Twentieth century design (1900-99) encompasses a broad range of industries and products. The influence of this period of design can be seen in architecture, home furnishings, decorative arts, clothing and graphics. There is not one design look or style for the 20th century, but a series of overlapping styles that represent the arrival of the modern world. Architecture provides a visual catalog of 20th century design.
Craftsman Style
Craftsman style, also called The American Arts and Crafts Movement, dates from before the turn of the century to around 1929. This design style emphasizes handcrafting, using wood, glass and metal to create clean lines and sturdy structure from local materials. Craftsman style was a response to the ever-increasing mass produced housing styles and products. American craft styles and architectural details that came from this era are Shaker furniture, Mission furniture and the idea of placing a breakfast area or "nook" in the kitchen.
Art Deco Style
Art Deco, dated from 1925 to the 1940s, encompasses a wide variety of 20th century design styles---Cubism, Constructivism, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau and Futurism. Art Deco was not rooted in a political or philosophical statement but was inspired by a purely decorative desire. It made use of industrial materials---stainless steel and aluminum---and more decorative applications like in-laid and lacquered woods. Bold patterns (chevrons, geometrics, stepped and sweeping curves) decorated carpets, furniture, fabrics and clothing. This type of bold pattern statement is repeated during the 1960s. The Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building are examples of Art Deco architecture.
International Style
Dated 1920 through the early 1930s, the International Style marks the beginning of the end of the highly decorative style. The International style is noted for its stark contrast to Art Nouveau, with its clean, straight undecorated lines. Building footprints were square or rectangular with windows broken into grid patterns running uninterrupted across the facade. The tall, soaring and simple lines of the United Nations headquarters and the Seagram Building, both in New York, are examples of the International style.
Mid-Century Design
Mid-century design is dated 1933 to 1965. It is a mix of styles overlapping the Art Deco period and includes the work of Isamu Noguchi, Eileen Grey, Richard Neutra and Charles and Ray Eames. In this part of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright's ideas about organic architecture combined with those of the Bauhaus (the unification of art, technology and craft) and the International style. A large expanse of windows and open floor plans are found in homes and offices built during the mid-century design era. The Main Terminal at Dulles Airport in northern Virginia and the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco are examples of the more organic shapes of mid-century design.
Postmodern Design
From the mid-1960s to the end of the 20th century, design became a melting pot of ideas and styles. Postmodern design is not about a particular type of design but an exploration of what came before. As new technologies developed, many old styles were revived and reworked---the architecture of Michael Graves reflects the geometric and bold patterns of the Art Deco period. The ability to build taller and more complex forms such as those designed by American architect Frank Gehry (Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, 1997) put to use the concept of melding technology and craft embedded in mid-century design.
