The Big Design History
A century of international creative revolutions
A Century of Creative Revolutions
From the Constructivist revolution to design thinking algorithms, the history of international design reveals humanity’s extraordinary capacity to perpetually reinvent our daily environment. Each movement is born from a vision of the world, a social utopia, a technical innovation that transforms our relationship with objects and spaces.
In every curve of an Eames chair, every line of an iPhone, every pixel of an interface, resonate the dreams of generations of visionary creators. From Bauhaus to Silicon Valley studios, from Japanese minimalism to postmodern exuberance, design forges our collective identity and draws the contours of the future.
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
Constructivism
The Russian revolutionary avant-garde
Born in the Russian revolutionary ferment, Constructivism revolutionizes art and design by advocating the social function of creation. Vladimir Tatlin, Alexander Rodchenko, and El Lissitzky imagine an art serving the people and socialist construction.
- Philosophy: Critique of consumerism, conceptual design, social experimentation
- Creations: Zanotta’s Sacco, inflatable furniture, utopian architectures
- Impact: Design thinking renewal, contemporary critical design
High-Tech Design
The technological era
Norman Foster, Renzo Piano in architecture, Mario Bellini, Richard Sapper in industrial design celebrate the beauty of technology. High-Tech reveals structures, valorizes industrial materials, and makes technical performance an innovative aesthetic language.
- Materials: Steel, aluminum, glass, composites, industrial finishes
- Principle: Apparent structure, celebration of technique, technological minimalism
- Objects: IBM laptop, Artemide lamps, Alias furniture
Postmodernism
Embraced eclecticism
Robert Venturi, Michael Graves, Philippe Starck liberate design from functionalist dictates. Postmodernism celebrates eclecticism, irony, color, and narrative. “Less is a bore” responds to “Less is more”: welcome to exuberance, emotion, and cultural diversity.
- Principle: Stylistic pluralism, diverted historical references, irony
- Aesthetics: Bright colors, hybrid forms, rehabilitated ornament
- Figures: Starck, Graves, Venturi, Gehry, Tschumi
Memphis Group
The postmodern explosion
Ettore Sottsass revolutionizes Milan by founding Memphis: a radical creative laboratory that dynamites all design codes. With Michele De Lucchi, Martine Bedin, and George Sowden, Memphis invents an explosive visual language mixing colorful plastic, geometric patterns, and pop irony.
- Colors: Saturated primaries, violent contrasts, post-pop patterns
- Forms: Deconstructed geometry, radical asymmetry, learned bricolage
- Impact: Major influence on the 80s, graphic design, fashion
Minimalism
Global less is more
John Pawson, Tadao Ando, Donald Judd reinvent refinement as a response to postmodern saturation. 1990s minimalism draws from Japanese zen, conceptual art, and modernist tradition to create an aesthetic of serenity and the essential.
- Principle: Reduction to essentials, purity of lines, creative void
- Materials: Raw concrete, brushed steel, glass, natural wood
- Influence: Contemporary architecture, discreet luxury, digital design
Digital Design
The age of interfaces
Apple, IDEO, Frog Design revolutionize our relationship with objects through interface design. Jonathan Ive, Bill Moggridge, Tim Brown create a new language: UX design, design thinking, interaction design. The screen becomes the new creative territory, usage takes precedence over form.
- New professions: UX/UI design, interaction design, service design
- Methods: Design thinking, rapid prototyping, user testing
- Impact: Transformation of all sectors, digital economy
Eco-Design
Environmental consciousness
Victor Papanek was visionary as early as 1971. Climate urgency imposes a revolution: cradle to cradle, circular economy, biomimicry. Ross Lovegrove, Neri Oxman, Mathieu Lehanneur invent regenerative design that reconciles beauty, performance, and respect for living beings.
- Approaches: Life cycle analysis, upcycling, circular design
- Materials: Bioplastics, recycled materials, natural composites
- Philosophy: Durability, repairability, positive impact
Design Thinking
The revolutionary method
Tim Brown from IDEO theorizes this revolutionary approach that applies design thinking to all domains. Empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, testing: design thinking transforms innovation into a systemic method adopted by the world’s largest companies.
- Process: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test (Stanford method)
- Principle: User-centered, iterative, collaborative, experimental
- Applications: Innovation, management, public policy, education
Global Design
Creative globalization
Globalization democratizes access to design. Airbnb, Uber transform the economy through service design. From São Paulo to Lagos, from Mumbai to Mexico, new creative centers emerge. Global design mixes cultures while valorizing local specificities in globalized creativity.
- New hubs: Asia (Tokyo, Seoul), Latin America (São Paulo), Africa (Lagos, Cape Town)
- Trends: Glocalization, decolonial design, frugal innovation
- Tools: Digital fabrication, open source, collaborative networks
Resources
Design Fundamentals
History of Design & Decorative Styles
From baroque salons to the radical lines of the 20th century, this chronological timeline highlights the aesthetic revolutions that have marked our daily environment.
Read the article “History of Design & Decorative Styles”Hart Design Glossary from A to Z
Sabre legs, patina, passementerie, caning… This lexicon gives meaning to the technical and stylistic terms often used in the design world.
Access the Hart Design GlossaryHart Glossary of Design Icons
This glossary lists all the great names in design and decoration in alphabetical order. Discover the creators who have shaped contemporary living art.
Access the Hart Glossary of Design IconsResources
Design Fundamentals
History of Design & Decorative Styles
From baroque salons to the radical lines of the 20th century, this chronological timeline highlights the aesthetic revolutions that have marked our daily environment.
Read the page “History of Design & Decorative Styles”Hart Design Glossary from A to Z
Sabre legs, patina, passementerie, caning… This lexicon gives meaning to the technical and stylistic terms often used in the design world.
Access the Hart Design GlossaryHart Glossary of Design Icons
This glossary lists all the great names in design and decoration in alphabetical order. Discover the creators who have shaped contemporary living art.
Access the Hart Glossary of Design Icons
