- I'm Sean Adams,
and I'd like to welcome you to the Foundations
of Graphic Design History,
The Arts and Crafts Movement.
In my course,
Foundations of Graphic Design History,
I introduce the basics of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
In this course,
we'll dig deeper,
looking at the importance of the movement,
how it influenced all design in the 20th century,
and how it impacts the way we work today.
When I have mentioned that I was working on this course,
several people asked me why macrame and making bird feeders
from soda bottles mattered.
That's a different kind of arts and crafts.
What I'm talking about here is the Arts and Crafts Movement
in capital letters.
This is the first major movement that changed design,
and saved it from coming a banal machine-made process,
and mass production.
Design is a reaction to the time and place it inhabits.
The Arts and Crafts Movement began in the midst of
The Industrial Revolution,
a time of massive technological and social change,
just like today.
Its founders looked at the low quality of design
in mass production,
lack of skill,
and loss of pride in workmanship,
and said no.
The result was a body of work across all media,
graphic design, architecture,
furniture, product, and lighting
that was beautiful and unique.
Their philosophy is the first step,
the core from which all other design movements spring.
To understand the Arts and Crafts Movement is to note
the genesis of who we are,
and what we make today.
I've taught graphic design history for over two decades.
I continue to be amazed when a designer begins to learn
about this movement,
and is transformed.
They expected a tour through old stuff,
but instead see amazing ideas and remarkable work,
and understand, for the first time,
why design matters.
We live in a world surrounded by the influences
of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
It's the beauty and function of your iPhone,
the care for typography on a beautiful book,
and your kitchen,
with simple lines and well-made materials.
The Arts and Crafts Movement may not have
car chases and explosions,
but the solutions and concepts were Earth-shattering.
Welcome to the Foundations of Graphic Design History,
The Arts and Crafts Movement.