Design wins the award for being one of the

broadest terms out there and it is still debated in

all that it covers. Writing at my desk and ponder-
ing design, I am distracted by the objects lying
about. A pencil sharpener designed in the form of
a swan representing the company’s logo which
was also designed by someone, a usb portable
drive designed by Sam Hecht, a typography book
exploring type from its very beginning, and a
book featuring character and background concept
designs of Hayao Miyazaki’s film Kiki’s Delivery
Service. The list of all that can fall under design
can go on indefinitely.
The modern concept of design, as de-
scribed, “refers to the creation of objects with a
practical function as well as aesthetic characteris-
tics.”1 Further, in helping describe a piece in terms
of design, there are the six design elements of line,
shape, form, texture, pattern, and space. There
are also the design principles of unity and variety,
balance and rhythm, and proportion and scale.

Stablilo symbol’s “Swan” Pencil Sharpener
lacie little disk design by Sam Hecht
Design Mueseum, London, England.
Today, everyday objects we use are designed by an
individual or firm who is credited as the designer,
however this wasn’t always the case. Design as
a discipline is young and designers were usually
known as architects, craftsman, or artists. Great
concern placed on design only started 150 years
ago during the Victorian Period most notable with
the Great Exhibition of 1851.2
Some Victorian designers (however the
term not used back then) felt consumer popularity
of what manufactures were mass-producing had
lowered design standards and thus began their the-
ories of what was good taste. However they still
referenced the past for their designs where they
would revive styles, also known as historicism.
Then came the design movements that started
around the new century that rejected historicism
and started the establishment of Modernism. The
movements were also based on improvement of
design, and groups of artists especially in Ger-
man speaking countries set up workshops for the
applied arts. Still they did not consider themselves
designers but sometimes creators of form. Niko-
laus Pevsner’s Pioneers of the Modern Movement:
From William Morris to Walter Gropius, later
retitled to Pioneers of Modern Design to include
later designers and more information, focuses on
the designers of these movements and their aims
for improvement of design.2 Now with Post-
modernism which is connected to globalism and
plurality, we have the terms and concepts such as
‘design classics,’ ‘anti-design,’ ‘designer object,’
and ‘designer brand.’ Also, now the term designer
is widely used in many fields and industries, and
becoming a leading or star designer is a relatively
new concept.1
As well as the modern concept of design
there are many facets to design. By looking up just
the word design in Oxford’s Dictionary of Modern
Design one can find information on the magazine
Design, the Design and Industries Association, the
Design Centre, design consultancies, the Design
Council, the term designer-maker, the Design
History Society, the journal Design Issues, design
management, design methods, and the Design
Research Unit just to name a few. Most of these
facets of design are connected to the later half of
the 20th century emphasizing the fact that design
is a relatively young discipline. For example the
Design Museum in London, which is considered
one of the first museums of modern design, was
only established in 1989.2
To further understand design one can look
at one of its many fields, some new, some yet
to come into existence. Areas in design include
graphic design, interior design, typography, indus-
trial design, web design, architecture, jewelry de-
sign, fashion design, Game design, and the list can
go on. Animation is even considered to be in an
area of design now. Many animations are created
with aesthetics in mind, fitting the modern concept
of design. The six design elements and the three
principles of design can be used to describe ani-
mation as well. Going even further is the special-
ized area of character design. In character design
one of the major goals is to create an appealing
character whether the character is the main hero
or evil villain. To achieve this, character designers
pay very close attention to the elements of line, Pioneers of Modern Design
shape, and form and the principle of proportion
and scale as well as the rest of the design elements
and principles.
In the following pages character designs
introduce each movement, period, or even school.
A weird combination as it is, they have very much
in common. The term design today covers so
much that it can be overwhelming in the wealth
of information to be learned but it is what makes
design so dynamic and interesting.
1
Polster, Bernd, Claudia Neumann, Markus Schuler, and
Frederick Leven. The AZ of Modern Design. London: Merrell
Publishers Limited, 2009. Print.
2
Woodham, Jonathan M. Oxford Dictionary of Modern De-
sign. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
Charater concept designs for Dreamwork’s How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

John Henry Belter, chair, ca. 1950.
Owen Jones, The Alhambra Court at the Crystal Palace, 1854.
1 2
Victorian design flourished in 1837 and lasted
until 1901 and primarily occurred in England
and the United States. This was also the time the
Industrial Revolution happened which affected
England’s manufacturing. The availability of
new materials that could now be also easily cast,
molded, and machined, made it possible for ornate
architecture and highly decorative furniture,
tapestries, wallpaper, utilitarian objects, etc. in
middle class homes.1
There are three periods to Victorian design: an
early period (1830-1850), a high period (1850-
1870), and a late period (1870-1914). Victorian
designers looked to the past for references thus
these periods were further broken down between
Classical revival, Gothic revival, and many other
revival styles, all still being very ornate. The word
Victorian refers back to Queen Victoria who very
much used Classical Revival, which included
Greek and Roman ornamentations or motifs.
Furniture surfaces were heavily embellished and
rooms were layered, for example on a wall there
would be wallpaper, then a tapestry over that, and
then a painting. Some Victorian designers include
Joseph Paxton, Owen Jones, George Gilbert
Scott, Augustus Welby Pugin, Henry Belter, Kate
Greenaway, Alfred Waterhouse, Charles Eastlake,
and Beatrix Potter. Works that will be focused on
are of Owen Jones and Beatrix Potter.
Victorian design also included foreign or
eastern styles mainly with interiors and this is
much due to the works of Owen Jones (1809-74).
