Defining Postmodernism: Ettore Sottsass

Postmodernism is one of the most difficult movements or time periods in design, philosophy and sociology to define. The term was first used around 1970, relating to its relationship to the departure from the ideals of the modernist movement before it. Where modernist thinkers believed in single truths and linearity in combination with design that […]

Robin Day: Postwar Plastics

Robin Day’s Polyprop Chair of the early 1960s converges modernist design principles in the context of postwar design with new technologies of the day, primarily the boom of plastics. In order to understand the significance of rather ordinary chairs, when viewed from a modern day perspective, we need to understand the context of developments in […]

The Pursuit of Modernisn: Maclaren’s Armchair

Modernism emerged during the period of about 1920 – 1940, known as Interwar Modernism, which followed the end of World War I as well as the Russian Revolution. World War I was known to be the “war to end all wars” , characterized by a magnitude of violence no one had ever experienced before. This […]

Philip Webb: Design with Meaning

Philip Webb lived from 1831 to 1915 and was trained as an architect at the onset of the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 1800s. His collaboration with William Morris, one of the primary design thinkers and creators of the era, has resulted in the production of some of his most significant work. His […]

Wedgwood: A Legacy of Elegance

The Exhibition Vase displayed within the Victoria and Albert Museum’s British Galleries not only exemplifies the characteristic style of the historic and internationally recognized Wedgwood brand, but sets the stage for an understanding of the time and place for which this specific piece was created, namely as a showpiece for the Great Exhibition of 1851. […]