Function

HERMAN MUTHESIUS The Significance of Applied Art

Muthesius starts by speaking about what people have done in the past when it comes to applied art.  He mentions that people were too focused on the appearance of the objects they were designing, trying to give it a certain stylistic look that they forgot about practicality.  They often did replicas of objects done in past artistic movements, and, in turn, forgot about the present and its specific needs.  Now, people have been completely changing their approach to applied art, and it is an incredible change that brings great significance to applied art.  It is not that people have completely new and original ideas when approaching the design.  They just have a new thought process when designing the applied art.  Instead of looking to the past and focusing on the appearance, they look at function, material and construction, the three fundamental principles of design.  In doing this, they are not completely disregarding the appearance of the object, but the appearance is not what comes first.  Modern applied art has a much more effective and efficient approach.

Eames chair (functional, but also beautiful)

WALTER GROPIUS Manifesto of the Staatliche Bauhaus in Weimar

I believe that we should return to the crafts as well.  If you are to be a good designer, you have to be able to make what you design.  Otherwise, you probably will not know enough about the materials and making of the object to know whether or not the product you put is successful.  

IDS 271 boxes (We made our own boxes for monitor storage, which definitely makes us appreciate them.)

LE CORBUSIER Type-Needs: Type-Furniture

When Le Corbusier speaks of the human function defining human needs, he is making a relatively obvious statement, but it is one that we need to be constantly reminded of.  Designers often get too caught up in appearances and forget what they are designing.  What is the purpose of the object?  What good is a decorative chair that is difficult to sit in?

Le Corbusier defines decorative art as a functional extension of ourselves.  The beauty of these tools comes from their ease of use and functionality.  

Clothes are an example of functional, decorative items.