After consulting with a few other designers and realizing how terrible the work environment was in commercial settings, the company came out with office furniture including the 'Action Office'.
Michigan Star Furniture Co.
Herman Miller Products:
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Darrel - Herman Miller
Herman Miller is a furniture company that began in 1906 with the name of Michigan Star Furniture. The company focused on manufacturing residential furniture pieces in a Victorian and gaudy style. These pieces were cheap to medium priced. At 18 years old, DJ Depree took out a loan, bought the company and renamed the company, Herman Miller, after his father in law, When sales began to decline, DJ realized he needed to update his products so he consulted with a modern furniture designer and later hired George Nelson who created modern pieces and helped to bring sales back up. However, it was Charles and Ray Eames who developed furniture that really rose Herman Miller to the top. They now sold unique furniture that was ergonomic and many other manufacturers copied these designs so they conceal a stamp or medallion to represent that it is real.
After consulting with a few other designers and realizing how terrible the work environment was in commercial settings, the company came out with office furniture including the 'Action Office'.
Michigan Star Furniture Co.
Herman Miller Products:
After consulting with a few other designers and realizing how terrible the work environment was in commercial settings, the company came out with office furniture including the 'Action Office'.
Michigan Star Furniture Co.
Herman Miller Products:
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Art Deco Review
Angie - She does a good job giving a brief overview of the history of Art Deco characteristics and its history of how it made its way to other countries. She also included the important designers of the time which is very important.
Ashley - She has some great examples of interiors that really showcase the main characteristics of this time period. I like that she listed the time's designers and also how she mentioned this style's impact on the fashion industry.
Ashley - She has some great examples of interiors that really showcase the main characteristics of this time period. I like that she listed the time's designers and also how she mentioned this style's impact on the fashion industry.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Art Deco
Art Deco began in France in the 1920s and spread throughout the U.S. and European countries at the beginning of WWII, largely due to the Normandie French Ocean Liner. This era was not concerned with functionality or technology. Art Deco was influenced by Art Nouveau and the style shows this characteristic through its fashion oriented and strongly decorative designs. It brought a tension between the functionalists who supported mass production and social good and the decorators who were advocates of labor intensive craftsmanship and not concerned with social theory.
The exhibition of interior design at the 1925 World's Fair showcased furniture, lamps, textiles and accessories which all included sharp angles and cubic forms. Aluminum, black lacquer, and glass were the most common materials and finishes as well as the zigzag or chevron design. Folding screens, stepped profile of furniture (skyscraper furniture), large mirrors, and prominent light fixtures of modern materials were the essence of Art Deco.
Furniture was made with rich materials such as tortoise shell, leather, ebony, and polished metals as well as glass and mirrors. A few significant architects and designers include Maurice Dufrene, Jean Dunand who moved more toward geometric forms and was a decorator for the wealthy, Jean Michel Frank who was a minimalist and created plain-lined furniture, Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann focused on glamour and used unusual materials, and Eileen Gray who has already mastered the lacquer screens and designed many notable pieces of furniture.
Original Applications:
Current Applications:
Animation of House by Eileen Gray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5JjOChTioA
The exhibition of interior design at the 1925 World's Fair showcased furniture, lamps, textiles and accessories which all included sharp angles and cubic forms. Aluminum, black lacquer, and glass were the most common materials and finishes as well as the zigzag or chevron design. Folding screens, stepped profile of furniture (skyscraper furniture), large mirrors, and prominent light fixtures of modern materials were the essence of Art Deco.
Furniture was made with rich materials such as tortoise shell, leather, ebony, and polished metals as well as glass and mirrors. A few significant architects and designers include Maurice Dufrene, Jean Dunand who moved more toward geometric forms and was a decorator for the wealthy, Jean Michel Frank who was a minimalist and created plain-lined furniture, Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann focused on glamour and used unusual materials, and Eileen Gray who has already mastered the lacquer screens and designed many notable pieces of furniture.
