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo are not comparable at all for other reasons. They are too poor with the deep Muslim traditions.

From our point of view, Montenegro is the most representative country for comparison with Georgia. It is a “resort” country and this phenomenon determines the design. That is what makes it interesting for us. Georgia can also take advantage of that as one of the examples of its design segment. The design of Montenegro “went” to the seacoast with the environmental design in the mountainous area, the graphic design and television, which we see in its resorts and local channels. It is impossible not to note the results of this kind of “folk” environmental design in a close location of buildings, where there are almost no free, open spaces. The peculiarity of environment is that it is full of household items scattered anywhere in a chaotic manner. In some ways, all of Southern Europe is very similar.

Finally, I would like to add that the design activity of the Balkan countries is effective. It has every reason to move forward. The design of Slovenia makes a noticeable impression. The designs of Croatia and Serbia make a partial impression. There are noticeable attempts in this movement in the design of Montenegro. As for the designs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia, they still lag behind progress. I would like to add the field of environmental design to the main features of the Balkan design manifestation, the development of which was provoked by the Balkan architecture. The graphic design does not stand out and as for the industrial design, it practically does not exist.

Let us look at the Balkans’ design education. From a design point of view, the academies in Ljubljana, Zagreb, Podgorica and the University of Arts in Belgrade are the most notable. The Academy of Arts in Slovenia is part of the university and it is classic in terms of educational trajectories ranging from design to visual arts, restoration, etc. In Croatia, the academy is also a part of the university and it generally provides arts education. Design is represented by the “Animation and New Media Program”. The Faculty of Applied Arts of University of Arts in Belgrade (Serbia) offers programs in the graphic design, industrial design, textile design, interior architecture and furniture design. In addition, Serbian architectural education is more visible and of higher quality, which helps with supply of a design personnel. Montenegro is represented by the University in Podgorica, which, in addition to the educational programs, provides the training in the field of graphic design as one of the main types of fine arts.

If we compare Central-Eastern Europe and the Balkan region with East Asia (Japan), the latter shows something different. Its greatest manifestation is the Japanese design of the second half of the 20^th century. In that period, design schools played a significant role. Adaptation of a peculiar culture, which was not common to the country, was a part of its training, unlike higher design schools of other countries. Even the local traditions of the provinces, where these schools were located, were taken into account. This was the way for young designers to overcome the gap between the boundless layer of the traditional culture and the industry focused on the design experience of the West.

The design of the USA remains powerful. This country is not included in the scope of our study, but its history is important. It gives us the glimpse of how the Americans of diverse backgrounds were able to group around essential values. The features of their promotion are fetishization of commercialization and satisfaction of various requirements of a mass taste. The major factors such as success, technocratic orientation of environmental aesthetics are the embodiment of ideal of the country of the future. These values ​​are products of the emigrant psychology, which formed the corresponding peculiar “emigrant culture”.

It was this movement that spread throughout the world and contributed to the development of the international artistic design in the 20^th century. At the same time, some countries of the Western Europe and East Asia quite successfully developed the nationally oriented components of design. Such countries as the Ukraine, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Georgia are only on the path of reshaping their design models.

If we discuss the design in Georgia, then in the times of the USSR, it had tendencies towards two components that intersected. However, the first one, the so-called international one, had an advantage. The second, the national component,  was presented in the specific Soviet version. It copied and imitated the Western internationalized models and tried to introduce them into the industry. However, the Soviet industry was too narrow and limited in contrast to the Western countries. It was not “integrated” into the peculiarities of the region and the potential of the agrarian republic within the USSR was not effectively realized. Therefore, the development of agriculture should “give birth” to a kind of “agricultural design”, but unfortunately, this did not happen.

