Design In A Nutshell

The other section of our required watching were short films from Brain Pickings, which told you about different and important design movements which have influenced the arts world.

Here are some of the facts I learnt-

The Gothic Revival – 1800s

- The church of England was becoming more popular and more churches needed to be built.

- The Gothic Revival was being used in architecture, high roofs, tall spires, arches and lancet windows.

  

The Arts and Crafts Movement – 1863

- The Industry Revolution was making people less creative because of machines being able to do the work faster and cheaper.

- This movement aimed to reverse this placing value on skill and quality of materials.

- William Morris was an influential figure in this movement, eventually bringing the movement to a wider audience.

Bauhaus Movement – 1919 to 1933

- Bauhaus was an art school, which gave its students training in many disciplines, offering a great variety of skills.

- The school operated against the communist Nazi view during the world war, however was quickly shut down. Before this teachers at the school were along the lines of Kandinsky and Klee.

- The Bauhaus building became a hallmark for modernist architecture, including large steel frames, minimalism and geometric lines.

Modernism 

- A new way of looking at the world. A new way of designing and new materials applied to all creative expressions.

- Architecture used Concrete, Glass and Steel.

- The idea was to design a better society.

- American Industrial Design – Post Great Depression

- The idea was to make things look great so people wanted them, creating a mass consumption. - Shapes were stream lined so they were cleaner and friendlier.

- It lifted spirits as people were buying things to make them happy after years of not being able to afford

- New processes were used such as Stamping and Moulding. New materials were used such as Vinyl, Chrome and Plywood.

Post Modernism – 1972

- Believed in more than one method should be used in a design process or final outcome – ‘less is a bore’

- It challenged audiences when looking at pieces of work and architecture.