This week, our lecture covered the Bauhaus and its revolutionary influence on design, touching on De Stijl with its geometric shapes and primary colours, the design revolution uniting art, craft, and industry, and the Bauhaus school founded by Walter Gropius, with its focus on functional, modern design. We also looked at James Victore, whose bold and message-driven work reflects Bauhaus principles while pushing creative boundaries.
The Bauhaus school, founded by Walter Gropius in Germany in 1919, became a hub for modernist thinking. It brought together fine art, craft, and technology, focusing on functionality, simplicity, and clean aesthetics. Its philosophy and style left a lasting impact on architecture, furniture, typography, and graphic design worldwide.
Upon learning, I found that the design revolution marked a dramatic shift in the early 20th century, moving away from ornate, decorative traditions and embracing functionality, minimalism, and modern materials. This change reflected the needs of an industrialised world, prioritising efficiency, clarity, and accessibility in design.
De Stijl was a Dutch art and design movement founded in 1917, known for its use of primary colours, straight lines, and geometric forms. It aimed to create harmony and balance by stripping design down to its purest and most essential elements, influencing architecture, furniture, and graphic design.
James Victore is a contemporary designer celebrated for his bold, rebellious, and message-driven work. Often using hand-drawn text and striking visuals, his designs push boundaries while keeping communication clear, echoing the Bauhaus principle that design should be both functional and expressive.
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Overall, today’s lecture gave me a clearer understanding of how movements like De Stijl, the Bauhaus, and the broader design revolution completely reshaped creative thinking, prioritising simplicity, function, and modern aesthetics. Seeing how these principles continue to influence designers like James Victore reinforced the idea that strong design is timeless, and that the roots of many modern approaches can be traced directly back to these revolutionary ideas.
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