Modern Design History
Chapter 1: Design in the
Early Industrial Period
参考书目：
《设计史》朱铭 荆雷著 山东美术出版社
《世界现代设计史》王受之著 中国青年出版社
《工业设计史》何人可著 北京理工大学出版社
Section 1 Overview
From the middle of the 19th century to 1919, the European Industrial
Revolution began to the end of the First World War.
This is a transitional period from handicraft design to modern industrial design.
Its development process fully reflects the difficult and complicated process of
brewing, exploring, and fundamental changes in the design field, and embodies
the promotion and constraints of technological and economic factors on design
development. Impact.
The Industrial Revolution that began in Britain in the 18th century changed the
basic conditions of productivity, and also changed the political, economic and
cultural aspects of society, thus bringing design into a new era, one centered
around machines and machine production, and around the market. In the new
era, we call it modern design.
The social background of modern design
Until the 18th century, Europe was still in the era of agricultural
economy, in the feudal era.
This kind of noble-centered culture and politics hindered the
development of capitalist economy. Designed to be enjoyed by
the nobles, not owned by the people. Obvious class
characteristics, pretentious and cumbersome decorations, and
the process of alternating Baroque and Rococo styles, felt the
coming of a new era in the increasingly polarized and
aggressive industrialization process of society at the end of the
18th century.
1. The technical environment of machine production and
design
•Energy and power have always been the main fulcrum for the
development of productive forces. Before the 18th century, people
mainly relied on the power of energy produced by nature, such as
manpower, animal power, wind power, and water power. The
development of production was very slow. Since Jimmy Watt invented
the steam engine, a new power appeared-the machine. In addition to
pumping water for the mine, it was also used by inventor Stevenson to
make a locomotive, which increased the speed and load of
transportation. Thousands of times, it was once installed on ships by
Fulton, which greatly increased the speed of water transportation. The
textile, smelting, and machinery manufacturing industries all use steam
engines as power, and the world has undergone tremendous changes.
•The steam engine invented by Watt in 1769
•The spinning machine invented by Hargreaves
•In 1769, a spinning machine powered by the
Huli River hydraulic power.
1. Division of design and manufacturing
The workshop owners and craftsmen in the handicraft industry
were both designers, manufacturers, and sometimes sellers. In the
18th century, architects separated from the "architectural guild",
making architectural design a high-level professional intellectual
work, which led to the rapid development of architectural styles.
Design is separated from the manufacturing industry and
becomes an independent industry, so that the manual laborer in
the manufacturing role-the worker, becomes a tool for the
designer to embody his intentions. It is almost the same in nature
as the machine, and the labor of the worker has lost the ancient
times. The pleasure of craftsmen.
2. The emergence of standardized and integrated products
The product produced by the machine is exactly the same. There is no room for
the personal style and skills of the ancient craftsmen, and no one cares about the
artistic style of the product. At this time, the only criterion for evaluating the
quality of the design is profit, and how to save labor and save labor. No one
cares about the artistry and culture of the product.
3. New energy and power also bring the use of new materials
Traditional wood and iron were replaced by various high-quality steels and light
metals. The construction industry also put bricks and stones aside, starting the
era of reinforced concrete structures.
In short, the technical environment brought by the popularization of machine
production for design is that people may use more powerful power and
machinery to achieve their design goals than in the handicraft period, and thus
also produce greater freedom.
2. Market competition and the economic environment of design
Machine production has made the growth rate of products leaps and
bounds. As a sales channel, the market has more products than
before.
The closed, self-sufficient, self-sufficient, self-sufficient, selfproduced and self-sold natural economy has withered away, the
market economy has grown, and free competition has caused the
abnormal development and prosperity of urban commerce, which
has led to new design ideas and design systems that require
comprehensive enhancement of competitiveness. appear.
1. The design goal is the market
If the product does not bring benefits to the factory owner,
production will stop. When designers are engaged in design, in
addition to thinking from a technical perspective, they must also
fully consider economic factors.
2. Urban development provides a broad market
With the development of industrialization, big cities with many
factories came one after another, and workers became urban
residents and the main consumers of cheap products. The
commodity economy has become the main economic form of
the city, and the links of commodity circulation are unimpeded.