Jones is known for The Grammar of Ornament,
which is a book of colored lithographs of
ornamental styles/patterns spanning Moorish,
Persian, and Arabian design. Many craftsman
and commercial designers in the Victorian period
referred to this book and the designs or motifs
would be seen in wallpaper, carpets, carved/
molded pieces, and many other pieces.2
In the years before his book, which was
published in 1856, he was already heavily
influenced by Arabian design and was gaining
prominence as a notable designer. He had a
textile sample featured in Henry Cole’s Journal
of Design. Jones had a close working relationship
with Cole who is known as paving the way
for many innovations in England concerning
commerce and education. Henry Cole made
it possible for Jones to lecture on his color,
decoration, and ornamentation theories at art
societies and schools.3 Also Jones became the joint
director of decoration of the Crystal Palace and
designed several of its courts that, not surprisingly,
included the Egyptian, Alhambra, Greek, and
Roman courts. He made many other contributions
such as his designs at the International Exhibitions
at Paris and Vienna where he also was awarded Owen Jones, Moorish Design print from The
medals.4 Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
The image to the right is one of the nine
lithographs from the Egyptian ornament chapter
in Owen Jones’ book. The pattern and designs
appealed to people in the Victorian Era not so
much for their original cultural reference but
invented exoticism much like the artifacts that
were popular and traded around the same time.5
On this lithograph there are many recognizable
objects such as papyrus reeds, boats, oars,
and feathers, however they are still much
ornamentations in their patterns, detail, and careful
choices of colors.
Also to take note is illustration in the
Victorian Era. One well-known illustrator at the
time was Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), a naturalist,
painter, and writer. Her illustrated books came out
of her passion of animals and plants she would
observe in England’s countryside. Although as
a child she spent much time alone, her father
took her to museums, which she continued to
visit throughout her life. Her father also took her
Owen Jones, Egyptian Ornament print from The
to visit the Royal Academy and pre-Raphaelite Grammar of Ornament, 1856.
painter, Sir John Everett Millais.
With the works of Beatrix Potter one can look
at the design of her books and characters, and
also her color choices. The covers of her books
had color vignettes of her characters, which was

Beatrix Potter, Endpaper design in watercolour, 1903.
Beatrix Potter, The Lady Mouse Curtseys, study, 1903.
3
then contrasted by the inside with title pages that
had black and white wood-engraved motifs. She
designed her books so that each page of text was
paralleled to a full-page of illustration in order to
have interdependence of text and image.
Beatrix Potter’s character designs were
referenced from animals found where she lived.
For some of the character designs she also
referenced 18th century clothes. Potter rendered
these 18th century clothes now worn on her animal
characters with exact detail in her illustrations,
showing her sensitivity to design. Also with the
design of her characters she went on to master
‘the art of leaving out’ inspired by Randolph
Caldecott an earlier illustrator. With the minimum
of pen-strokes she found she could still evoke
movement, humor, and expression her characters.
Beatrix Potter’s colors are described as bold and
contemporary and when her books went to print
she is known to have paid closed attention to the
printing process in terms of color. Beatrix Potter
had twenty-three books published and her first
book The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in
1902. Her books were very popular in the Victorian
Era and continue to be so. 6
There are many designers notable in the
Victorian era and although Victorian design is
often recognized with its ornate motifs, there are
many other elements of Victorian design that can
be uncovered such as layered space, color, and the
revival of classical and ancient styles.
1
Landow, George P. “Victorian taste, industrial design, and Vic-
torian Locomotives.” VictorianWeb.org. The Victorian Web.
2005. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://www.victorianweb.org/art/
design/railway1.html>
2
Hackford, Terry R. “ The Great Exhibition and Moorish
Architecture and Design in Great Britain.” VictorianWeb.org.
The Victorian Web. 2000. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://www.
victorianweb.org/art/design/moorish/hackford1.html>
3
Wikipedia contributors. “Owen Jones (architect).” Wikipedia,
The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,
13 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Owen_Jones_%28architect%29#The_Grammar_of_
Ornament>
4
Woodham, Jonathan M. Oxford Dictionary of Modern Design.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
5
Hopper, John. “Owen Jones and Egyptian Revival.” The
Textile Blog. n.p. 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://thetex-
tileblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/owen-jones-and-egyptian-
revival.html>
6
“Prints & Books Features: Beatrix Potter.” V&A. The Victoria
and Albert Museum. n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://www.
vam.ac.uk/collections/prints_books/features/potter/index.
html>
The Arts & Crafts Movement started in 1880
and lasted till 1925. William Morris (1834-1896),
a writer, artist, socialist, and designer, was the
principle founder of the Arts & Crafts Movement.
He believed that all individuals should have
beautiful handcrafted objects in their houses.
Other design principles included simplicity of
form and emphasis of the qualities of the materials
used.
This idea of a handcrafted look and the
importance placed on the artisan was at a lot of
times also applied to architecture. For example the
Red House, whose architect was Philip Webb, had
many architectural features that could only involve
much skill of the artisans or craftsmen. Such as the
mansard roof, bull’s-eye windows, and strap work
Philip Webb, Red House, Bexleyheath, Kent (now in Bexley),
on the doors. Lastly the Red House having the
England, 1859.
materials being local illustrates the importance of
the material in the Arts & Crafts Movement.
However with the design being handcrafted
and evoking a pre-industrial world didn’t mean
they were never innovative. The Morris and
Company going back to Philip Morris adapted
a chair that was one the earliest adjustable
chairs. Many designers within the movement
made their own design of the Morris chair.
