time. Different ways of looking into elements responsible for creating various meanings have been experimented which are still relevant to modern design practice.
Change in Ideology
From 1870 onwards, artists like Seurat, Gauguin, Van Gogh and the Nabis had, instead of recognising the eye as the sole instrument of understanding, reduced the descriptive role of color and begun to explore its structural and symbolic possibilities. They were more concerned with expressing an idea than trying to represent the world around them (Skira, 1959).
European Design Schools: Art and Design transition
Art Nouveau (1880-1910), the “New art” became the first popular in 20th century style. It was essentially European. Organic form and decoration was largely inspired by nature, Fig. 17 (Duncan, 1998). Familiar motifs included curvilinear element, sinuous lines, etc., are the typical features of this school. Decorative element and colour applications were superfluous in furniture and in architecture, Fig.18. And botanical embellishment is present in almost all the designs as an important element (Duncan, 1998
).
Publication and Poster Design
William Bradley emerged as the nation’s premier draftsman illustrator and poster designer in the Art Nouveau idiom, was also influenced by organic and botanical embodiment. The same experiments (e.g., Henry Van) have been carried out with decorative elements picked up from the nature are predominant, botanical ornamentation is a major characteristic as seen in two of his posters, Fig. 19. It has become a style of Art Nouveau (Duncan, 1998).
Art and product
Similar type of work could be seen in art and utility product of this time. Free flow of forms along with movement is the key character of Peter Behrens painting is a pure stylistic evident. Francois was a popular product designer of the time; this design shows human emotion as a users perceptible design element, Fig 20 (Duncan, 1998).
Dutch for the style
It is the name of a group of artists and architects who set out to create a universal style in architecture, graphic arts and design. Using squares and rectangles in flat planes of bold primary colours along with black, gray and white, all carefully orchestrated with straight lines. Red, yellow and blue rectangles and squares contained by thick black lines, or on a distinctly white background, is De Stijl, as we know it. The De Stijl art movement (1917-1928) included paintings, architecture, furniture, and graphic design, Fig. 21 and Fig. 22 (Duncan, 1998).
"DE STIJL" is a Dutch word, which means the style.
The phenomenon we call 'DE STIJL' was not an organised movement but a frequently changing collection of artists. It’s actually a name of a magazine. The painter and writer Theo van Deosburg was its editor. In 1917 the first number of the magazine 'The Style' was launched. If we look at the date of foundation, the First World War, we can point out the relevance of the society as base of the origin. The members of The Style tried to reflect in their work what in the entire social development could not be achieved, i.e., the Ideal Harmony.
Graphic Design
Interesting aspect of this particular school is that the designers used all the basic design elements of the stilj in utility items and in advertising Packaging & Poster.
Melevich the painter used the Stijl basic design elements in his work.
Applications are vivid in his architectural structure and in his famous painting
‘House under construction’, Fig. 23 (Duncan, 1998).
Form & Colour
In the contemporary art scene of this period, one of the important aspects that have played a predominating role in whole of art and design trend that was the style of the Stijl. Similar style can also be very clearly seen in some of the contemporary artists and designers’ work. We can mention here the works of designer Gerrit Rietveld and artist Piet Mondrian in terms of basic structure and in colour combination, Fig. 24 (Duncan, 1998).
A design school in Germany established in 1919, which provides methodological basis of design education in 20th century. This exemplifies the modern movement and developing a design style. Bauhaus School has come to represent the refinement of the modern movement characterised by a “Form follows function” ideology. The movement represents an important bridge between the decorative arts and industrial design, Fig.25 (Duncan, 1998). The founder director of Bauhaus, Walter Gropius coined the term “Bauhaus” as the build house of design, which is a union of art, architecture, and design.
In 1950, Inge Archer-Scholl founded Ulm as a private institution. In 1955 the school opened officially in its new building with Max Bill as director. Artists and designers have contributed a lot in these movements. A new thought using straight and parallel lines used in ‘New design’ the stijl; colours experimentation was also done depicting various theme, time, mood etc. Architectural practices was influenced by varieties of structural display along with painting freedom, Cezanne, Piet Mondrian may be named as pioneer in this connection.
Various products as a result of industrialisation out put demanded new styling.
Artists William Bradly, Henry Van, Peter Behrens, Kasimir Malevich, and Piet Mondrian put their efforts. These can be evident through glass and ceramics forms, packaging design, furniture design, gender application of products with artistic understanding of human body and behaviors as they use the same in their real as well as abstract art forms came to the fore ground. A shift from formal geometric application to use of organic elements was noticed.
Some people believe that at the initial stage of machine design, perhaps to camouflage the dirt, dust, grease etc., colour of machine was metallic green.
With many influences and technological advances, feasibility of varieties of colour applications has been experimented to give different identity in them. The above experiences have come now as benchmark resources to the modern design. Present day design, with its continuous experimentation, is refined.
These satisfy new users utility as well as aesthetic feelings, with human value put in it. The industrial utility products and communication design have come to a structured profession.