Movements are the deep under-currents upon which all other trend categories are built. If trends are the surface waves, and fads are the short-lived bubbles and spray, movements are the deep flows that move and circulate the entire aesthetic ocean. Movements are easiest to see in historical context, and in hindsight. Looking back through the ages, it’s fairly obvious what general aesthetic principles inspired the Greeks, the Renaissance, or the Victorian eras. But who knew that some folks in the Bauhaus group would create a movement that would continue to impact our culture many decades later? New movements are very rare, but any trend that shows sufficient longevity and gives birth to other new trends has the potential to achieve this deep status.
In the world of design, the careful study and application of the fundamental rules of aesthetics is the mark of a true craftsman. The aesthetic theme these rules have created, the modern movement of Rationalism, has deeply influenced the everyday objects in our lives. From the structures we live and...
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We humans like to make our mark on the world: building structures, manufacturing products, creating systems both physical and virtual. When not a purely artistic endeavor, these works of ours usually bear the signs of a rational thought process, as opposed to the more organic evolutionary structures preferred by nature...
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Throughout our collective history, across all cultures, and in all types of products, the inspiration provided by the natural world around us has found its way into our artifacts. The pendulum always swings from strictly literal motifs to more abstract inspirations: even some of our first recorded artworks like the...
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The concept of minimalism has its roots in the mid-20th century, but is still a major design influence today (Apple and other consumer electronics manufacturers have embraced this principle, as have furniture brands like IKEA and CB2). Early minimalist artists and musicians sought to reduce a concept to its most...
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