Historical Design Movement and Figures

Philippe Starck 1949:

 A recognized designer since the 1980s. In the late 1960s, he established an
inflatable furnishings company.
 By the 1970s, Starck had set up his design studio in Paris (Starck Products),
building a reputation as a pioneer in the world of design. He initially
concentrated on inner designs and later products.
 Starck first achieved international attention by renewing French President
François Mitterrand’s, private apartment in the Elysee Palace, in 1982.
 Starck is an idealist and designs affordable and desirable products for the
mass market. Starck calls this ‘democratic design’, aiming to improve life,
for the greatest number of people.
 One of the most famous designs is the ‘JUICY SALIF LEMON
SQUEEZER’ (1990), which has a range of features that are noteworthy:
o It is made from an aluminum die-casting.
o The long, angled legs are designed to prevent the juice from running
down and to provide space for a container to collect the juice.
o A design classic and an iconic product.
 The world's first polycarbonate chair the ‘LA MARIE CHAIR’ was in 1998.
 Starck’s computer mouse, commissioned by Microsoft in 2004.
Ergonomically designed, being comfortable in the right or left hand.
William Morris (1834-1896):

 William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile
designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British
Arts and Crafts movement.
 Textile Design: Morris played a key role in the revival of traditional British
textile arts and methods of production. His designs for fabrics, tapestries,
and wallpapers are celebrated for their complex patterns and mastery which
specialized in the use of natural.
 Famous quote: ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be
useful or believe to be beautiful’.
 Many of his textile and wallpaper designs, which made use of use of simple,
natural forms, are still in use today.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928):

 An innovative designer, architect, and artist who worked co-

operatively as part of the ‘GLASGOW FOUR’ to interpret Art
Nouveau in a unique, Scottish way.
 His designs show evidence of Japanese, Celtic, and Arts and Crafts
influences.
 Could produce particularly harmonious interior designs, bringing
together a beautiful, yet practical, blend of architecture, furniture,
furnishings, and decoration.
 The Glasgow School of Art is one of the best examples of his work
but was badly damaged by fires in 2014 and 2018.
Marianne Brandt (1893-1983):

 A form Bauhaus student who became head of the metalwork

department in 1928.
 She employed simple forms that are still relevant to modern
designs.
 She developed a range of geometrically pure kitchenware, and her
products were commercially successful when Bauhaus design
generally had not been fully accepted.
 The tea infuser is a typical Bauhaus design with a simple,
geometrical form.
 The offset lid is functional in preventing drips and the ebony
handle is positioned for ease of pouring.
 One was sold for $361,000 in 2017.
 Eileen Gray (1878-1976):
 Eileen Gray, a modernist designer, was born in, Ireland in 1878. She was
an artist, interior designer, and architect. Trained in London but spent most
of her time in France.
 Very few women worked in design during the early twentieth century, as
this profession was male-dominated.
 Her work can be regarded as both functional and artistic. Much of her work
was at the leading edge of the modernist movement and was influenced, by
the Art Deco design.
 The Bibendum chair:
o In a modernist style, very different from traditional designs of the
same period. It has a simple and functional form and is a timeless
design, still popular today and regarded as a classic, iconic design.
o Chromed steel frame and curved leather tubing, giving rise to an
extremely comfortable seating position.
o The name for the chair was taken from the Michelin man, a character
developed to sell tires.
 The E1027 table:
o Designed in 1929 - still manufactured today. It is another Eileen
Gray piece of furniture that has become a design icon/classic.
o Height adjustable. The stand is composed of two 'telescopic' sliding
tubes, with a pin on a chain, used to lock them in position.
o High-grade tubular stainless steel and tempered glass, provide a
quality finish.

Raymond Loewy (1893-1986)

o Such was his influence that he is often called the ‘FATHER OF
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN’.
 o He designed a commercially successful model plane when he was a teenager
and used earnings from this to fund his engineering education.
o He started his career in 1928 by designing an improved casing for a
Gestetner duplicating machine, modelling with clay to develop its
streamlined form.
o His work streamlining locomotive design also introduced welding for the
first time as an improved method of manufacturing compared to the rivets
previously used.
o The incorporation of cosmetic streamlining in his re-design of the 'Coldspot’
refrigerator in 1935 resulted in a fourfold increase in sales and demonstrated
the commercial potential of industrial design.
o His other achievements included work with the US car manufacturer,
Studebaker, as well as re-designing the Lucky Strike cigarette package and
the iconic Coca-Cola bottle.
o He also designed Greyhound buses, and logos for many large companies
such as Shell, and later in his career, he re-designed the livery of Air Force
One, the US presidential jet, and worked for NASA on spaceship interiors.

Pennsylvania Railroad class GG1, designed by Raymond Loewy.

