Though the idea of modernistic product designs seems to be very young, it was seeded and nourished in late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The idea took a rigid form when Walter Gropius in Weimar founded Bauhaus, a German Art School started with an intention to bring any design and art to the same line. Though Bauhaus is originally an Art School, the term always reminds of the movement of bridging the gap between art and industry design by blending art and craft.

Key Ideas

·         Bauhaus movement is seen as a pursuit of radical modernization of different form of arts. It has made a hard impact in most facets of the design society that is felt even today.

·         It stressed that all kind of crafts like architecture, art, and design should be blended and mass-produced, by deploying technology. It focused on simplicity and economical sensibility.

·         The Bauhaus movement brought in revolutionary products that emphasized on using materials in its ‘honest’ form, without changing its nature. It further emphasized on exposing the possible materials, like steel in furniture, without hiding them inside a framework.

·         It prioritized functionality of a product, more than its design. It emphasized that ‘form follows function’. Though initially it faced few differences, the products of Bauhaus became an integral part of modern households.

·         It was the first to emphasize on simple and yet effective aesthetics that has pronounced huge success for products in the modern days.

Key Products

Key contribution of Bauhaus movement was in furniture designing, type designing, graphic designing, architecture and product designing.

Silver plated brass and ebony by Marianne Brandt

Club Chair by Marcel Breuer

Fotogramm by  Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

By Walter Gropius and Herbert Bayer

Bauhaus building in Dessau, Germany by Walter Gropius

Image Courtesy: http://www.metmuseum.org; www.pinterest.com

Key Artists of Bauhaus

·         Walter Gropius – German Architect

·         Paul Klee – Swiss-born Painter

·         Marcel Breuer – Architect and Furniture Designer

·         Lyonel Feininger – German-American Painter and Caricaturist

·         Josef Albers – Painter and Teacher

·         Anni-Albers - Designer and Textile Artist

·         Oskar Schlemmer - German Painter, Sculptor, Designer, and Choreographer

·         Joost Schmidt - Artist and Graphic Designer

·         Piet Mondrian – Dutch Modern Artist

·         Laszlo Moholy-Nagy - Painter, Photographer and Teacher

·         Naum Gabo - Russian Sculptor

·         And many more

Bauhaus is still a conviction for many artists and designers, as it is a great inspiration to experiment with new materials and forms.

Go through many of the works of Bauhaus to draw inspiration for your ‘modernistic’ products!