Influences of Design History on the Development of Products

1. Influences of Design History on the Development of Products Mr P Mulholland St Joseph’s High School Crossmaglen

2. Influences of Design History on the Development of Products • Design is either commissioned or produced for the specific needs of somebody. • Design is linked to social, political and economic history of the modern world. • 1850-1900 Arts and Crafts Movement • 1890-1908 Art Nouveau (New Art) • 1900-1930 Modernism • 1925-1939 Art deco • 1935-1955 Streamlining • 1975-Present Post Modernism

3. Arts and Crafts (1850-1900) Philosophy • Grew out of a concern for the effects of industrialisation upon design, craftsmanship and lives of ‘working class’ people. • Value was placed on craftsmanship and skills.

4. Arts and Crafts (1850-1900) Style • Simplicity • Furniture was manufactured with little decoration. • Furniture was suitably proportioned to provide practical living environment. • Splendour • Designers experimented with different materials and new techniques. • Nature • Sources of inspiration included natural plants, birds and animals. • Flower patterns were used to link design with nature. • Colour and Texture • Colour used to provide unity and focus. • Designers preferred natural materials: stone, wood, wool and linen.

5. Arts and Crafts (1850-1900) William Morris • Formed his own design company with the emphasis based on traditional craftsmanship and natural materials. • The company produce stained glass, carvings, furniture, wallpaper and carpets. • His strong beliefs influenced his design philosophy of simple, natural products produced by individuals rather than mass produced by large scale industry.

6. Art Nouveau (1890-1905) Philosophy • Art Nouveau or New Art was an international style of decoration and architecture. • Developed by a new generation of artists and designers who wanted a fashion and style appropriate to their modern age. • The principle of art nouveau was the concept of a unity and harmony across various arts and crafts to create new aesthetic values. • Many of these designers appreciated the benefits of mass production and the use of new materials to improve aesthetics. Eg: Glass and wrought iron were combined instead of traditional stone and wood.

7. Art Nouveau (1890-1905) Style • Nature • Influenced by natural forms. • Inspiration taken from curvy whiplash lines, flowers and leaves. • The Female Form • Sometimes referred to as feminine art. • Female figures were often used in designs. • Other Cultures • Japanese, Celtic, Arabian, and ancient Greek patterns provided inspiration in designs.

8. Art Nouveau (1890-1905) Charles Rennie Mackintosh • In Britain the art nouveau style was shown by the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. • At 16 he became an apprentice architect in Glasgow. Through his interior designs, furniture, glass and metalwork he influenced many throughout Europe. • His styles incorporated strong right angles and floral inspired decorative motifs with subtle curves.

9. Modernism (1900-1930) • Modernist architects and designers rejected the old style of designing based upon natural form and materials. • They believed in mass production, new materials and technology. • They wanted to show off the materials used in buildings and manufacture.

10. Modernism (1900-1930)The Bauhaus (1919-1933) Philosophy • The Bauhaus was a school of art and design opened in Germany after the First World War. The aim was to help rebuild the company. • Students were trained to be multi-disciplined and trained to work in industry. • The school contained a carpenters workshop, a metal workshop, a pottery, facilities for painting on glass, mural painting, weaving, printing, wood and stone sculpting. • These workshops created prototypes for mass production: from a single lamp to a complete house. • The Bauhaus school was disbanded in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power.

11. Modernism (1900-1930)The Bauhaus (1919-1933) Style • Form Follows Function • Functional design as opposed to highly decorative design. • Products functioned very well but also looked good. • Simple, geometrical forms were adopted with clean lines without clutter. • Products for a Machine Age • Products used modern materials such as tubular steel and mass production processes. • Products looked like they had been made by machine. • Everyday Objects for Everyday People • Consumer goods should be functional , cheap and easily mass produced so ordinary working class people can afford them.