However, considering that the second (national) trend in the professional design planning of the USSR was almost absent, in Soviet Georgia it had the manifestations in which the Georgians showed interesting results. For example, the Soviet people could see some of the works of the Georgian graphic designers, designers of furniture, fabrics and consumer goods, but only within the borders of the republic. It is paradoxical that attraction to the idea of ​​having one's own individual property is in the Kartvelian mentality and it is highly developed, for example, in comparison with the mentality of the Russian-Siberian civilizational conglomerate. Due to this, in Georgia the design practice of the 1960s-1980s did not receive a practical implementation (rethinking) that would today make it possible to talk about the Georgian design as such. Why did this not happen, despite the availability of samples in Georgia, unlike other republics of the former USSR? It is impossible to answer this question with one brief study.

Let us turn to Georgia and the situation in the design of the USSR. Design in Georgia began to be understood as “handicraft”, because the sphere of traditional art crafts and handicraft production became one of the basics of its formation in Georgia. These paths were accompanied by the creation of the first comprehensive institution in Georgia, containing the elements of design. However, the applied arts associated with manufacture of consumer goods did not stand aside from the processes that provoked the emergence of design. At the end of the 19^th century, the new direction of the creation of objects of industrial and applied arts was generated in Georgia. It was similar to the European practices. Tsitsishvili believes that it was the Georgian design that began to be created at this transitional stage [Цицишвили, 1985:5-24]. The Sovietization of Georgia led to the decline of traditional Georgian crafts. However, the latter were preserved and developed due to their popularity among people.

In the second half of the 1920s, the sprouts of design planning were formed under the influence of two architectural doctrines. The first doctrine was international (fascination with constructivism), while the second one was the national tradition influenced by the Georgian architecture. As for creation of material things, the national tradition was influenced by the applied arts. The first of these doctrines did not have the same importance as in Soviet Russia, thanks to the attempts to cultivate elements of the Georgian national forms in combination with the principles of constructivism. This laid foundations for the formation of “Georgian style”, the concept of which consisted in reproducing the character and spirit of the Georgian work in the synthesis of the international and national traditions during the reign of Moscow Communism. It is clear that rethinking the national form was much more difficult than just making “decoration” of a product appearance. Nevertheless, the interesting objects were created.

All the above mentioned did its job and constructivism in Georgia did not fully acquire the status of Russian. The international traditions strengthened, artists’ attention after the first two decades of the 20^th century focused mainly on the benefits derived from the concept of “producers”. This movement in its essence was not “born” on the local basis, but was dictated from the metropolis. Rather, it was not the art of creation of environment, but its reconstruction. This phenomenon can be compared with the world design movements only partially, where the new design concepts such as “styling” appeared and reflected manifestations of the free market ideology (but not the forced-directive modernization of objects, as was in the USSR, which included Georgia). As for the industrial design, it had nowhere to come from. The industrial potential of the country was mutilated after the Soviet-Georgian war and occupation of the 20^th century. It manifested itself in the form of the engineering design of Georgia and the so-called “spontaneous” design, as the manifestation of the industrialization era and success in the development of “industrial culture”, whose representatives were repressed and killed. The industry of the USSR of the 1940s and the early 50s of the 20^th century was transferred to meet military needs and design was almost forgotten. However, during that period some products in Georgia continued to be developed and had design features. Products for decoration of residential and public spaces, lighting fittings, street equipment were designed, but there was a lack of suitable specialists for this job. The technical and cultural backwardness accumulated in a professional environment forced to focus on development of the most familiar products, such as decorative fabrics, carpets, wallpapers, ceramic and other products for the art industry that acquired the powerful perfection. Over time, such areas of design as products of light and furniture industry will become traditional for Georgia.

In the beginning of the second half of the 20^th century, the sprouts of the design education at Tbilisi State Academy of Art were formed under the influence of the national craft traditions. At the first stages, this happened in cases of training artists, who worked with wood, metal, textiles, fabrics, clothing, later plastics, glass and ceramics. Over time, they were engaged in design of various products for the industrial production. They became the first designers.