No matter how many conflicts there are in other links between
designers, factory owners and distributors, their common goal
is consumers.
3. Commercialization of design
The commodity economy turns everything into commodities, and wisdom and
technology are no exception. As a result, design has emerged as a new industry,
and its role in the production process has become clearer and more extensive.
If we examine modern design from the cultural environment, first of all, the
anti-traditional spirit of art is also reflected in the design. People strive to treat
life and daily necessities with an approachable attitude, and despise the
complicated and pretentious styles of Rococo. Function is more important than
art. In addition, the growth of non-realistic art has greatly inspired design. The
geometric abstract forms of industrial products have entered the category of
beauty in modern art. The burgeoning international style requirements also
emerged at this time, which gradually weakened national traditions and
regional characteristics, and the world showed an "international style" in the
face of pursuing standardization.
In 1886, the form of the Bentz car
Section 2 Crystal Palace-International Fair of 1851
As the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, in 1851, Queen Victoria and his
husband Duke Albert initiated the organization of the world's first industrial
products fair. More than 10,000 pieces of various industrial products (including
traditional handicraft products) were exhibited at the meeting, and the venue
was the famous "Crystal Palace".
At that time, due to time constraints, the organizers of the fair were forced to
accept the emergency plan from the Royal Horticultural Director Joseph Paxton
(1801-1865)-a flower-style hall assembled from a steel frame and flat glass.
•Paxton is good at using steel and glass to build greenhouses. He used the method of
assembling the greenhouse to build the huge shell of the "Crystal Palace" glass iron frame
structure. The total area of the "Crystal Palace" is 600,000 square feet; the total length of the
building reaches 563 m (1851ft), which symbolizes the construction in 1851; the width is
124.4 m, and there are 5 spans in total. The unit is 2.44 m (because the length of the glass was
1.22 m, use this size as the modulus). Its appearance is a simple stepped rectangular
parallelepiped with a vertical vault. Only iron frames and glass are shown on each side without
any unnecessary decoration. In the whole building, only iron, wood, and glass were used.
Construction started in August 1850 and ended on May 1, 1851. It took less than 9 months to
complete the assembly. It was destroyed by fire in 1936.
•Compared with previous buildings, this building has the following
differences:
•In terms of materials, the traditional soil, wood, brick, and stone
are replaced by brand new steel and glass. During construction, the
standard components that are processed through rigorous
calculations are transported to the site to be assembled by screws
and riveting methods, so that it has A total area of over 600,000
square feet. It is not so much a "architecture", but rather a
"machine" for exhibitions. Although people had mixed reviews for
its appearance at the time, the development of modern architecture
in less than half a century fully proved its forward-looking And
epoch-making significance.
•1851 British International Fair venue
There are two completely different forms in the exhibits. On the one hand, new products and
new craftsmanship that replace manual operations with machine production are crude and
simple due to the lack of corresponding beautiful forms and decorations. On the other hand, the
national traditions of various countries The handicrafts reflect the charm of art with exquisite
craftsmanship and expensive materials.
For this phenomenon, the comments of
three people have the greatest influence.
John Ruskin, as a literary critic and writer,
has a negative attitude towards the exhibits
and the Crystal Palace. He believes that the
reason for this phenomenon is the
separation of art and technology. Therefore,
he advocates that artists engage in product
design and Seek design inspiration and
source from nature, oppose the use of new
materials and new technologies, and
require faithfulness to the characteristics of
traditional natural materials and reflect
the authenticity of materials. At the same
time, he also emphasized that design
should serve the public and oppose elitist
design. In short, Ruskin’s views reflected
on the one hand the main argument against
machine production at the time, and on the
other hand, it also saw the necessity of
combining art and technology and the
social requirements of serving the public.
German architect Goldfried Sembier also visited the fair. After the meeting,
he wrote two books, "Science·Craft·Fine Arts" and "Patterns of Arts and
Crafts and Industrial Arts". The books clarified his opposition to machine
production and advocated "design art" combining fine arts and technology.
The term "industrial design" was proposed once.
Section 3 British Arts and Crafts Movement
The most famous commentator who combined
theory with practice is William Morris (1834-1896).
