In this week’s class we covered a very large period of design history, starting with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which begun in the 1760s. Moving forward, covering the Victorian Era (1837-1901), and the Arts and Crafts Movement (1860-1910) all the way to Art Nouveau which ended roughly around 1914.
At first, this seems very overwhelming but studying the mentioned design periods, I quickly came to realise that all these art movements are actually building on top of one another and are basically interpreting the socioeconomic, political and cultural times they find themselves in. Before talking more in depth about it, I would also like to state that periods and movements are indeed like mirrors of their time, nevertheless they act as terms, which intend to organise time and its happenings and thought processes. Defining and dating historical periods is covering them with a grid to be able to define them better and place them in an overall context (Hendrik, Page 52. 1999).
Going forward, this will be beneficial as I try my best to reflect on them, mainly focusing on the Victorian Era. I will do so by analysing a design that can be found on a contemporary biscuit tin box. Before I jump into the analysis, I will outline how to all came to be and highlight some key defining factors.
The Industrial Revolution acted like a gate-opener for all art movements to come, as it enabled new processes and techniques to be implemented, which helped to reach a wide audience in a short period of time with less resources. It created a high demand for visually appealing designs for events and products and Graphic Design was on the rise with steady improvements being made in efficiency, typography, colour and layout, and printing mechanisms.
It was during the Victorian Era (time period when Queen Victoria was in power) that the full effects of industrialization was noticeable. There had been technological breakthroughs and innovations but it also brought crime, poverty, and the rise of a self-indulgent class. Wealth became a motivating factor and shaped the Victorian culture and society. As time went on not only the wealthy people but also the middle class aspired to live in comfort, which lead to ornamentation and ostentation to become the dominant style (Bcp.org, 2009).
The missing of the past and sense of nostalgia was also a big part of the Victorian Era, which was reflected in the designs, using colour, romantic imagery like flowers and a highly illustrative style. Anthony Trollope’s “The Way We Live Now” describes the Victorian age as “a newer and worse sort of world” (Trollope. Page 64, 1975), it is a time of extreme changes compared to how society was like before.
Louis Prang was a practitioner in the Victorian Era, who created Christmas cards (1880s) through lithographic printing. Below you can see an early design of his, which is now being printed on stamps. Nowadays, the Victorian style is often referred to as ‘vintage’, because the style is associated with the past and fondly remembered as a different time which valued tradition, beauty, wealth and morals.
Post cards allowed art to be spread among the masses and to educate children on it. The design of this particular card reflects the Victorian style very well. A wide range of colours, ornaments, romantic imagery such as children, jewellery and flowers can be seen.
Now, let’s take a look at a biscuit tin box and analyse the key features of its design in regard to what we have discussed earlier, elaborating on the Victorian Era and its specific design features:
This tin box definitely reflects the Victorian style. The choice of warm colour is bright and at the same time reminds one of the sunset, which could be interpreted as looking back to the past with nostalgic and sentimental feelings. It shows many ornaments and decorative elements on all sides of the box and does not leave empty space at all. Even though the layout is symmetrical, as the decorative pattern (which could resemble Celtic interlaces) around the image repeats itself, the overall designs appears to be cluttered and excessive on ornaments. You can also see that type and image are integrated into the ornaments, framing the old photograph of a lady and illustration of a castle on a hill. Castles on hills are very common in older cities, which acts as a reminder to the old times and social norms and structures. It is a visual way of communicating that this biscuit brand is well-established and has its values and traditions. Moreover, the typography resembles medieval letterforms, varying in size. The type is slightly curved and embedded into a banner, which is a characteristic of the graphics of the Victorian Era. All in all, the biscuit brand utilizes the Victorian style to establish a brand identity and communicate a certain image to the customer. It is a very traditional brand, which values quality and is probably on the higher price end. By leaning on the Victorian Era, the brand communicates traditional values, builds trust and intrigues by creating a nostalgic feeling to the fond past.
The analysis of the design of a contemporary product highlights the power design has and how it can convey a message and remind us of a time or feeling. Designers nowadays can freely use design periods and styles as inspiration to make a statement in the 21st century.
Bibliography:
Bcp.org. (2009). Pre-Industrial Society. [online] Available at: http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/ModernWorldHistoryTextbook/IndustrialRevolution/PreIndus.html#rootsofir [Accessed 21 May 2019].
Hendrik, J. and Van Der Pot, J. (1999). Sinndeutung und Periodisierung der Geschichte. [online] Google Books. Available at: https://books.google.ie/books?id=9nGmcjnMqZAC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=perioden+sind+wie+gitter+die+ueber+die+zeit+gezogen+wird&source=bl&ots=WmQoFHN0VN&sig=ACfU3U1ERffDpWNSXlchtMm_Mb6ZubQ7QA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVmqPp9pbiAhWTonEKHfg1Ar8Q6AEwAHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=perioden%20sind%20wie%20gitter%20die%20ueber%20die%20zeit%20gezogen%20wird&f=false [Accessed 21 May 2019].
Trollope, A. (1975). The way we live now. London, Oxford University Press.
Images:
- https://www.aestheticinteriors.com/sc/store.php?crn=205
- https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/288364893/10-unused-louis-prang-angel-us-christmas
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Anna Zapf 