Fashion Design from 1900 to 1920 – Focus on Freedom
2023-06-22
Fashion Design from 1900 to 1920 – Focus on Freedom. Newfound political independence came newfound fashion freedom. READ MORERead More →
R. Buckminster Fuller: Pattern-Thinking
2023-06-15
R. Buckminster Fuller: Pattern-Thinking is a major reassessment of Fuller’s legacy in the context of design, examining his singular vision of new conceptual models for design and architecture, alongside his ideas on their potentially world-altering consequences. Read More →
Kazimir Malevich: Suprematism: 34 Drawings (1920) Paperback
2023-06-06
A facsimile edition of Kazimir Malevich, SUPREMATISM 34 Drawings, was published in 1990 by Artists Bookworks, accompanied by an introduction to the drawings by Patricia Railing;Read More →
The Ornamo Book of Finnish Design
2023-06-02
The 1962 Ornamo Book of Finnish Design showcases mid-century modernism in Finland, featuring sleek furniture and playful textiles, with light age browning on upper edges.Read More →
Pop Art – Hardcover – Coffee Table Book
2023-06-01
Pop Art emerged in the 1960s as a revolt against mainstream art and culture, focusing on materialism, celebrity, and media issues. It used mass-market sources and mechanized techniques, challenging the establishment and reducing artist roles.Read More →
Herbert Bayer: The Bauhaus Legacy | Hardcover
2023-05-28
The Bauhaus is still regarded as the nucleus of the early 20th-century German avant-garde, and Herbert Bayer practised its principles in the United States. It was founded in 1919 and had a profound impact on Europe and the United States. Bayer believed in the importance of the “total artist” moving between private, autonomous expression and public projects, making them unique in their creative depth and scope.Read More →
Neon Lighting – Dictionary – Design Term
2023-05-25
Neon Lighting. Semiflexible, hollow tubes of clear acrylic with small bulbs inside that can be connected to light up all at once or sequentially to produce a “chasing” effect. It’s also known as disco lighting, and it’s given homeowners new illumination alternatives. Lights designers consider neon lighting to be an art form.Read More →
“International Style” Architecture of the Modern Movement
2023-05-03
Alfred H. Barr Jr. coined the term in 1931 in conjunction with Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock’s 1932 “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition” (along with the accompanying book International Style: Architecture Since 1922) at the New York Museum of Modern Art, where Barr was director.Read More →
Jugendstil: An Exploration of an Artistic Style
2023-05-01
Jugendstil, an artistic style that originated around the mid-1890s in Germany and persisted throughout the first decade of the 20th century. READ MORRead More →
Mission Furniture – Design Dictionary Term
2023-04-22
The term mission furniture was first popularized by Joseph P. McHugh of New York, a furniture manufacturer and retailer. The word mission references the Spanish missions throughout colonial California. The style became increasingly popular following the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo.Read More →
Taylorism Search for Industrial Efficiency or Robotism?
2023-04-06
His 1911 book Principles of Scientific Management outlined these concepts, and they have influenced various aspects of design, including labour-saving kitchens and more ergonomic household equipment. These included the writings of fellow American Christine Frederick, who published Scientific Management in the Home in 1915, and Lillian Gilbreth’s assessments of domestic efficiency for the Brooklyn Gas Company in 1930, which looked at the kitchen as a location of industrial production. Read More →
Dada Art Movement – Making Mischief
2023-04-01
As a designer, I am passionate about the history of art and their influence on ‘visual design.’ In art history, Dada is the artistic movement that preceded Surrealism, it began in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1916 by a group of mostly painters and painters. Dada artworks challenged the preconceived notions of what art meant. Many Dadaists felt that the way to salvation was through political anarchy, the natural emotions, the intuitive and the irrational.Read More →
Cassone – the marriage chest
2023-03-25
A cassone is a big decorated chest that was made in Italy between the 14th and 16th centuries. In 1472, a Florentine merchant married a young noblewoman named Vaggia Nerli. Cassoni were put on display in the most important and well-furnished room in the palace.Read More →
Anchor Blocks – 19th Century construction toy
2023-03-21
Anchor Blocks were a German system of building blocks that were popular as a children’s construction toy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, notably in Europe. Dr F. Ad. Richter in Rudolstadt, Germany, began developing and manufacturing the system in 1879. The concept was based on the FROEBEL block system, which significantly impacted Frank Lloyd WRIGHT’s design philosophy.Read More →
Ideal Home Exhibition (est. 1908) Aspirational British Design
2023-03-09
The Daily Mail newspaper sponsored the Ideal Home Exhibition (from 1908). These shows provide an insight into popular taste and aspiration across all facets of domestic design and organisation in Britain.Read More →
Design History – 40s & 50s the age of the Graphic Designer
2023-03-06
The 1940s and 1950s the age of the Graphic Designer. Designers, illustrators, and artists used their talents to disseminate information.Read More →
Japan Advertising Artists Club pioneer of Japanese Graphic Design
2023-01-09
In the 1960s, the JAAC’s philosophy came under fire for being overly reliant on exhibitions as a platform for innovative ideas. Furthermore, during the turbulent 1960s, a perceived emphasis on aesthetics at the expense of social significance, combined with allegations of elitism, led to the organisation’s disbandment in 1970.Read More →
The Chevron pattern – a Popular motif for Designers
2023-01-06
The chevron, a V-shaped symbol found on ancient artifacts, has been used since the Neolithic age, not just for decorative purposes but as part of the proto-writing system. Its modern usage spans heraldry, surface decoration, and design motifs.Read More →
Honiton Lace the beauty of complex patterns
2023-01-02
Honiton lace is a type of bobbin lace made in Honiton, Devon, in the United Kingdom. Its ornate motifs and complex patterns are created separately, before being sewn into a net ground. Common motifs include daisies, roses, shamrocks, ivy leaves, lilies, camellias, convolvulus, poppies, briony, antwerp diamonds, trefoils, ferns, and acorns.Read More →
Design in Scandinavia travelling exhibition, 1954 – 1957
2022-07-31
Brilliant examples of contemporary home furnishings were shown from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden and exposed Americans to Scandinavian design, inspiring a shift towards mid-century design.Read More →