The next period of the development of design (in the 50s-80s of the previous century) in Georgia, as well as in the Ukrainian SSR, inherited the need to exist in the industrial society of the 30s. As is known, it was the period of shortage of such household items as furniture, clothing, shoes, household appliances and personal goods that Soviet people “procure” instead of buying. Goods of this kind, primarily, furniture, clothes, shoes, fabric and some household goods were developed by Georgian designers, but they did not solve the general problem of shortage. For a long time, development of the furniture design for various purposes took the main place among other fields.

Over time, the design service headed by VNIITE (All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Technical Aesthetics) and its branches was created, one of which was in Tbilisi, on the territory of Georgia (Special Art and Design Bureau (SHKB)). In 1966 the Georgian branch of VNIITE (GF VNIITE) as well as industrial art and design departments, among other things in the graphic design industry focused on the development of the optimal sets of the Georgian fonts for use in visual communications and advertising. In the industrial design, the peculiarities of local living conditions were considered while developing machines, mechanisms and devices (in particular, the agricultural rubbing machine for fruits was an example of a practical implementation). In comparison with other branches of VNIITE, the Georgian branch had different developments, particularly, in the graphic design. They included labels, trademarks, corporate styles, containers and packaging materials (especially, gifts). “National specifics” was considered while creating these artworks. If we talk about images depicted on them, their features were reflected with “rich” colors and at the same time, with “refinement” and “elegance” performed in  black and white. In case of shaping, the elements of the Georgian coinage and traditional materials were used, especially, in case of packaging. This was the manifestation of searching identity in the Kartvelian natural way, with the appeal of the graphic designers of GF VNIITE to origins of the Georgian alphabet, ornament, ancient manuscripts, miniatures and the first examples of artistic activity.

Initially, the development was concentrated on products of the art industry (shoes, carpets, rugs, souvenirs, toys, traditional printed fabrics, plastic products, etc.), as they were later called. The Georgian designers took part in painting glass and ceramic products. They used traditional fabrics in design of clothes. If we talk about ceramic samples, they were accompanied by design drawings and glaze recipes. All these pointed to the return of the industrial ceramics with the ancient Georgian traditions. This material was highlighted in the previous publications of the author [Kutateladze, 2020:277-299]. These are the so-called objects of artistically rich design, whose segments are close to the applied arts and possess the traditional artistic forms. It is precisely the connection with the so-called “craft design” in the development of national Georgian products.

In those days, such traditional objects of the Georgian design as a furniture equipment for interiors appeared in the environmental design. They reflected the manifestations of the local national factors (built-in cabinets “gaijins” for storing products, or dining furniture “dgam churceli” that represented the traditional methods of organizing space). To these we add the developments in the field of the so-called design of the urban environment of the resort cities (Borjomi, Batumi) and certain districts of Lochini, where, among other things, designers took into account the local cultural traditions and ethnic features. In the further practice, this did not find such a development that design was oriented to the resort and tourism industry. The hypertrophied official collectivist ideology had the effect. It built the dominant international component of the USSR design. The industrial design was mostly embedded in it. The industrial and design background of Georgia worked to some extent. Therefore, back in the communist era, the Georgians produced something, namely, the mainline electric locomotives “VL”, truck tractors “KAZ”, sectional trams “Tbilisi”, motoblocks licensed by the Italian company “Goldoni” and “Rioni”, tea-harvesting tractors “Sakartvelo”, agricultural tools and other industrial samples, works of industrial design. Unfortunately, they were not popular enough to become an industrial brand.

In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in contrast to the Balkan countries, the totalitarian system also led to primitivization and simplification of all its mechanisms in the design field. Complex mechanisms of self-regulation were replaced by violent actions. Unfortunately, dominance of the communist dictatorship had its effect.  Economy, culture, politics at the turn of the millennium became more vulnerable, if not weak, for a dynamic development of civilizational and cultural life in the highly competitive world market, which is very tough sometimes. The truth is that it was design that became a manifestation of this vulnerability.

The beginning of the 90s of the 20^th century was primarily a change in political-economic situations of many countries. It also entailed changes in the creation of subject-spatial environments of the countries under consideration. Over the past 15-20 years, their design had rapid developments, in the Western style. At that time, “good design” meant the Western design made with one's own hands. Therefore, it is, but still it would be better to set the goal to create one’s own design versions.

