[1] With a broad definition, the contexts of design history include the social, the cultural, the economic, the political, the technical and the aesthetic.
Among its aims was making art and design education a legitimate academic activity, to which ends a historical perspective was introduced.
Ultimately it appears that design history for practice-based courses is rapidly becoming a branch of social and cultural studies, leaving behind its art historical roots.
[5] The research literature suggests that, contrary to critics' predictions of the death of design history, this realistic approach is beneficial.
One way this was done was by building on to the existing modernist knowledge from Europe and making the processes, production and consumption meet the standards of the different cultures.
This means moving beyond the modernists approaches and acknowledging other forms of design other than those based on the European understanding of production and consumption.
[7] Globalization has also meant that design history is no longer only looked at in the perspective of production and consumption but is now also perceived in the lens of theories, policies, social programs, opinions and organizational systems.
Aspects such as teamwork, management style and appreciation of different types of creativity are all examples of design history that demonstrates the art of living and interacting with each other.
They take into consideration the Chinese civilizations which includes its history of arts, crafts and philosophy as well as incorporate the western technologies and marketing structures.