Morris & Company is also well known for their
sample books that include wallpaper samples
and tapestries, which incorporated lettering,
a characteristic common to the Arts & Crafts
Movement. The Morris and Company is also well
known by their press, Kelmscott Press.
Also during the Arts & Crafts Movement
Charles and Henry Greene, The Gamble House, Pasadena,
architects often designed the interior of houses as Calif., 1908.
well. One good example is The Gamble House by
architects Charles & Henry Greene. Everything
from the built-ins, chairs, fabrics, and lighting
4

Gustav Stickley, Chalet Smoker’s Cabinet, ca
1901.
Gustav Stickley, Bungalow Dining Chair, 1900.
5 6
were designed for the house. The house itself
was inspired by the Greenes’ interest in Japanese
Architecture and Bungalows in the East. For
example the house entrance features a cloud lift
design and the house has a low overhanging roof
and a sleeping porch. Other features are Favrile
glass and clinker bricks.
Moving away from architecture, one can look
at the works of Gustav Stickley who designed
furniture and Van Briggle who is known for his
pottery.
Furniture that came out of the Arts & Crafts
Movement used natural materials such as local
wood, canvas, and leather. The design of the
furniture was simple yet distinctive. Gustav
Stickley (1858-1942) was influenced by the Arts
& Crafts movement and became a prominent
American designer and developed a furniture style
known as ‘Mission Furniture.’ Stickley began
his own furniture business in 1898 which was
renamed Craftsman and soon a magazine was
published with the same name.1
Stickley often used native American Oak
Wood and a sturdy plain design, this contrasted
greatly to Victorian Design pieces that are highly
decorated. Also common to furniture in the Arts &
Crafts Movement was exposed joinery, underling
the hand crafted and sturdiness of the pieces. 2 The
image to the left is one of Stickley’s earlier works
and what is nice about his cabinet is its shelf with
keyed-through tenon, again exposed joinery. The
second image is of his bungalow dining chair,
which is noted for its good proportion, and having
the balance between simplicity and complexity.3
While Stickley is most known for his
structure in his pieces, potter Van Briggle is most
known for his color or glaze of his pieces. Artus
Van Briggle (1869-1904), who devoted his life
to pottery, was able to develop a unique glaze for
his pottery and in 1901 established Van Briggle
Pottery with his wife, which is still active today.
Before he was a painter, but when Rockwood
founder, Maria Storer, noticed his talents, she sent
him to study in Paris and from the experience in
Europe he became very interested in the matte
glaze of pottery from the Chinese Ming Dynasty
that was forgotten for hundred of years. He also
became aware of the Art Nouveau Movement.
He went back and worked a leading designer
at Rockwood where he also experimented with
glazes. He perfected the glaze however not too
long he passed away however his wife, Ann
Gregory contained the pottery using the forms
Artus created. (4)
Although Van Briggle Pottery made their
wares the same way as many other American
potteries, the “dead glaze” set them apart. The
glaze gave the pottery a satin sheen with subdued
colors that varied with each piece. Glazes were
given names like Ming Turquoise and Mountain
Craig Brown. The form of the pottery were
sometimes inspired by antique pieces however
common decorations included low reliefs of
plant and floral forms. Sometimes the design
was very stylized or realistic. Overall the Van
Briggle Pottery follows the design principles that
were coming out of the Arts & Crafts Movement,
with pieces being of high quality, beauty, and
simplicity, and emphasis put on the type of
materials used.
1
Woodham, Jonathan M. Oxford Dictionary of Modern Design.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. Artus Van Briggle, Vase with apple green glaze and floral
relief, 1903.
2
“Gustav Stickley: Master Craftsman, Furniture Designer,
Architect, and Publisher.” Arts-Crafts.com. The Arts &
Crafts Society. n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.arts-
crafts.com/archive/gstickley.shtml>
3
Cohen, Jerry. ‘Gustav Stickley Furniture of 1900: “New
Work.”’ ArtsnCrafts.com. n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://
www.artsncrafts.com/gustavstickley-furniture-1900.htm>
4
Wikipedia contributors. “Van Briggle Pottery.” Wikipedia,
The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,
8 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Van_Briggle_Pottery>
5
“Van Briggle.” Arts-Crafts.com. The Arts & Crafts Society.
n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.arts-crafts.com/
archive/pottery/vanbriggle.shtml>
Artus Van Briggle Pottery

James McNeill Whistler, Peacock Room
central shutter, 1876-77.
Herter Brothers, Ebonized Floral Chest
With Mirror, c. 1875.
7 8
The Aesthetic Movement (1868-1901) was
sparked by the combination of sources such as
the works coming out by the designers in the Arts
and Crafts Movement, the Pre-Raphaelite Broth-
erhood, which like the Arts & Crafts movement re-
jected industrialized England, and Japanese artists.
The later being most influential to the Aesthetic
Movement. Starting in the 1850s many items from
Japan were being imported into Europe such as ce-
ramics, fabrics, glass, and other art. Many design
elements from Japanese prints were pulled out
and used by designers such as strong horizontal
and vertical lines. Motifs or themes from Japanese
art were also pulled out such as sunflowers, lilies,
peacocks, and storks. In this movement no longer
was the want to do revivals of historic styles as in
Victorian design but to offer an alternative to that.
Also the Aesthetic movement was not complete
if it were not for literature where Oscar Wilde
gave the term ‘art for art’s sake.’1 Some designers
include the Herter brothers, furniture designers,
and James McNeil Whistler, painter and interior
designer.
To focus in depth on designers who works
contributed to part of the Aesthetic movement
we can look at Christopher Dresser and Aubrey
Beardsley.
Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) designed
wallpaper, serving ware, metalwork, pottery, and
many other doodads. He was very interested in
botany as much as design and believed naturalistic
motifs such as leaf and floral forms, which could
be simplified and flattened, could be turned into
expressive patterns. Dresser’s wallpaper is de-
scribed as complex and varied where he combines
colors such as cobalt, tan, mustard, teal blue, dull
green, and red-brown. He published several books
on decorative pattern work and color harmony and
contributed some of his designs to Owen Jones
The Grammar of the Ornament. He also had an
interest in the Japanese craft traditions and one can
see the Japanese influence in his works includ-
ing his 3d works to the extent to where some his
porcelains included motifs seabirds and waves. He
had even visited Japan and wrote in 1882 Japan,
Its Architecture, Art and Art Manufactures.2 3
Lastly he had interest in the relationship
between the designer and manufacturer. He
believed there could be and integration of orna-
ment into what manufacturers were currently mass
producing within their established process. He
worked for companies such a Watcombe where
he designed many pieces including a serving plate Christopher Dresser, Earthenware plate with partial
in 1872. Within the bound field of the plate to be
glazing. c. 1872.
designed he balances the piece with triangular and
circular shapes of abstracted plant forms. He ap-
plies the transformation of nature into decoration
and this can be also found in Japanese art. Dresser
also worked for Dixon Company around the 1880s
designing electroplated serving ware such as
teas sets and although plant or leaf forms are not
there one can see the design principle of simplify-
ing form and purity of material. This in line of
what was starting to come out of the movement
going the opposite of the decadence of Victorian
Design.2
Aubrey Beardsley (1872-98) is known for
his illustrations especially for his sensual and
controversial illustrations for Oscar Wilde’s book
Salome in 1894. Aubrey Beardsley drew on many
sources for inspiration. His illustrations are black
and white, very linear, and have a calligraphic
fluency. Before his early death he was the art edi- Christopher Dresser, Silver-plated teapot for James
tor of Yellow Book and than Savory, both literary Dixon & Sons, c. 1880.
periodicals.1
Japanese art and more particular Japanese
wood-block prints were the most noticeable source
of inspiration for Beardsley’s illustrations. This
would count for his very linear style, thin lines,
and fluent curves. Also it would counts for his use
of flat spatial planes and sparse use of detail espe-
cially in the background of his illustrations.
However an earlier source of inspiration for
Beardsley was Pre-Raphaelite artists. In the con-
text of book illustration Re-Raphaelites are most
influential on Beardsley composition of his pieces.

Aubrey Beardsley, The Platonic Lament from Salome. 1894
Aubrey Beardsley, The Black Cape from Salome. 1894.
9 10
Many artists went to the past and illustrated
medieval subjects and composed their illustrations
in such a way to put most focus on a particular
moment such as sorrow. Beardsley did the same
thing in and a good example is his illustration The
Platonic Lament for Salome where one figure is
horizontal and filling the space and the other figure
is leaning over and the background is sparse but
for only few elements in the background.
One of the elements was latticework of flow-
ers and this goes to another source of inspiration
for Beardsley, which was work of William Morris.
Beardsley even had used Morris’ peacock design
for the cover of Salome.
Although Beardsley style uses minimum of
clutter and detail he sometimes goes the opposite
direction especially when depicting Victorian
decadence or women’s fashion. He adds shapes,
detailed pattern, and layers. Sometimes his illus-
trations would feature Victorian woman dress as
the major motif and main part of composition. One
good example again comes from Oscar Wilde’s
book Salome of an illustration of a woman in a
black cape. The illustration as well as the dress in
large, detailed and very layered.
Beardsley’s works and illustrations especially
of sparse and linear ones have influenced the
designs of the Glasgow Four whom helped define
the next movement to be mentioned, Art Nouveau.
Beardsley is popularly associated to the Aesthetic
Movement not only for his short time but also for
his illustrations that were based on the principle of
‘art for art’s sake’ where illustration could be for
pure aesthetic pleasure.4
Woodham, Jonathan M. Oxford Dictionary of Modern De-
1
sign. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
2
Raizman, David. History of Modern Design: Graphics and
Products since the Industrial Revolution. London: Laurance
King Publishing, 2003. Web. 21 Feb 2011. <http://books.
google.com/>
3
Webberley, Helen. “Christopher Dresser, Porcelain and
the Laws of Ornamation.” Art and Architecture, mainly.
n.p. 2010. Web. 21 Feb 2011. <http://melbourneblogger.
blogspot.com/2010/12/christopher-dresser-porcelain-and-
laws.html>
4
Flygare, Julie. “Aubrey Beardsley, The Pre-Raphaelites, and
Victorian Culture.” VictorianWeb.org. The Victorian Web.
2005. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. <http://www.victorianweb.org/art/
illustration/beardsley/flygare12.html>
The most prominent attribute of Art Nouveau
Movement is the use of organic design elements.
There was also a rejection of historicism where
the artists and designers aimed for creating a new
aesthetic for the new century. The Movement was
named after a gallery and workshop opened by
Samuel Bing in Paris in 1895. Samuel Bing sold
expensive and more importantly introduced items
and art from China and Japan and at the entrance
of the shop there were two sculptures of Sunflow-
ers and their tendrils coming out of large pots.