For Georgia, these changes came at difficult times. On the one hand, Georgia gained independence. On the other hand, the wars took place for the existence of the Georgian statehood, unleashed by Moscow. As for the last war in 2008, it became the first European war of the 21^st century and unfortunately, not the last. Now the fraternal Ukraine is also following this path. For Georgia, all these turns into the partial occupation of the territories, the death of people, the significant destruction of the culture, economy and design, which is almost forgotten. However, most importantly, the country has been saved even in the mutilated state.

The situation changed only in the beginning of the second half of the 2000s. Firstly, this was felt in the renewal of the nationally identical subject-spatial environment. Designers from other countries, mainly the Western ones (Italy, Germany, Spain), were involved in the reproduction of the country's national brand. This is the example of creating the look of “New Georgia” with artistically rich architectural objects of a public environment. Some of these objects show a skillfully inscribed modern urban object that reflects a national artistic form in a historical environment. Some of them are futuristic examples beautifully designed  for a complex terrain in a mountainous area as well as  for ordinary cities and towns. We mean the so-called objects of design of an architectural environment in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Mestia, Sarpi, Gora and Lochina, which make Georgia recognizable in the world by its design.

Considering the above, having experience in the comparative analysis and personal vision of the Georgian design, its objective and realistic model, the following aspects should be noted.

Today's Georgian design is the mixture of the German, Austrian and Swiss designs with the Eastern one, which has been implemented for the Kartvelian grant. Mostly, it is realized in the design of clothes, accessories (“fashionable” design objects), visual communication of “mass consumption”, design of packaging materials and containers, environmental design of saturated works of “artistic” design. However, where is design in the field of mechanical engineering, design of transport, devices, household electronics, etc.? It exists, but it cannot be said that it has a powerful force. This is a general picture.

Let us discuss the professional design education. The certain positive concessions are occurring in this area. Actually, Georgia established the design education of good quality to a greater or lesser extent on the basis of the artistic, technical and some educational programs at the classical universities that have not gained experience yet. One of the previous publications of the author is devoted to the issue of the reforms of the national systems of design education in the second half of the 20^th century using the examples of the Ukraine and Georgia [Kutateladze, 2020:30-35]. There are three leading universities in Georgia  -    Tbilisi State Academy of Art and Georgian Technical University in Tbilisi as well as University of Arts in Batumi. Tbilisi State Academy of Art named after Apolon Kutateladze has the longest traditions of training designers, where such educational programs as Artistic Processing of Wood and Furniture Design, Ceramic Art, Artistic Glass Design, Fashion Design, Jewelry and Metal Decorative Plastics, Industrial Design, Textile Design have been developing for a long time [Apolon Kutateladze Tbilisi State Academy of Arts]. This significant number of programs is taught at the Faculty of Design. Separately, this faculty has the research laboratory of the Georgian traditional textile printing, as an example of restoration and development of the traditional branches of the Georgian culture by means of design [Apolon Kutateladze Tbilisi State Academy of Arts]. Some design programs, such as Spatial Design, Interior Design and Color and Lighting Design in Architecture were transferred to the Faculty of Architecture [Apolon Kutateladze Tbilisi State Academy of Arts]. The University of Arts in Batumi has two educational programs such as Textile Design and Cloth Design at the Faculty of Visual, Stage and Film-TV Arts [University of Arts in Batumi]. Certified designers are also trained at International Design School of Georgian Technical University. This school acts as a faculty and has four educational programs with Interior and Furniture Design, Product Design (Industrial Engineering Design), Transportation Design, Visual Communication Design (Graphic Design) [International Design School]. In addition, there are the design educational programs at several universities, which still gain some experience. We will definitely discuss these issues in our future studies. The mentioned universities and art academy offer the BA and MA programs. The problem for now is a postgraduate education (doctoral design programs), which is not yet available.

