Following the end of World War I there was a rise of progressive designers. The designers wanted to make a break from the design styles from the previous era. The design style we know today as Modernism was created. Modernism concentrated its design principals on creating simple forms which featured plain surfaces and interiors free from clutter. There was no longer a focus or need for ornament and the function of the object should be represented by its form. The drastic change in design styles was to focus on a new beginning post World War and also that the war had pushed the age of the machine forward and allowing new methods of production to be used. A new design school in Germany called Bauhaus and also the Communism political movement in Russia had created a huge influence on modern design. The Modernist movement started the theory of blending art with ideals and wanting objects to be standardized to suit the needs of everyday people, removing the excessive decoration from the Art Deco era allowed objects to be mass produced. Modernism really showcased the advances in new materials and production methods allowing materials such as Tubular Steel and Plywood to be used in ways they had never been used before. Modernist designers also wanted to make objects comfortable as-well as aesthetically pleasing, the Bauhaus school of design emphasized that everything from lamps to pots should be well crafted. Unusually they also included Physiological education alongside design. The Bauhaus school of art and design was founded in Weimar, Germany in 1919 by the architect Walter Gropius. The building was designed to take advantage of the advances in building technology and relied on materials such as Steel, Concrete and Glass which was inspired by modernist principals. The Bauhaus school started to create objects which were individual, and hand crafted which would be commonly associate more with the Arts and Crafts era, But the school then moved its focus to a more industrial standpoint influenced by the technological advances which allowed mass production to come to the forefront of object design. This allowed Art and Technology to become intrinsically linked allowing industrial materials such as tubular steel to be used in the construction of everyday domestic objects. This standardisation can also be seen in the architecture of the time with architects taking advantage of the tensile strength of steel allowing them to create buildings from concrete and producing more uniformed geometric designs.
(Willhide, E 2016) (VAM.AC.UK, 2020)
(Wilkes, W 2015)
Focusing on producing a conceptual design which had real function. I looked at the works produced by Peter Keler, Specifically the baby cradle. My idea was to take this and move it forward into a new design which could be used by adults too. The function of a rocking motion to settle a child is also something that adults often wish to replicate for relaxation. Emphasising the Bauhaus design philosophy of making objects comfortable as-well as aesthetically pleasing I wanted to create an object which incorporated the colours and geometric shapes of Peter Keler designs.