presentation

Concept I intend to explore the relationship between: -Modernism -Bauhaus (Form follows function) -Dieter Rams (10 principles of good design) -Braun -Apple/ Jonathan Ive I intend to briefly touch on Modernism to give some context, compare the philosophy of the Bauhaus ‘form follows function’ with Dieter Rams ‘10 principles of good design ‘ to show how the initial ideologies derived from the Bauhaus have progressed and in my opinion, improved with time and technology to better suit societies needs within design. I will do this by comparing Rams’ designs for Braun with the contemporary, current designs of Apple, which are one of the most successful and iconic brands of the time. With doing this, I intend to communicate the success of Modernist philosophies by making the reader aware of there on-going presence within current design.

Content Reseach Modernism Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement in the arts, its set of cultural tendencies and associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and farreaching changes to Western society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In particular the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed then by the horror of World War I, were among the factors that shaped Modernism.

Born of great cosmopolitan centres, it flourished in Germany and Holland, as well as in Moscow, Paris, Prague and New York.

The Bauhaus

occupies a place of its own in the history of 20th century culture, architecture, design, art and new media. One of the first schools of design, it brought together a number of the most outstanding contemporary architects and artists and was not only an innovative training centre but also a place of production and a focus of international debate. At a time when industrial society was in the grip of a crisis, the Bauhaus stood almost alone in asking how the modernisation process could be mastered by means of design.

Dieter Rams

By producing electronic gadgets that were remarkable in their austere aesthetic and user friendliness, Rams made Braun a

household name in the 1950s. He is considered to be one of the most influential industrial designers of the 20th century.

Quotes “Never before have the conditions of life changed so swiftly and enormously as they have… in the last fifty years. We have been carried along… [and] we are only now beginning to realize the force and strength of the storm of change that has come upon us.”

H .G . WELLS, 1933 “The new life of iron and the machine, the roar of automobiles, the glitter of electric lights, the whirring of propellers, have awoken the soul.”

KAZIMIR MALEVICH , 1916 “It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things superhuman, of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function. This is the law.”

LOUIS SULLIVAN, 1896 “I imagine our current situation will cause future generations to shudder at the thoughtlessness in the way in which we today fill our homes, our cities and our landscape with a chaos of assorted junk.”

DIETER RAMS

Interpreting “Form Follows Function”

There are two ways to interpret the phrase “form follows function”:

Descriptive: beauty results from purity of function;

Prescriptive: aesthetic considerations

in design should be secondary to functional considerations.

Dieter Rams: Ten principles for good design 1. Good design is innovative 2. Good design makes a product useful 3. Good design is aesthetic 4. Good design makes a product understandable 5. Good design is unobtrusive 6. Good design is honest 7. Good design is long-lasting 8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail 9. Good design is environmentally-friendly 10. Good design is as little design

Braun

The starting point for the new design concept was a positive assessment of the potential shopper: intelligent and open-minded, someone who appreciated unobtrusive products which left him or her ample freedom for personal fulfilment.

1960s Braun Products Hold the Secrets to Apple’s Future

BraunCollection The BraunCollection archive contains some 5,600 products spanning 90 years. Approximately 2,800 of these are one-off items that never went into series production.

Format Reseach

From the research I have collected the square format seems to be a recurring theme with Modernist publications. As an aesthetic, I am going to take inspiration from ‘Neue Grafik’ as I think it best reflects the context and content. I will use a mixture of type, image and type and image together.

Format

Modernism favours geometric shapes and simple forms so I have decided to design my publication in a square format with the dimensions: 180x180mm This will allow for plenty of room to layout the content whilst being able to utilise the negative space to create a clinical aesthetic.

180x180mm

Binding Techniques There are many ways to bind a publication so I have selected five methods that I feel are most relevant to the context, portraying truth to materials and functionality.

Spiral Binding

Twin Loop Wire Binding

Comb Binding

Tape Binding

Saddle Stich Binding

Front/Back Cover FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

LESS IS MORE

LESS IS BETTER A brief history of......

Philosophy Through Design.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

LESS IS MORE

LESS IS BETTER A brief history of......

Philosophy Through Design.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

LESS IS MORE

LESS IS BETTER A brief history of......

Philosophy Through Design.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

LESS IS MORE

LESS IS BETTER

A brief history of...

Philosophy

Through Design.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

LESS IS MORE

LESS IS BETTER A brief history of......

The evolution of functional design.

CON TENTS

Contents

12

45

3

CON

TENTS

Introduction

.....................

Modernism

Modern Modernity

Modernism- Utopia

Modernism- The machine and mass production

The Bauhaus

The Bauhaus- Form follows function

The Bauhaus- Form follows function

Dieter Rams

Dieter Rams- Less but better

Dieter Rams- 10 Principles of good design- The layout for 10 principles will be the same so I have only done one set of thumbnails.

Dieter Rams- Braun

Apple- Jonathan Ive

Apple V Braun

Final Stage

of development