As for the existing design practice, it demonstrates that the Georgian designers today lack large corporate clients, because the world knows little about them. This is due to an insufficient participation in international design competitions. However, recently the situation has got off the ground in this direction. The new names of the Georgian designers, studios, groups specializing in packaging design, design of clothes and accessories can be observed as a sign of a positive result. The environmental design is among the winners of the prestigious international design competitions. This is confirmed by the result of “Red Dot Design” competition   -   famous Georgian industrial designer Zviad Tsikolia became a winner in the field of packaging design [Red Dot Design].

The modern graphic design of the Georgians has some features in such a segment as “font design”. The Georgian font is a peculiar alphabet of form-making, the plane of experiments with a national form and a constructive modern plasticity. Ornament is another traditional segment, which brings design closer to applied arts, visual communications of “mass consumption”, media, etc. The second direction in which the Georgian designers realize themselves best is clothes, accessories, fabrics, including traditional ones. This field actively declares itself in the world. The environmental design continues its traditions, particularly, in historical environments. Thus, exteriors and interiors of former factories, plants and printing houses in the Georgian cities and towns have been successfully adapted to modern realities by means of the environmental design, thanks to “rich”, “eclectic” combinations of a kind of “modern” design with the vintage Georgian crafts. The massive shifts towards a successful adaptation of the modern “fashionable” forms in the constructed skyscrapers in design of resort city Batumi (which can be called “Georgian Singapore”) have been observed.

Today's industrial design practice in Georgia is very slow. It is not powerful, because it depends on economic opportunities. Therefore, production of design-intensive products of mechanical engineering, transport, appliances and technical household goods has not become highly capable in the competitive struggle with the West. However, there are reasons for it to become a noticeable phenomenon. This statement is supported by some introductions into production. They include VL11M6-503 electric traction, special-purpose armored vehicles “Didgori”, “Didgori", “Medevac”, “Lazika”, which are the segments of the industrial design. The developments of the well-known design studio “Tsikolia Design”, namely, the “Morieli” combat vehicle, the concept cars for the Geneva and Frankfurt motor shows, the project proposals for aerial trams, the experimental aircraft, the turnstile of Tbilisi metro, the model of “spider bicycle”, the baby carriage for the Japanese market, watches and others should be also added to this list [Tsikolia Design]. All these industrial samples are oriented towards production by the local industry, some of them   -  for foreign markets. We hope that together these design results will make Georgia’s industrial design noticeable.

Due to the fact that design is deeply integrated into economy, it should also choose appropriate priorities. Nowadays, large-scale, grandiose projects and cultivation of “design gigantomania” should not be the focus of Georgian designers’ attention. On the contrary, perfect examples of ordinary products or household appliances should be developed. There are the certain exceptions in this respect. If Georgia is building skyscrapers in resort areas today or is engaged in design of   a military equipment, then it is quite logical to develop these directions. The point is that those spheres, which are not typical for the country, should not be forced. It is clear that directions of creation of material objects are chosen not only by designers, but they are recognized by representatives of “humanitarian culture in the field of technology”, who can better than others choose technical priorities of community to which they belong.

In our opinion, the way of choosing priorities for Georgia’s design activity should be as follows. Nowadays, Georgia is actively developing the brand of a tourist country. As a result, better than others the appropriate programs for development of tourist facilities and resort areas are being created. In accordance with this, the design fields oriented to this branch of economy should be developed. These are areas of design that bring it closer to the architectural space. They include development of hotel, sanatorium, cottage constructions as well as low-rise civil and residential constructions, taking into account the peculiarities of designing on a mountain landscape. This will give impetus to progress of technologies aimed at development of relevant industries. The similar design of the architectural environment should activate the landscape design of non-industrial spaces. Firstly, the design of resort cities and towns.

