PRODUCT DESIGN – ASSIGNMENT 01

PRODUCT: FURNITURE
DICTUM: FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
“Whether it be the sweeping eagle in his flight, or the open apple-blossom, the
toiling work-horse, the blithe swan, the branching oak, the winding stream at
its base, the drifting clouds, over all the coursing sun, form ever
follows function.”
“It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all things
physical and metaphysical, of all things human and things superhuman… that
form ever follows function.’’
 The ever so famous quote used by all modernist architects “form
follows function” actually comes from Sullivan’s original quote “form ever follows
function”.
 Louis Henry Sullivan was an American architect (1870-1920′s) who has
been called the father of modernism and the father of skyscrapers.

INRODUCTION OF FORM AND FUNCTION

With the revolutions from the nomads to the industrial period, from
ancient periods to middle ages to modern period, a basic form was seen in
every period, and that form followed a particular geometric pattern which
was associated with their function.
Form and function are the principle that is not only associated with the
architecture, industrial design, automobile, interiors, or any other
designing fields, but it is also associated with our day to day needs,
fashion, nature and many more. Form and function are the basic
requirement for an any object to relate to its intended function or
purpose.
IN RELATION WITH ARCHITETCURE
Form follows function is the basic principle which was first coined with
architecture during the Modern Architecture period. It was first coined by
“Louis Sullivan” in 1869. He intended his buildings to be spare and crisp in
their principal masses, he often punctuated their plain surfaces with
eruptions of lush Art Nouveau and Celtic Revival decorations, usually cast
in iron or terracotta, and ranging from organic forms like vines and ivy, to
more geometric designs, and interlace, inspired by his Irish design
heritage.

IN RELATION WITH PRODUCT DESIGN

With the evolution of the designing one
such episode took place in a marketplace
in 1935 for a product “car” which was
adopted by the “General Motors” adopted
two different positions on streamlining,
one meant for its i nternal engineering
community, the other meant for its
customers. Like the annual model year
change, so-called aerodynamic styling is
often meaningless in terms of technical
performance. Subsequently, drag coefficient has become both a marketing
tool and a means of improving the sale-ability of a car by reducing its fuel
consumption, slightly, and increasing its top speed, markedly. This
product manufacturing was one the major fashion accessories during that
period.
 “A fashion is a balance between Form and Function and it take
two.”
What is form?

Form is the outer surface of an object. It is what people see and

interact with. Numerous examples can prove that form follows
function. The two holes in scissors are not in the same size not
because of the so-called beauty of asymmetry but people put
different numbers of fingers into each of them. Thus, for first
time user, it is quite easy to figure out how to use this tool from
its form.
However, in some cases, function is concealed by the outer
shell. Take iPod Shuffle as an example. I will not blame you if
you cannot guess what this thing is supposed to do —playing
music. Given the fact that lacking clues to suggest its functions,
Shuffle’s form could have various options, such as an LED
screen, different button layout, or having the shape as a ball.
When function is hidden, there is free space for form to vary.
One function can be Shelled with multiple form options and
they all do the job as outer surface equally well.

What is function?
Let’s look at chairs. What is the function of a chair? To have
people sit on it. If form always follows function, or entirely
determined by function, all the chairs should look the same. So
why chairs differ in material, structure, shape, size, colour, etc.?
Because function can be complex. A chair in public park may be
built in stone or metal so that it won’t be worn out easily. An
office chair may be height adjustable because of ergonomics
considerations. A chair at home or hotel may be cosy and stylish
to fit in the interior design of the space. Ornamentation is
allowed as long as it serves a function which could be to support
people’s emotional needs. A chair may vary only in colour for
people to choose the colour they like.
Function is a reflection of requirement or purpose of the design
which comes from human needs and wants.

Stylish Modern Furniture that Combines Form and

Function