CARE AS A CATEGORY OF THE AESTHETICS OF CONTEMPORARY DESIGN

Abstract

The aim of the study is to conceptualize the phenomenon of care as a category of contemporary design aesthetics through the analysis of the concept of aesthetics of care, which has emerged in global humanities scholarship as a new approach to understanding the role of design in human life. The research seeks to identify the transformation of care from a purely ethical notion into an aesthetic and communicative principle of contemporary design that shapes form-making, color schemes, materiality, and the spatial organization of the designed environment. Particular attention is given to examining care as a design response within post-industrial culture to excessive technologization, visual noise, and users’ emotional exhaustion. Methodology. The methodological framework of the study is based on an interdisciplinary approach that combines aesthetic, philosophical, psychological, and design-analytical methods. The research includes an analysis of visual and formal means of representing care – such as soft lines, natural color palettes, tactile materials, and harmonious proportions – as carriers of empathic meanings in design. A comparative analysis is applied to examine examples of the implementation of the principle of care in contemporary interior and product design solutions within Scandinavian, Japanese, and Ukrainian design schools. The method of generalization is used to systematize data on the influence of humanistic and human-centered approaches on the formation of a new ethics of the designed environment. Analytical results are obtained through the interpretation of empirical and theoretical materials, which makes it possible to identify the impact of the principles of the aesthetics of care on the formation of feelings of safety, comfort, trust, warmth, and emotional support among users, as well as to substantiate their role in harmonizing human–environment interaction, enhancing psychological well-being, and promoting social integration. Scientific novelty. Scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive understanding of care as an independent category of contemporary design aesthetics, rather than merely an ethical or social imperative. For the first time in Ukrainian academic discourse, the concept of aesthetics of care is systematically analyzed as an aesthetic and communicative principle that directly influences form-making, color schemes, material texture, and the spatial organization of the designed environment. A cross-cultural model for interpreting the aesthetics of care is proposed based on Scandinavian, Japanese, and Ukrainian design practices, which makes it possible to identify both universal patterns of implementing care and culturally conditioned differences in its visual and formal embodiment. The study substantiates that care in contemporary design functions as a multi-level aesthetic mechanism capable of shaping users’ psychological well-being, emotional support, and social integration, thereby expanding traditional notions of design aesthetics within the context of post-industrial culture. Practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of applying its results by designers, architects, and professionals in the fields of interior and product design to create comfortable, empathic, and humancentered environments. Conclusions. The study establishes that care in contemporary design emerges as a complex category integrating aesthetic, functional, and communicative aspects of the designed environment. The concept of aesthetics of care extends beyond moral and ethical imperatives and is transformed into a practical principle of form-making, color solutions, material texture, and spatial organization of design objects. This approach demonstrates the capacity of design to shape the emotional and psychological context of user–environment interaction by providing a sense of safety, comfort, and support. It is revealed that the aesthetics of care contributes to psychological comfort, the formation of trust and emotional warmth, and reduces stress levels characteristic of post-industrial environments. Soft lines, natural color palettes, tactile materials, and harmonious proportions act as carriers of empathic meanings and foster a human-centered perception of space. Thus, the aesthetics of care functions as a multi-level mechanism that takes into account not only the external characteristics of design objects but also their impact on the user’s emotional state