5. Style Approached from the Design Process

Studies of style can be approached from two directions: the end and the means. From the end point of view, a style is a cluster of features present in artifacts; scholars usually classify the features in products to differentiate styles (Newton 1957; Finch 1974; Scott 1980; Smithies 1981; Chan 1994, 2000). Similar approaches used to examine features for further exploring the nature of style, the degree between styles, and the systematic measurement within style were extensively covered in Chap. 3. From the means point of view, a style is a mode by which designers’ personal and professional preferences are expressed, and studies attempt to deliberate the mode of expression to mark styles (Torossian 1937; Evans 1982; Cleaver 1985). Although most style researchers have studied both directions, their efforts cannot provide clear explanations of how a style is generated. That is because not enough research has been devoted to the study of the means used that create a style. This chapter begins to explore, through a case study, the aspects of style creation and the forces that generate a style (Chan 1995, 2001). Studies of style approached from the means point of view conducted in various fields and the factors determining the generation of style are reviewed first.