Victorian Era

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].