Morico visited the fair at the age of 17, and his
disgust with the exhibits affected his future design
activities and design ideas.
He was born into a wealthy family and was highly
educated. He was engaged in architectural design at
Strid Architects, which is famous for designing
Gothic styles. Later, he joined the ranks of PreRaphaelite and prepared to engage in painting.
Because of the establishment of the studio and the
newlyweds' room in the future, he changed his mind
once again to engage in architecture and product
design.
Pre-Raphaelite
painting
In 1859, he cooperated with Phillip Webb (1831-1915) to design and build the "Red
House". The interior furniture, tapestries, carpets, curtain fabrics, etc. were all
designed by Morris himself. Their practical and reasonable structure, as well as the
pursuit of natural decoration, reflect the rich pastoral characteristics and the style of
country villas. Since then, he opened more than a dozen factories and established an
independent design office in 1861, incorporating all the projects that constitute the
living environment, including architecture, furniture, lamps, interior fabrics, utensils,
gardens, sculptures, etc., into his business. And with elegant tones, exquisite and
natural patterns are favored.
Red House Design: Philip Webber, 1859
Mahogany table
and carpet in the
red house
Morris Design
Mosaic tile pattern
1876
Embroidery tapestry
Morris Design
1877
Embroidery pattern
Morris Design
1889
armchair
Morris company
production 1865
armchair
Morris company
production
1890
Simplified 18th century
chair shape
Chair
Morris company production
1910
Morris’ theory and practice had a great influence in the UK. Some young artists and
architects followed suit and carried out design innovations, thus forming the climax of a
design revolution between 1880 and 1910. This is the so-called "crafts and arts". movement".
This movement was centered on the United Kingdom, spread to many European and
American countries, and had a profound impact on the modern design movement of later
generations.
The arts and crafts movement was born out of the so-called "crisis of conscience".
Artists feel sad about the irresponsible and shoddy products and their damage to the natural
environment, and try to establish or restore standards for products and producers.
In design, the arts and crafts movement draws inspiration from the values ​of "faithful to
materials" and "suitable for purpose" of handicrafts, and takes simple and faithful
decorations derived from nature as the basis of its activities. The Arts and Crafts Movement is
not a specific style, but a variety of styles coexisting. In essence, it is an experiment in
transforming society through art and design and establishing a production mode dominated
by handicrafts.
The arts and crafts movement has a very wide range. It includes a group of design guilds
similar to the Morris firm, and has become the center of the arts and crafts movement. The
guild was originally an industrial organization of craftsmen in the Middle Ages. Morris and his
followers borrowed the organization form of the guild to resist industrialized commercial
organizations. The most influential design guilds: the "Century Guild" formed by Arthur
Mackmurdo (1851-1942) in 1882 and the "Century Guild" formed by Charles R. Ashbee
(1863-1942) in 1888 Handicrafts Guild" etc. It is worth mentioning that in 1885, a group of
technicians and artists formed the British Arts and Crafts Exhibition Association. Since then, it
has held regular international exhibitions, which has attracted a large number of foreign
artists and architects to visit the United Kingdom. The spirit of the art movement played an
important role.
Most of the main figures in the Arts and Crafts movement were trained by architects, but they
turned to interior, furniture, dyeing and weaving and small decoration design using Morris as
a model. Makmudo himself is an architect. His "Century Guild" brings together a group of
designers, decorators and sculptors. Its purpose is to break the boundary between art and
crafts. The name of the arts and crafts movement is "Arts and This is the meaning of Crafts.
In his own words, in order to save design from commercialization, "artisans from all walks of
life must be brought into the palace of artists."
Book title page
design
Makmudo
1883
chair
Makmudo
1882-1883
The fate of Ashby is a microcosm of the fate of the entire arts and crafts movement. He is a talented
and creative silversmith, mainly designing metal utensils. These utensils are generally forged with a
hammer and decorated with gems, reflecting the common characteristics of handcrafted metal
products. In his design, various slender, undulating lines are used, which is considered the precursor
of new art.