These details are important for they introduce
two of the several sources or ingredients for Art
Nouveau design. 1
As mention with the Aesthetic Movement Entrance to Samuel Bing’s gallery in Paris
many items from Japan were being imported into
Europe starting in the 1850s and there became a
widespread interest in Japanese art. In Art Nou-
veau designs there became flat-perspectives and
strong use of color like Japanese wood-block
prints. Art Nouveau also has a lot of flower motifs
and tendrils and this may be attributed to works
like that of Morris Williams or Arthur Heygate
Mackmurdo who is said to, in his design of the
book-cover for Sir Christopher Wren’s City
Churches, be one of the earliest to develop the
Art Nouveau style where he used rhythmic floral
pattern.1 2
Other sources include Rococo and the Celtic
Revival where they expanded upon abstract ele-
ments of Rococo such as shells and flame texture
and where based some plant forms found in Celtic
art. Then there are motifs that will be explored
with descriptions of the works of the designers Cover of Jugend magazine 1899
such as the accentuated female form and meta-
morphosis. Lastly important to the Art Nouveau
Movement was the use of asymmetry. Without

René Lalique, Dragonfly woman corsage ornament, c. 1897-
1898.
René Jules Lalique, Necklace, ca. 1897–99.
asymmetry it would have been nearly impossible
to achieve the amount of organic feel found in Art
Nouveau.1 2
The Art Nouveau Movement spread through-
out all of Europe and the United states through
magazines and stores. There are many notable
artists from different countries. Some include
Louis Comfort Tiffany, Edward Colona, Alphonse
Mucha, Antoni Gaudí, René Lalique, Hector Gui-
mard, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Margaret
Macdonald.
The jewelry and glasswork René Lalique
(1860-1945) encompasses nearly all of the design
principles and motifs of Art Nouveau. Lalique
was known for his jewelry designs even if for his
pieces he used semiprecious stone and lower cost
materials. He achieved this with the use of color
in the gems he chose and rich sculptural form, and
also with Art Nouveau being very fashionable. He
displayed his pieces in many expositions and was
commissioned to design many perfume bottles.
He was latter part of the Art Deco Movement but
his jewelry still remains perfect example of works
coming out of Art Nouveau.1
One good example of Lalique’s work is his
corsage ornament/brooch of a dragonfly woman,
which he displayed at the Paris Exposition Uni-
verselle in 1900. Japanese bold woodblock colors
and skill with enamel can be seen as some of influ-
ences. The themes found in this piece and in Art
Nouveau are nature, metamorphosis, eroticism,
and femme fatale. The theme of metamorphosis is
found in the woman made of semiprecious green
stone literally coming out of the dragonfly and the
rich sculptural form of the piece only exempli-
fies this. Also the themes of eroticism and femme
fatale are found in the bare-breasted woman and
the claws that are seemingly part of her.3 Lastly,
so central was the motif of female figure in Art
Noveau that in another piece, a necklace, Lalique
repeats the figure nine times.4
The designer who took to extreme the prin-
ciples of organic design and asymmetry of the Art
Nouveau Movement is Catalan architect Antoni
Gaudí (1852-1926). He was part of the Modern-
isme movement in Spain, which was tied to the
Art Nouveau movement, and he helped develop
the Catalan identity with the originality of his
buildings that can be found mostly in Barcelona.
Gaudí was commissioned to build the Transatlan-
tic Pavilion, at the Barcelona World Fair in 1888
where he became aware of the Modernisme Move-
ment and around the same time was commissioned
for the several projects. His sculptural roofs, use
of broken pieces of ceramic as surface pattern,
Moorish inspirations, and flowing forms are all
distinctive features of his buildings.1
Some of Gaudí’s buildings are so organic with
undulating forms that one wonders how they are
structurally built and not many other buildings
during the Art Nouveau movement embodied such
seemingly life. Casa Batlló in Barcelona is one
such building. Gaudí redesigned Casa Batlló in
1906. The building is also known as the “House
of Bones” from its sandstone façade where large
thin columns representing plant forms are carved.
There are hardly any straight lines in the exterior
and interior and the windows are even irregular
and oval in shape. One of the most striking of
the building’s features is its roof where color and
form come together to form a scaly dragon’s back. Antoni Gaudí, Chimney and air duct configuration on Casa
Gaudí put much thought of color throughout the Batllo, 1904-1906.
building. The interior patio walls had five tones of
blue tiles with darkest tiles near the skylight and
lightest tiles near the bottom to create an homog-
enous light similar to underwater.5
Gaudí featured form even more in his next
building Casa Milá built in 1910 also in Barce-
lona. A lot of the forms seen on the façade came
from referencing nature, keeping much in line
with the Art Nouveau Movement. The balconies
resemble waves and the metal balcony railings
designed Gaudí in collaboration with another
architect were based on vines and other organ-
ics shapes. Lastly on the roof the chimney took
on forms of mythical creatures creating a narra- Antoni Gaudí, Balconies at Casa Milá, 1905-1910.
tive like casa Batlló’s roof. Although color was
not used a much, more focus was put on how the Web. 1 Mar. 2011. <http://www.nga.gov/feature/nouveau/
shadow and light would play across the building.5 exhibit_audio.shtm#>
4
“Works of Art Collection Database: Necklace René Jules
The works of Lalique and Gaudí are very
Lalique” metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Mu-
different but what makes their designs similar and seum of Art. 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. <http://www.
part of the Art Nuoveau is their concentration on metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/
the organic. modern_art/necklace_rene_jules_lalique/objectview.
aspx?collID=21&OID=210004110>
Woodham, Jonathan M. Oxford Dictionary of Modern Design.
1
5
Favermann, Mark. “Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batllo and
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
2
“Art Nouveau: Characteristics of Style of Architecture,
Casa Mila: Two Extraordinary Residences in Barce-
lona.” BerkshirerFineArts.com. Berkshire Fine Arts.