In our opinion, due to the country’s agrarian nature, the agricultural mechanical engineering should be the first priority in the field of mechanical engineering. A high-quality, well designed agricultural machinery will increase an efficiency of an agricultural production and this is very important. It is also a sought-after product for export. If you invest into creation and permanent modernization of equipment and precisely, in those of its types in which the Georgians have been known in the world since the ancient times, then it will become a brand of the country. It is necessary to add the shipbuilding design as a segment of the transport engineering to the mechanical engineering industry. This will entail development of appropriate production structures and entire service infrastructure. Moreover, Georgia is a “maritime country”. This affects the mentality of its inhabitants. Only the main fields are named here. The transport design, which has a historical basis for restoration, can also be added.

In addition to the above mentioned, the applied arts bordering on design and architecture can take a worthy place. It will give a positive look to the Georgian cities and villages. “Designed applied art”, which became a kind of the Central-Eastern design brand with a high level of an artistic component, is most adapted to the realities of Georgia. However, it has not become a noticeable phenomenon in the performance of its designers. Moreover, Georgia, like the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, has all grounds for  development of this component. We are talking about creation of such products as tableware, furniture, fabric, clothes, more technically complex household items, as well as all kinds of exterior and interior equipment, etc.

The so-called product design can be added to this segment. It includes metal products and products made from other materials, such as ceramics, glass, traditional fabrics (which belong to the design field in the European practice). In case of Georgia, it should be associated with materials, in the bosom of which the traditional product design is created with innovative strategies and applied arts technologies.

The so-called “historical approach to the design of modern things” is another necessary direction. Just note that this is not about spontaneous manifestations of folk culture lovers, but about forms from the past, which have been selected by life and have a powerful artistic potential uniquely formed in one or another region. Therefore, such forms should not be completely abandoned in the process of design. Many of them are now “in basements” of archives, as historical samples, some of them are still in Georgian yards. It is necessary to have a developed segment of professional “designers-archaeologists”, or artists-restorers of objects of the material culture to make them accessible to public.

In view of this, what kind of “Georgian version of design” should we see? In our opinion, it is still quite similar to the versions of the countries of Central-Eastern Europe and some countries of the Balkans, based on similarity of the previous consideration of their experience. However, until now, Georgia has not set the task of creating the concept of “Georgian design” contenting itself with the presence of “design on the territory of Georgia”. We are hopeful that it will be relevant.

Conclusions

1. The comparison of the Georgian design, considered by us as one of design versions with the design map of other countries, shows the absence of a subjective desire to create an own version. There is a lack of sufficient number of events, discussions, critical publications, scientific articles that should be initiated by subjects of design profession, unlike in countries with nationally oriented versions of design.

2. The use of the neighboring design experience should be meaningful, from the point of view of adaptation to local artistic and financial realities. Firstly, it is important to consider certain features of each region according to local specifics. They significantly depend on “geographic destiny”. Due to this, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe adapt the German features, while the Balkans adapt the Italian ones. Georgia adopts the Pan-European experience.

3. In our opinion, the projection of today's design realities in Georgia on the priorities outlined above recommends focusing on the following:

– design of fabrics, clothes and accessories is becoming more and more noticeable;

– design of containers and packaging materials is noticeable and has a powerful potential;

– design of the architectural environment (cottages, high-rise and low-rise hotels, civil residential constructions), especially, in resort areas, needs additional attention, as it lacks the Georgian projects;

– landscape design of resort spaces is not active at all;

– design bordering on the applied arts or the product design is not noticeable at all, although these areas do not require excessive financial investments;

– design in the agricultural engineering is not engaged, although historically it had every reason for development;

– design of vehicles (especially shipbuilding, as for a “maritime country”) is completely absent. This segment of the special mechanical engineering has potential and it is partially engaged;

– the field of involvement of reinterpreted artistic forms from layers of the material culture to the modern design practice has not developed at a professional level.

4. The way to succeed in the global market is to direct design efforts to specific areas, but not to all existing areas in the world. Focused efforts in this direction have reasons to succeed, that is, to break out of the situation of copying the Western design samples and adapting the Western experience to the local realities. In other words, it is possible to become a “trendsetter” in  approximately chosen areas or areas close to them.