The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Frank Lloyd Wright At the turn of the century, the work of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was becoming known to European artists and designers. He was an inspiration for the designers moving away from the curvilinear forms of Art Nouveau, toward a rectilinear approach of spatial organization.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Frank Lloyd Wright Wright's first revolutionary masterpiece from his own practice was the Winslow House built in 1893 in River Forest, Illinois.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Frank Lloyd Wright Wright's first revolutionary masterpiece from his own practice was the Winslow House built in 1893 in River Forest, Illinois.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Frank Lloyd Wright He rejected historicism in favor of a philosophy of organic architecture, with the reality of the building existing not in the design of the faade but in dynamic interior spaces where people lived and worked.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Frank Lloyd Wright "Organic architecture" as Wright came to call his work, should reflect the individual needs of the client, the nature of the site, and the native materials available.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Frank Lloyd Wright Falling Water 1935 Wright saw space as the essence of design, and this emphasis was the wellspring of his profound influence upon all areas of 20th century design.

The Arts & Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau, and The Genesis of 20th Century Design
Frank Lloyd Wright & The Glasgow School Wright operated a basement printing press in his youth. This experience taught him to incorporate white or blank space as an element in his designs, to establish and work within parameters, and to combine varied materials into a unified whole.

The Robie House Chicago, IL 1908

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House - 1908

Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House - 1956

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Glasgow School In the early 1890s a group of four students at the Glasgow School shared similar sensibilities, and soon began to collaborate. They were soon known as The Four. They consisted of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, J. Herbert McNair, and two sisters: Margaret and Frances Macdonald.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Glasgow School In the early 1890s a group of four students at the Glasgow School shared similar sensibilities, and soon began to collaborate. They were soon known as The Four. They consisted of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, J. Herbert McNair, and two sisters: Margaret and Frances Macdonald.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Glasgow School In the early 1890s a group of four students at the Glasgow School shared similar sensibilities, and soon began to collaborate. They were soon known as The Four. They consisted of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, J. Herbert McNair, and two sisters: Margaret and Frances Macdonald.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Glasgow School Designs by The Four are distinguished by symbolic imagery and stylized form. Margaret and Frances Macdonald with J. Herbert McNair, poster for the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1895. The symbolic figures have been assigned both religious and romantic interpretations.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Glasgow School Charles Rennie Mackintosh, poster for the Scottish Musical Review, 1896. In this towering image that rises 2.5 meters (over 8 feet) above the spectator, complex overlapping planes are unified by areas of flat color. The white ring and birds around the figure create a strong focal point. Abstract interpretations of the human figure, such as this, had not been seen in Scotland before, many observers were outraged.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession In Austria the Vienna Secession came into being on April 3rd, 1897 when the younger members of the Viennese Creative Artists Association resigned in stormy protest. Technically, the refusal to allow foreign artists to participate in Knstlerhaus exhibitions was the main issue, but the clash between tradition and new ideas emanating from France, England, and Germany lay at the heart of the conflict.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession Painter Gustav Klimt was the guiding spirit who led the revolt.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession Gustav Klimt

The Arts & Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau, and The Genesis of 20th Century Design
The Vienna Secession Painter Gustav Klimt was the guiding spirit who led the revolt.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession Gustav Klimt, poster for the first Vienna Secession exhibition, 1898. The large open space in the center is unprecedented in Western graphic design.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession Koloman Moser, fifth Vienna Secession exhibition poster, 1899. A metallic gold bronze figure and olive green background are printed on yellow tone paper that forms the contour lines.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession Koloman Moser, cover design for Ver Sacrum, 1899. A stencil-effect technique for creating images has an affinity, in its reduction of the subject to black and white planes, with high-contrast photography.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession Koloman Moser, poster for the thirteenth Vienna Secession exhibition, 1902. Mathematical patterns of squares and rectangles contrast with the circular forms of the figures and letterforms.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession Other notable figures include Koloman Moser

The Vienna Secession Koloman Moser

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession Alfred Roller

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession And Alfred Roller

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

The Vienna Secession Alfred Roller

Alfred Roller and Wes Wilson

Alfred Roller and Wes Wilson

Wes Wilson

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens The German artist, architect, and designer Peter Behrens played a major role in charting a course for design in the first decade of the twentieth century.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens
Behrens started his career as a painter, illustrator and book-binder but would eventually become an artistic consultant for AEG. His career at AEG started in 1907 and there he designed a wide range of materials for the company including a logotype, product packaging and various publicity materials. The work he did there is of significant note because it is generally recognized as the first fully developed corporate identity, much preceding the corporate identity heydays of the 1950s and 60s. His work was not limited to printed materials, he also designed a turbine factory for AEG shortly after it entered the field of aircraft production.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens
Behrens turned to architecture after designing and building his own home. He even conceived the items in the interior, towels, shelves, furniture and everything in between. He was one of the pioneers of architectural reform, and his factory buildings designed of brick, glass and steel gained popularity during the early 20th century. During the years between 1907 and 1912 Behrens had many assistants and students including architecture big wigs Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Adolph Meyer and Walter Gropius who would go on to found the Bauhaus.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens The German artist, architect, and designer Peter Behrens played a major role in charting a course for design in the first decade of the twentieth century.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens
Title and dedication pages for Feste des Lebens und der Kunst: eine Betrachtung des Theaters als hchsten Kultursymbols (Celebration of Life and Art: A Consideration of the Theater as the Highest Symbol of a Culture), 1900. A sharp angularity characterizes the title page (left), framed by caryatids. On the right, a dedication to the Darmstadt artists colony is ornamented with controlled curvilinear rhythms.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens
Cover for Dokumente des Modernen Kunstgewerbes . . . (Documents of Modern Applied Arts . . .), 1901. The decorative geometric design and sans-serif lettering based on a square foreshadow art deco design of the 1920s and 1930s.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens
Poster for the Anchor Linoleum exhibition pavilion, 1906

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens He sought typographic reform, was an early advocate of sans-serif typography, and used a grid system to structure space in his design. He has been called the first industrial designer in recognition of his designs for such manufactured products as streetlamps and teapots.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens AEG trademark, 1907. The new mark was consistently applied to buildings, stationary, products, and graphics. His work for AEG is considered the first comprehensive visual identification program.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens Covers for Mitteilungen Der Berliner Elektricitaetswerke (Berlin Electric Works Magazine), 1908. Each issue used a different geometric pattern on the front cover, and the graphic theme was echoed by the back cover calendar design.

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens

Peter Behrens

The Genesis of 20th Century Design

Peter Behrens In architecture, his early buildings pioneered non-load-bearing glass curtain walls spanning the spaces between support girders.