THE DESIGN JOURNEY

This was one of the most important design movements of the modern age. Bauhaus means building house or school of construction.

After world war one Gropius was asked to found an art school. The school was called Bauhaus. It was established in the German city of Weimar. Before this school came about European art and design schools used to teach each design subject separately. On the other hand this new school taught a variety of design subjects therefore each student was skilled in multiple disciplines. Students attending the Bauhaus school learned by making things themselves. The school started the method of workshop based training which is still used in arts and crafts schools today.

In an interview in the documentary, The Bauhaus, Face of the 20th century, Gropius said that the designer must establish a link with the machine therefore the school trained the students in two ways – as a craftsmen and as an artist. He continues on to say that one cannot understand a machine unless he/she have understood the tools of their craft. Designers of the Bauhaus era believed that there was no need for unnecessary ornamentation and that the design should be simplistic. The system at this school was quite innovative as the skills were taught by a craftsmen but there was also a supervising artist who gave inspiration to the students. Amongst the staff teaching at the Bauhaus there were Paul Klee, Kandinsky and Johannes Itten.

The Bauhaus brought about many interesting designs. The cantilever chair, created by Marcel Breuer was the first lightweight, mass produced chair. This had no legs like an ordinary one it was more simplistic. It consisted of a metal rod which was twisted. Then two pieces of fabric were stuck together to allow one to sit and rest his or her back on it. There are also wood cantilever chairs which were made with a single piece of wood. Breuer took this idea and applied to the architecture of his buildings making cantilever decks.

Bibliography

The Bauhaus, Face of the 20th century. 1994. [DVD] Frank Whitford, Julia Crave.

The Victorian era was all about strong morals and religious beliefs while also reflecting the spirit of the industrial age in its design. Victorian designers were focused on making very ornate design yet sometime they were not practical. It was not fond of the Gothic style used in medieval times, but soon after the Gothic style was revived, ending the Victorian era.

One of the most influential design theorists of this era was Owen Jones. His ideas were the result of the inspiration from the visits he paid to Egypt and Spain. These ideas where mostly about pattern and colour. He used to say that 'Form without colour is like a body without a soul' (Owen Jones, 1865). Owen Jones showed off his colour theories when in 1851 he decorated his colour theory. His simple colour scheme consisted only of the primary colours. Although it was not well received by the critics, Jones never gave up on his colour theory.

William Morris who was an English designer of the Victorian era played a major role during this era. His designs for furniture, textiles and wallpaper were some of the best examples of what the Victorian era was about. even tally Morris met up with another wallpaper designer by the name of Walter crane and together they formed the arts and crafts movement.

The arts and crafts encouraged individualism and spiritual harmony. In a time when mass production was now the mostly practised to make house hold products, this movement encouraged designers to create handmade goods instead. The interiors during this movement consisted of natural materials such as wood and natural fibres.

Bibliography

Vam.ac.uk, 2015. A higher ambition: Owen Jones (1809–74) - Victoria and Albert Museum. [online] Available at: <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/a-higher-ambition-owen-jones/> [Accessed 2 Dec. 2015].

Vam.ac.uk, 2015. William Morris - Victoria and Albert Museum. [online] Available at: <http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/w/william-morris/> [Accessed 2 Dec. 2015].

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The MFCC Home and Interiors Exhibition 2015

11/1/2015

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On Sunday the 25th of October I went to the MFCC Home and Interiors Exhibition.

Flux foldable furniture designs

The first things that I took interest in, were foldable plastic chairs by the company Flux. This company specialises in making foldable furniture (ex. Chairs, tables, counters, etc.) for domestic or commercial use. This chair comes in many different colours and the company can also make customised chairs for companies. Apart from its aesthetics this chair has very good because it can fold into a 1cm thick envelope, can take weight of up to 160kg, it is suitable for indoor and outdoor use, it is fabricated from durable UV protected material and is certified for heavy use.

Trendi Switches

The unique looking switches and sockets created by the designers of a company called Trendi were being distributed there. I was told by the sales person that these switches have a fireproof plastic module casing, are easy to clean and fit all standard wall boxes which are used in Malta. There are also ones which have a USB port to charge devices using USB cables. These switches also come out in various colours.

BDI Showroom Stand

A sales person told me that when I am analysing a design I must take notice not only at how it looks but also at its functionality, if it has any. She showed me a sofa which had a storage, a bed which can be opened from the bottom, two stools that can be taken out from the side of the sofa. Her furniture showroom also had a table which could extend at the narrow ends to accommodate more people.

Featured Walls Stand

I later visited a stand of featured wall plastering and painting. There are two types of coating one can use for a wall, painting and plastering. The salesperson there introduced me to two types of painting featured walls. One was called Ironic which is a black looking paint which contains iron filings. After the paint dries an oxidizing liquid is applied on it and the chemical reaction changes the colour of the paint to brown. The more oxidizing liquid one applies the lighter the brown gets and can also become orange. The other type of paint coating is called Verderame which is a brass paint having a brownish colour. Unlike Ironic this one requires an oxidizing gel which when applied over the brass paint the chemical reaction reveals a green colour. The salesperson told me that for plaster one needs to use a trowel. One type of plaster is called Animamundi which is a fine paste. One must be very careful when applying this paste. After it is applied it must be timed. When it is almost dry (not completely dry) it must be scratched to create the desired effect. These featured walls intrigued me and I would like to do something similar in the future because I like to experiment with new methods of painting and I also like the fact that the end result is partly a surprise.

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DESIGN

The Bauhaus

Bibliography

Victorian Era

Bibliography

The MFCC Home and Interiors Exhibition 2015

Flux foldable furniture designs

Trendi Switches

BDI Showroom Stand

Featured Walls Stand

Author

Archives

Categories

DESIGN

The Bauh﻿aus

Bibliography

Victorian Era

Bibliography

The MFCC Home and Interiors Exhibition 2015

Flux foldable furniture designs

Trendi Switches

BDI Showroom Stand

Featured Walls Stand

Author

Archives

Categories

The Bauhaus