Jewellery, Decorative Arts, Posters.” Encyclopedia of Irish 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. <http://www.berkshirefinearts.
and World Art. Visual-Arts-Cork.com. n.d. Web. 1 Mar. com/?page=article&article_id=1432&catID=26>
2011. <http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/art-
nouveau.htm>
3
“Anatomy of an Exhibition - Lalique Dragonfly Woman.”
nga.gov. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. 2011.

11 12

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red,
Blue, Black, Yellow, and Gray, 1921.
Gerrit Rietveld, Red and Blue Chair, 1918.
13
De Stijl or “The Style” was a movement and
a journal started by Theo van Doesburg in 1917 in
the Netherlands that introduced experimental and
new ideas, and thus was considered avant-garde.
Piet Mondrian, a painter, was the spring for the
movement. He was also a spring for the designers,
which included architects, furniture designers, and
typographers, who wanted, as described, “to create
a new harmonic order in the aftermath of World
War I.” Mondrian was influenced by the Cubist
painters from France and did non-representational
paintings where he divided flat space with black
lines and only used the primary colors red, blue,
and yellow. Everything was constrained to hori-
zontals and verticals and rectangles and squares.
This reduction of art to its most basic components
or elements as in Mondrian’s paintings made for
the term neoplasticism.1 2
Not only did these strong principles give the
designers striking well composed pieces but the
start of having designs that could be mass pro-
duced by modern technology. De Stijl became
international in the 1920s but was short lived and
ended in 1931. This was because much of the
works that defined the movement were produced
by a few central figures however De Stijl woulsd
come to have connection with the Bauhaus
through those figures and there was a continued
interest in some of the theories.1 2 (notes)
Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964), architect and
furniture designer, was a member of the De Stijl
group and produced two major works still well-
known today for embodying much of the move-
ment’s design principles. He became an important
figure of the De Stijl movement after his Red and
Blue chair, one of the major works, was featured
in the journal De Stijl. At this time he was also
beginning his own architectural practice, before-
hand he had started a cabinet making business and
studied architecture under a Dutch architect. Part
of the simplicity of the Red and Blue Chair was
based on the principle or his aim to design fur-
niture anyone could afford, in which beforehand
he designed a ‘recession chair,’ made form wood
from a packing crate. However the geometric ele-
ments of the chair were influenced by Rietveld’s
interest in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and
the Arts & Crafts movement. Interesting to note
is that the Red and Blue chair was first painted
without color and later, after being featured, was
painted with the primary colors of red, blue, and
Gerrit Rietveld, Rietveld-Schröder House, Utrecht, Nether-
yellow. This followed Piet Mondrian’s visual
lands, 1924.
philosophy and the Red and Blue chair became an
icon of 20th century design.1 3
The Rietveld-Schröder house is Rietveld’s
other major work and is noted as the only build-
ing completely executed using the De Stijl design
principles. Rietveld designed the building’s facade
with horizontal and vertical planes and lines that
seemed visually detached from another, giv-
ing them a floating quality. These planes were
delineated from each other by grays, white, and
the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow. This
interpenetrating of planes is characteristic of many
of Rietveld’s work and is seen in his furniture and
interior design of the house giving a it flawless
transition from the outside to inside which the
commissioner felt important. Also the windows
were designed to open 90 degrees to the wall to
maintain the building’s strong horizontals and
verticals and De Stijl design principle. Rietveld
continued to be active as a designer and his chair
and lighting design for Gropius’s office were both
shown in the Weimar Bauhaus exhibition.1 4
Going back, Theo van Doesburg was not Gerrit Rietveld, Schröder House: interior, child’s bedroom, 1st
only was the founder of de Stijl and editor of the floor, 1924.
journal with the same name, which ran from 1917
to 1931, but an active designer during the move-
ment. He was inspired by the complete abstraction
of reality created by Mondrian’s works and was a
large proponent of the de Stijl movement and in-
ternationalized many of it aspects. He is known for
his interior design of Café Aubette in Strasbourg
in 1926 for it is one of his few built structures.1
Café Aubette is a complex of restaurant interi-
ors and one room that is often described is the Cin-
14

Theo van Doesburg, Cinema and dance hall, at the Aubette,
Strasbourg, 1928.
Theo van Doesburg (Christian Emil Marie Küpper), Contra-
Construction Project, Axonometric, 1923.
15
ema Dance Hall. Doesburg very much used the
de Stijl principles of straight lines, planes of flat
color, and the use of the primary colors and black
and white for the dance hall. This gave the room a
striking interior however being first disliked by the
public. Added to this was dynamism of placing the
planes of flat colors 45 degrees from the walls and
ceilings. Strong diagonal lines became characteris-
tic of Doesburg work and gave the dance hall most
appropriately the feel of movement.5
However Doesburg contributed much more
and created architectural drawings, with assistance
of architect Cornelius van Eesteren who joined
the group in 1922, in order to visualize the de Stijl
environment. It is said environment for they were
not so much architectural plans for buildings but
to demonstrate the ideas set by their manifestos.
One study is known as the Contra Construction
and most striking are the horizontal and vertical
planar elements asymmetrically balanced around
a open core that seem to float, having no support-
ing functions. This is in part to demonstrate the
harmony that could be achieved between person
and their surroundings. Also, following the de Stijl
principles, the primary colors of red, blue, and
yellow and black and white were used where they
aided as constructive elements.2 The colors, place-
ments of the planes, and diagonal and axonometric
presentation where many sides of the planes are
visible give this seemingly simple design com-
plexity.
