The Arts and Crafts Movement

The Arts and Crafts Movement was one of the most powerful, successful and influential movements in design the design history of the modern era. This movement originated in Britain and hastily reached America and Europe before finally ended up as the Mingei movement in Japan.

The arts and crafts movement was created due to concern to the lack of design which was the result of industrialisation. Traditional craftsmanship was no longer appreciated and ordinary people were creating very cheap designs with no thought or consideration whatsoever.  The invention of mass production resulted in loss of stylistic variety, but then again the products created had very low costs. In Britain, these horrendous effects caused by the Industrial Revolution were noticed in the 1840s, but architects, designers and artists started taking serious action in the 1860s and 1870s. In response to this, the artists and designers who were part of the Arts and Crafts Movement created a new set of rules for design and did their best to make people's homes become a work of art themselves.

The name of this Movement came from the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society but it included a number of workshops, manufacturers and artists who had similar ideas, tastes and theories. The artistry in this movement was very innovative for the time, and the great thing about it is that the designers always kept the function of the product in mind, not only the appearance.

This movement was one who remained always true to materials while creating new and unique designs. Their belief was to always keep quality first, then functionality and design. This is where the infamous 'Form follows Function' comes in. The phrase 'Form follows Function' is what makes good design, even in the world we live in today.

The two most dominant people in this movement were the philosopher John Ruskin and the designer, writer and founder William Morris. Ruskin researched thoroughly the relationship between art, humanity and the industry. Morris put Ruskin's beliefs into practice, by taking into consideration of high value of products, the importance of the delight in craftsmanship and the natural beauty lying in organic materials. William Morris was very much inspired by Medieval Art.

In a very short time frame, William Morris became known worldwide as one of the most successful designers and manufacturers at the time. Later federations were inspired by Morris's designs. Artists, designers, sculptors and painters were working hand in hand for the first time and so, high quality and diverse products were being produced for the public.

Victoria and Albert Museum

The world’s greatest museum of art and design, 2013. The Arts and Crafts Movement. [online] Available at: <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-arts-and-crafts-movement/> [Accessed 19 November 2013].

[Peacock and Dragon woven woollen fabric by William Morris ] 1878. [image online] Available at: <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Morris_Peacock_and_Dragon_Fabric_1878_v2.jpg> [Accessed 19 November 2013].