- The futurists and constructivists
wanted to destroy the old world,
and create a new one based on
the machine, industry and socialism.
The leaders of De Stijl or "the style" in Dutch
also rejected the traditions they believed
caused World War I,
but unlike the futurists and constructivists
they wanted to rebuild the world
with an approach that merged math and harmony.
In 1917 a group of artists, architects and designers
came together in the Netherlands to create the movement.
Its leader, Theo van Doesburg wrote,
"The old is connected with the individual,
"the new is connected with the universal."
An individual with personal expression
might use images and forms that were specific
to one political regime, however an individual designer
could not own reductive abstract geometry
based on mathematical proportions,
these are universal forms.
They could not be related to the Soviets,
the Germans, British or any nation.
As I mentioned before, design is a
product of its time and place.
In this instance, the rational minimalism
is related to Dutch values of Calvinism and discipline.
Working with a limited palette of colours and square shapes
the De Stijl designers hoped to create solutions
that talked to everyone,
and lost any sense of national or personal identity.
Austerity and purity drove much of
the graphic design in typography.
Invitations, announcements and magazines use
Sans Serif fonts and large amounts of white-space.
Designers working with the De Stijl Etos used only
the color palette of black, white and primary colors.
These were pure and universal
as oppose to more complex colors
that could be considered personal.
At one point van Doesburg designed a font
to remove even more of any sign of
of any individual personality.
The letter forms are made of square shapes,
dispensing with any curves or extra elements.
This severe approach however, proved difficult to maintain.
It's human nature to create something personal.
As the movement matured, seemingly small allowances
were made, such as using a 45 degree angle.
These new direction caused an enormous rift in the group,
and by 1924 the group disbanded.
One of the greatest legacies of De Stijl
is the idea of working across many forms of design.
The approach was intended for graphic design,
architecture, products and fine art.
It was a utopian philosophy, that contrary to its name,
was not just about a style.
It was about the human condition, society
and our ability to live together
in a peaceful and harmonious culture.
And of course, there is the legacy
of the Partridge family bus.