Like Gerrit Rietveld, Theo van Doesburg had
influence on the Bauhaus however Doesburg tried
to directly in take part in its progressive curricu-
lum.1 De Stijl is still key in design in that it opened
many more design possibilities by breaking down
interior design, architecture, typography, etc. into
common basic components or elements.
1
Woodham, Jonathan M. Oxford Dictionary of Modern Design.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
2
“Architecture and Design Highlights: Contra-Construction
Project, Axonometric.” MOMA. The Museum of Modern
Art. 2010. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. <http://www.moma.org/collec-
tion/browse_results.php?object_id=232>
3
Polster, Bernd, Claudia Neumann, Markus Schuler, and Fred-
erick Leven. The AZ of Modern Design. London: Merrell
Publishers Limited, 2009. Print.
4
Wikipedia contributors. “Rietveld Schröder House.” Wikipe-
dia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclo-
pedia, 22 Jan. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Rietveld_Schr%C3%B6der_House>
5
Pile, John. “A History of Interior Design.” 2nd ed. London:
Laurance King Publishing Ltd. 2005. Web. 4 Mar. 2011.
<http://books.google.com>
The Bauhaus was not a movement or period
but a design school in Germany that had tremen-
dous effect on design of the 20th century because
of the ideas and work of the faculty and students.
Walter Gropius, a German architect, found the
school in 1919 with the aim of unifying all the
arts, for example art, craft, and architecture. Also
sought were well design environments and all the
classes lead to the final study of architecture. The
building that is often shown in association with
the Bauhaus was when the school was in Dessau.
This in part represents the international style in ar-
chitecture where buildings were designed so they Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany
could be placed anywhere. Although the school
closed in 1933 after moving to two different loca-
tions because of mounting difficulties politically
and the buildup of WWII, its importance was
recognized later for it had sum up efforts of the
avant-garde direction of rejecting historicism since
the Arts & Crafts movement.1
At first the school had an expressionist out-
look but with works of Constructivist artist Was-
sily Kandinsky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, De Stijl,
Russian Constructivists, and other sources an aes-
thetic was made based on abstract form especially
the geometric shapes of the circle, square, and
triangle that could be mass produced by modern
technology. This is reflected in the school’s slogan
“Art and Technology in a New Unity” however
importance in craft was still crucial for example
Gropius featured wall hangings made by students
in his office that the public could view. A lot is
written about many of the instructors and students
and their works, here the focus will be on László
Moholy-Nagy and Oskar Schlemmer.1
László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946) was an
instructor at Bauhaus who is known for his paint- Office of Walter Gropius
16

László Moholy-Nagy, A 19, 1927.
László Moholy-Nagy, Bauhausbucher cover design, 1927
17
ings, sculptures, typography, and photomontages.
Beforehand he began with expressionist style that
paralleled the Hungarian avant-garde. However
once he moved to industrial Berlin, where many
ideologies from all over Europe converged, his
works became non-representational and he place
work geometric forms, light, transparency overlap-
ping color making for strong design compositions
in his paintings. Many sources influenced his work
for example his choice of the geometric forms of
the circle and strip invokes Malevich’s Suprema-
tist primary forms, his upright grids were inspired
by De Stijl, and lastly his diagonal arrangements
inspired by Suprematism and van Doesburg’s
counter compositions. 23
In 1922 when Moholy-Nagy’s work was
toured nationally Gropius took notice and appoint-
ed him as head of the Bauhaus preliminary course
and metal workshop. Moholy-Nagy changed the
preliminary course so students would have hands
on experimentation with various properties that
deal also with design such as texture, space, etc.
For the metalwork workshop he had it so the
students focused on simple practical geometric
designs making the workshop geared more toward
industrial mass production. Moholy-Nagy’s open-
ness for unity between art and technology lead
him higher influence at the school and from 1925
to 1930 he co-edited fourteen Bauhaus books and
designed for some of the covers. Here we see
Moholy-Nagy’s design of typography where he
introduced asymmetrical typography, where liveli-
ness is added to a design by having focus on type
be to the left or right and avoiding the center. He
left Bauhaus in the in 1928 and continued in the
design field along with art. Moholy-Nagy greatly
influenced Bauhaus and thus design of the 20th
century not only with his design but ideas and
processes.2
Another Bauhaus instructor was Oskar Sch-
lemmer (1888-1943), a German painter, sculptor,
choreographer, and stage designer. He is well
known for his abstract and surreal costume designs
for his Triadic Ballet. Beforehand he mostly
focused on painting and when he went to Berlin
was influenced by cubism. Later he studied under
Adolf Hölzel, a pioneer of abstract art along with
Johannes Itten and other international students.
After being wounded and sent on home leave in
1916 he developed his abstract work where in a
flat schematic fashion he represented the human
figure. Schlemmer later helped organize exhibits
where he sometimes showed his own work, which
included paintings and sculptures, and around the
same time he and Paul Klee were given teaching
posts at the Bauhaus.4
This is when Schlemmer began work on
Triadic Ballet where he designed 18 masks and
costumes for twelve scenes which were overall
made up of three distinct sequences that went from
lightheartedness in the first scenes to solemn and
seriousness. His main concept for the costumes
Oskar Schlemmer, Costumes for Triadic Ballet, 1922.
was having ‘colored pieces of sculpture which,
when worn by dancers move in space’ where the
term ‘spatially plastic’ developed. In his costumes
one can see his use of the ellipse, straight line,
diagonal, and circle. Many of these costumes were
large and voluminous with the geometric shapes
representing reduced forms of the primary gesture
in the movement of the human body. This is
where one sees his influence from Cubism, Con-
structivism, etc. The ballet was first performed in
1922 and he taught abstract dance at the Bauhaus
from 1923 to 1929 when he left.4 5
Schlemmer’s experience with designing
costumes influenced his paintings where he focus
more on depth and volume. He continued with
painting however this posed difficulties for him
because the growing Nazi regime where some of
his works were destroyed and he was banned from
selling his paintings.4 His designs for his costumes
remain as inspiration for costume designers today
where they incorporate the forms he used with
great success.