12. Modernism (1900-1930) Marcel Breuer • Born in Hungary and worked in an architects office before going study at the Bauhaus from 1920-1924. • He became manager of the furniture workshop and created his best known piece called the ‘wassily’ chair. • The wassily chair was revolutionary in the use of materials (bent steel tubes) and methods of manufacture. • The Germans had perfected a way to produce seamless steel tubing which would not bend when a force was applied.

13. Art Deco (1925-1939) Philosophy • This term is used to describe the architectural and decorative arts style that emerged in France. • It embraced both hand crafted and machine production. • Art deco was a lavish and luxurious form of design. • Geometric forms and patterns, bright colours, sharp edges and the use of expensive materials such as enamel, ivory, bronze and polished stone were used in this style. • Chrome, coloured glass and Bakelite enabled art deco designs to be made at low cost.

14. Art Deco (1925-1939) Style • Geometric Forms • Popular themes were trapezoidal, zig-zagged, geometrical fan motifs. • Primitive Arts • African, Egyptian and Mexican art and architecture influenced contemporary designs. • Machine Age • Art deco celebrated the machine age through the use of man made materials (aluminium, glass and stainless steel), symmetry and repetition.

15. Art Deco (1925-1939) Eileen Gray • Gray was born in Ireland and studied fine arts in London. • She eventually designed E-1027 which was her holiday home in the South of France. This was considered to be her first major work. It was of a highly personalised design to fit in with the lifestyle of its occupants. • Her circular glass E-1027 table and Bibendum armchair were inspired by the tubular experiments of Marcel Breuer at Bauhaus. They are now design classics.

16. Streamlining (1935-1955) Philosophy • Influenced by modern aerodynamic designs derived from advancing technologies in aviation and high speed transportation. • This was a period of new materials and mass production processes. • Streamlining is the shaping of an object to reduce the amount of drag or resistance to motion through a stream of air. The front of the object should be well rounded and the body should gradually curve back to a tapered rear section. • New materials made these aerodynamic shapes possible. • These new shapes made products more appealing to a growing consumer society.

17. Streamlining (1935-1955) Style • Teardrop shape • The form adopted as perfect aerodynamicism was that of the tear drop. • This aerodynamic form became the new aesthetic direction and guided the design of modern products. • Futuristic design • Science fiction provided optimism for a new and better future with sleek rocket shapes.

18. Streamlining (1935-1955) Raymond Loewy • Loewy was one of the best known industrial designers of the 20th century. • During the 1930’s Loewy established a relationship with the Pennsylvania Railroad and his most notable designs were their streamlined trains. • During this period Loewy also began to work for US car manufacturer Studebaker producing the iconic bullet nosed car. The designs incorporated new features such as slanted windscreens, built in headlights and wheel covers.

19. Post-Modernism (1975-Present) Philosophy • The movement of post modernism began with architecture, as a reaction to the perceived blandness present in modern architecture as preached by the Bauhaus. • Designers wanted to put individualism and personality back into design. • Out of this period came the Memphis Group founded by designer Ettore Sottsass. The group challenged the idea that products had to follow conventional shapes, colours, textures and patterns.

20. Post-Modernism (1975-Present) Style • Humour and Personality • Products were bright and colourful like childrens toys often including unnecessary decoration to give it personality. • By giving designs a personality it made them appealing to those who wanted to express their individuality. • Retro Design • Inspiration is taken from past movements and then interpreted in a modern way. • Old designs are copied and manufactured using new materials and incorporating new technology. • Deconstruction • Surface structure of a building is distorted so that it becomes non rectangular. The finished visual appearance gives an impression of controlled chaos.

21. Post-Modernism (1975-Present) Philippe Starck • A well known French designer. His designs have been publicised in the media and include a diverse range from interior designs to mass produced toothbrushes. • He rose to fame in 1982 with his interior designs for the French President’s private appartments. • He has worked with many multinational companies on the design of packaging and relatively inexpensive products such as a mouse for Microsoft. • Starcks products are often stylised and streamlined in appearance. They posses humour and personality. • he is conscious of sustainability and products are often light and economical in their use of energy and materials from production to consumption, packaging and transportation.