Original Applications:
Current Applications:
Animation of House by Eileen Gray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5JjOChTioA
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Emergence Of Modernism Review
Amanda V. - She does a great job of giving the history of how the Emergence of Modernism came to be. She also includes the main characteristics of the movement's architectural style and lists some of the main designers of the time. She then goes into further detail of one the most influential designers, Frank Lloyd Wright, and gives a lot of information about his history and career. She also gave very good examples of past and present work.
Angie - This history of Emerging Modernism was a good lead into the career of Walter Gropius. Angie merged them together nicely and gave some great information about Gropius' accomplishments during his career. She also gave really good examples of his designs and modern applications of them.
Angie - This history of Emerging Modernism was a good lead into the career of Walter Gropius. Angie merged them together nicely and gave some great information about Gropius' accomplishments during his career. She also gave really good examples of his designs and modern applications of them.
Emergence Of Modernism
Bauhaus Dessau, Germany: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuWl5gH5TPI
International Style emerged in the 1920's and 1930's, the decades of Modern architecture. The book in which this term came from outlined three principles of Modernism: the expression of volume opposed to mass, the emphasis on balance opposed to symmetry, and the expulsion of applied ornament. The International Style has a significant contemporary characteristics of those displayed in the Dutch de Stijl movement. This time consisted of simplified forms, rejection of ornamentation, use of glass, steel and concrete, transparent buildings, construction, and acceptance of industrialized mass-production techniques.
Walter Gropius was one the few significant architects during this time. His style was unornamented, functional and industrial free. Gropius was the director of the schools of fine art and of applied art at Weimar, he merged the two schools together to form the Bauhaus. The Bauhaus became one the most famous structures of this period. The Bauhaus was one of a number of European schools concerned with reconciling craft tradition and industrial technology. This new educational program held a relationship between emerging modernism and all types of art and design. The building also included an industrial design, utilizing materials such as wood, metal, ceramics and textiles. The location at Weimar closed due to economic and political problems and a new one was built in Dessau, but was forced to close in 1933.
Previous Applications:
Current Applications
International Style emerged in the 1920's and 1930's, the decades of Modern architecture. The book in which this term came from outlined three principles of Modernism: the expression of volume opposed to mass, the emphasis on balance opposed to symmetry, and the expulsion of applied ornament. The International Style has a significant contemporary characteristics of those displayed in the Dutch de Stijl movement. This time consisted of simplified forms, rejection of ornamentation, use of glass, steel and concrete, transparent buildings, construction, and acceptance of industrialized mass-production techniques.
Walter Gropius was one the few significant architects during this time. His style was unornamented, functional and industrial free. Gropius was the director of the schools of fine art and of applied art at Weimar, he merged the two schools together to form the Bauhaus. The Bauhaus became one the most famous structures of this period. The Bauhaus was one of a number of European schools concerned with reconciling craft tradition and industrial technology. This new educational program held a relationship between emerging modernism and all types of art and design. The building also included an industrial design, utilizing materials such as wood, metal, ceramics and textiles. The location at Weimar closed due to economic and political problems and a new one was built in Dessau, but was forced to close in 1933.
Previous Applications:
Current Applications
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Frank Lloyd Wright Review
Micah has very good examples of his work and a good, brief overview of his history as a designer. I also enjoyed her video on the falling water home.
Morgan has a great recap of Wright's history behind the horizontal design style and very good examples.
Morgan has a great recap of Wright's history behind the horizontal design style and very good examples.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect who did commercial designs but focused on residential homes. He developed an "American" architecture but called his personal style of architecture "Prairie Style". Wright's color pallet was derived from indigenous plants within the Midwest. The exterior of his Prairie style designs had a hipped roof and strong horizontal profile. He used horizontal bricks, concrete slabs, and other materials to emphasize this design. His goal was integrate the house, material and landscape. The interior of his homes focused on the family. The fireplaces was always the center of the home. Other characteristics included built in furniture, stained glass windows and unique light fixtures. He would often design unique furniture and light fixtures for each of the homes he designed for the home owner.
Previous Application - Designed by Wright
Other Prairie Style Homes
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