Ashby’s "Handicrafts Guild" was first established in the East End of London, with a retail
department in the downtown area. In 1902, in order to solve the "crisis of conscience", he decided to
move the guild to the countryside to escape the hustle and bustle of modern industrial cities, and
established a community according to the medieval model, where he not only produced jewelry,
metal utensils and other handicrafts, but also fully realized The idealized social lifestyle described by
Morris early. As Ashby said: "When a group of people learn to work together in the workshop,
respect each other, learn from each other, and understand each other's shortcomings, their
cooperation will be creative." This experiment is more than other design guilds in the pursuit of the
Middle Ages The spiritual aspect must be radical, with great influence. But Ashby ignored the fact
that all the key creation and development of the Middle Ages occurred in the city. Because the guild
was far away from the city and cut its connection with the market, and the craftsmanship was also
difficult to compete with large industries, this experiment finally ended in failure in 1908.
Silver bowl
Ashby
1893
Silver bowl with long handle Ashby 1901
Although Charles F.A. Voysey (1857—1941) did not belong to any design guild, he was a central
figure in the arts and crafts movement. In the last 20 years of the 19th century, his design was
very influential. Wosai is trained by an architect, loves wallpaper and dyeing and weaving
design, and has close contacts with Morris, Makmudo and others. Wosai's graphic design
favors the natural patterns of curly grass lines, so that people often associate him with the later
Art Nouveau movement, although he himself does not like Art Nouveau and denies any
connection with it. The furniture design of Wosai mostly uses English oak, a typical arts and
crafts material, instead of precious traditional materials such as mahogany. His works are
concise, strong and generous, and have a touch of Gothic. From 1893, he devoted a lot of energy
to publishing the "Studio" magazine. This magazine has become the mouthpiece of the British
Arts and Crafts movement. Many of the design languages ​of the Arts and Crafts movement are
created by Wosai, such as heart-shaped and tulip-shaped patterns, which can be found in his
oak furniture and copper products. Wosai's works not only inherited the spirit of Ruskin and
Morris who advocated the combination of art and technology, and learned from Gothic and
nature, but also made them more concise and generous, becoming a model of British arts and
crafts movement design.
With the introduction of exhibitions and magazines, the arts and crafts movement in Britain quickly
spread overseas, and first received repercussions in the United States. Therefore, the arts and crafts
movement in the United States is roughly parallel to the British in time. Although the United States
has long been influenced by the French academic school, there are still many important British
designers. Some famous figures in the arts and crafts movement, such as Ashby, have visited the
United States successively, and some even designed for the United States. They spread the ideas of
Ruskin and Morris to American designers.
Under the influence of Britain, the United States established many arts and crafts associations at the
end of the 19th century, such as the Boston Arts and Crafts Association established in 1897. The
outstanding representative of the American Arts and Crafts movement is Gustar Stickley. Stickley
was inspired by the work of Vossey and established a company named after his surname in 1898 and
set about designing and making furniture. He also published the more influential magazine "The
Craftsman". His design is based on the style of the British Arts and Crafts Movement, but uses
strong straight lines to make the furniture more simple and practical. It is the product of the
combination of American pragmatism and British design movement ideas.
The arts and crafts movement’s contribution to design reform is important,
1. It first proposed the principle of "combination of beauty and technology",
advocating artists to engage in design and opposing "pure art".
2. The design of the Arts and Crafts Movement emphasizes "teaching from
nature", being faithful to materials and adapting to the purpose of use, thus
creating some simple and applicable works.
3. But the arts and crafts movement also has its inherent limitations. It
pushed the handicraft to the opposite of industrialization, which
undoubtedly went against the trend of historical development, which made
British design detours.
The United Kingdom was the first country to industrialize and realize the
importance of design, but it failed to establish a modern industrial design
system for this reason.
The Arts and Crafts Movement is not a modern design movement in the true
sense, because what William Morris advocates is the revival of handicrafts and
opposes large-scale industrial production. Although William Morris also saw
the development trend of machine production, in his later speech
Acknowledge that we should try to become "masters of machines" and use it
as "a tool to improve our living conditions." The arts and crafts movement he
devoted his life to was opposed to industrial civilization. But the real art he put
forward must be "created for the people and served for the people. It is a kind
of fun for creators and users." And the design concept of "combining art and
technology" is exactly modern The spiritual connotation of design thought, the
later Bauhaus and modern design movement were developed by adhering to
this thought.