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007):

o Ettore Sottsass led the Memphis design group. He designed

products that, were unusual, with bright color schemes, producing
imaginary designs for everyday objects.
 o In 1969, he designed the bright red plastic Olivetti Valentine
typewriter, which is regarded as an iconic ‘pop’ design.
o His designs were controversial and unusual.
o This Ceramic Totem was designed by Sottsass, as part of the
Memphis Group. 171cm in height. The ceramic finish is coated in
polychrome glazes, producing a colorful reflective surface.
o His best-known work includes the anthropomorphic ‘Carlton’ room
divider, the zoomorphic ‘Tahiti’ Table Lamp, and the asymmetric
‘Beverly’ sideboard.

Arts and Crafts (1850-1900):

o Key point: traditional crafts rather than machines.
o Influences, inspirations, and features:
- Simplicity – handmade
- Inspiration from nature – plants, birds, and animals.
- Natural forms and materials
- Colour and texture.
- William rejects the idea of the Industrial Revolution (believed
automation and mass production separate designers from their products).
- Products were too expensive for an average person to buy.
Art Nouveau (1890-1905)
o Key point: a wide-ranging ‘new art’ movement, combining European and
oriental influences, particularly featuring natural, languid forms.
o Influences, inspirations and features:
- Curvy ‘whiplash’ lines and stylized flowers.
- Elongated lines, leaves, roots, buds & seedpods.
- Exotic insects and peacock feathers.
- Inspiration from Nature and the female form.
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh:
- Glasgow-based designer & architect.
- Contrasting monochrome colors & the use of geometric shapes in his
work.(developed the Glasgow style)
Bauhaus Modernist (1919-1933):

o Key points: machine aesthetic approach to ‘form follows function’.

o Influences, inspirations and features:
- Form follows function
- Products for a machine age
- Everyday objects for everyday people
- Modern materials
- Simple, geometrically pure forms and clean lines
- Omitting decorative frills
- Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe:
- Wanted to design and manufacture products, architecture, and print that
were functional, cheap, and compatible with mass production techniques.
- Should be reflected in its aesthetic qualities.
Art Deco (1925-1939):

o Key points: popular modernism with odd influence.

o Influences, inspiration and features:
- Geometric forms
- Symmetry and repetition
- Zig-zagged geometric fan motifs and sunbursts
- Inspiration from ancient Egypt and Aztec Mexican Art
- Discovery of Tutankhamum’s tomb
- Machine age: not a lot of manmade product
- Key designer: Claris Cliff (ceramicist)
De Stijl (1917 – 1931):
o Key point: a famous modern art form that valued abstraction and
simplicity. Clean lines, right angles, and primary colors characterized this
aesthetic and art movement expressed via architecture and paintings.
o Influences, inspirations and features:
- Black outlines
- Inspiration using extreme geometric designs, rectangles, and primary
colors
- Ultimate simplicity and abstraction
- Disconnected lines
- Inspired completely new designs in furniture & architecture
- Artist: Mondrian & Designer: Rietveld
Memphis (1981-1988):
o Key point: challenging conventional taste.
o Influences, inspiration and features:
- It was started by a group of Italian designers, led by Ettore
Sottsass.
- They produced highly decorative laminates and humorous
products.
- Their post-modernism influence can be seen in many of
today's products.
Post-Modernism (1975-now) :
o Key point: less is a bore.
o Influences, inspiration and features:
- It is largely influenced by the Western European
disillusionment caused by WW2.
- It is anything BUT ordinary in that it presents extreme
complexity, contradiction, and diversity.
- Diverse ideas, designs, and innovations that are intended to
provoke a reaction.
 - Memphis is part of this design period also.
- It is also referred to as Modern Design & includes Alberto
Alessi, George Sowden (Memphis Designer) & Mendini, the
founder of the Italian Style, as key figures of this period.
- The movement likes combining new materials & interesting
combinations are key.

Arts and Crafts (1850-1900): a nineteenth-century design movement that

preferred traditional skills and beautiful, natural materials to machine-
made products.

Art Nouveau (1890-1905): a design movement that sought to unify arts

and crafts through an approach that embraced new materials and natural,
sinuous forms.

Bauhaus Modernist (1919-1933): an early twentieth-century, German,

'form follows function' design school started by Walter Gropius.
Art Deco (1925-1939): a modernist design movement that employed a
range of exotic influences and the use of geometrical shapes and forms
to create popular designs.

Streamlining (1935-1955): the development of products using curves,

initially, to improve aerodynamics and subsequently, as cosmetic
modifications to give them more consumer appeal.

Memphis (1981-1988): a late twentieth-century, Italian, Post-Modern

design collective, formed by Ettore Sottsass, that set out to shock with
playful, abstract product designs that were often lacking in practicality.

Post Modernism (1975-now): a design style dating from the late

twentieth century and still in evidence now, that rejects modernism as
being boring and adopts an ‘anything goes' approach.