1
Woodham, Jonathan M. Oxford Dictionary of Modern De-
sign. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
2
Senter, Terence A. “László Moholy-Nagy: Life and Work.”
Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press. 2009. Web. 8
Mar. 2011. <http://www.moma.org/collection/>
3
Senter, Terence A. “László Moholy-Nagy: Working methods
and technique” Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press.
2009. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. <http://www.moma.org/collec-
tion/>
4
von Maur, Karin. “Oskar Schlemmer: About this Artist.” Oskar Schlemmer, Wire Costume from Notes and Sketches for
Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press. 2009. Web. the Triadic Ballet.
8 Mar. 2011. <http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.
php?artist_id=5219>
5
“Abstraction in Dance.” Abstraction in the Twentieth Century
Total Risk, Freedom, Discipline. Guggenheim Museum.
1996. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. <http://www.artnetweb.com/ab-
straction/dance.html>
18
 FDIM
Going to see the 19th Annual Art of Motion
Picture Costume Design exhibition at Fashion
Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM)
was truly inspirational even if fashion design is
not my field. Located in downtown Los Angeles,
FIELD TRIP
the campus is one of four FIDM campuses in
California and teaches students everything about
fashion, graphic design, merchandising, etc. FIDM
prepares them for whichever industry their field
is in, which includes the entertainment industry
where they might themselves design costumes for
major motion pictures.
Costumes from about twenty movies from
the past year were on display and there were
also reproduction posters of historical epics. The
high quality of the costumes and creative talent
of the designers were featured, and the layout of
the exhibition only enhanced this. The exhibition
appropriately had the mood much like the movie
theater. The rooms being dark with lighting only
on the costumes was much like the lighting only
on the screen of the movie theater where one
focuses on the characters/actors. Also the raised
platforms on which the costumes were displayed
were much like stages. Also like the movie theater
it was intimate or even more so because there was
no glass around the costumes. Lastly the snaking
and weaving of the layout allowed viewers to see
multiple views of some of the costumes, only if it
were all it would have been perfect.
Late 19th century clothes were reproduced
with the highest authenticity in the costumes
designed by Mary Zophres for the 2010 western
film, True Grit. The time period was evoked in
the colors, textures, and patterns of the hats, coats,
boots, and other articles worn by the characters.
The many layers of clothes also tells one of the
time period in which travelers in the wild, like
the characters in the movie, used to have had to
protect their whole body and keep warm with
only natural fabrics. The texture most evident was
leather especially worn leather in the hats, belts,
and boots of all the characters. Other evident
textures included the tweed texture found on the
character Mattie’s coat and wool texture found
on the character Cogburn’s coat. Emphasizing
these natural fabrics and textures were the earth-
tone colors that ranged from rich browns, olives,
grays, and dark reds. Patterns included plaid and
19
a diamond pattern found on the character Mat-
tie’s shirt. Zophres was noted to have went to the
Western Research Library every afternoon and to
have gotten in touch with the Fort Smith Historical
Society one of the film’s settings.1 The designer’s
commitment to research and creativity made for
successful costume designs.
My favorite costume was the character prin-
cess Yue’s dress by costume designer Judianna
Makovsky for the fantasy film The Last Airbender
based on the animated series Avatar. Since the
film’s setting is in a fantasy world influence for the Costumes from the 2010 film True Grit
design of all the costumes came from a wide range
of cultures. Some designs came from or were
a mixture of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Rus-
sian, and Mongolian dress.1 Some of the fabrics
included velvet, used in the dress, and silk, used
for the pants. Faux fur was used around the neck
and sleeves of the dress. The colors overall were
deep blue, turquoise, and purple to fit the film’s
theme of water. The care in detail can be seen in
the Asian inspired cloud design or motif at the
base of the dress where fabrics of different colors
and texture were seamlessly layered atop of one
another. One layer even seemed to be a texture of
embroidery gold. More care in detail can be seen
in the freeform organic pattern at the torso of the
dress and beads that dangled from an ornate metal
clasp at the waist. Lastly the design of the boots,
which had upturn toes and decorative motifs, were
inspired by Mongolian boots. Even though the de-
signer aimed for no cultural specificity her creative
talent made for in my opinion a beautiful costume.
Overall I think the exhibition at FDIM was
very successful, it had a wide range of costumes
yet felt small and was not overwhelming. As an
animator and character designer the costumes
were very inspirational because much like motion
pictures, the personality of the character depends
much on the types of clothes they wear. Truly
inspiring were the fantasy costumes since many
animated features or series are in this genre and
pull inspiration from multiple sources. I would not Observational sketch of a costume from the film The Last
be surprise if I visit next year’s exhibition. Airbender.
“19th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design February
1
8-April 30, 2011.” FIDM Museum & Galleries. Fashion In-
stitute of Design and Merchandising. 2011. Print (handout).
20
 Rachel Enlow
Professor Phil Morrison
Art 313 History of Design
Spring 2011

Original Character Designs (c) Rachel Enlow