We live surrounded by objects that condition not only the aesthetics of everyday life, but more and more our way of thinking and acting. These objects are the fruits of Industrial Design, which frame what we do every day and aim to make life more comfortable and pleasant.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

With the industrial revolution (1760-1830), which was born in England by systematically introducing the steam engine into the production process, the mechanization of work began, that is to say the replacement of manual work by the work of the machine, and a new production system (industrial production) was established that broke the current scheme.

The history of industrial design was born beyond 1800, and more specifically we took as a germinal point the Great Exhibition of the Works of lndustry of all Nations (1851), the first exhibition where industrial products were presented to the general public.

The expression Industrial Design is linked to the conception of objects to be produced by industrial and mechanical means (with predominant participation of the machine and minimum intervention of man), which allows the repetitiveness of the product, as well as its seriousness.

The preconception process is key in industrial production because it is impossible to industrially manufacture an object without having defined its physical and production characteristics with precision.

The Industrial Revolution in Furniture Manufacturing

The construction of furniture was exclusively handcrafted until the well-known Industrial Revolution, around 1760. The manufacture of furniture in a handcrafted way required not only mastery, but also a lot of physical work. The craftsmen did their work to measure and in the society they occupied a very important place due to the transcendental of the task that they made. With the passing of time, due to the appearance of the big factories, these craftsmen were transformed into workers.

It was in the Great International Exhibition, when Michael Thonet (1796-1871), cabinetmaker craftsman presents his creations and receives as innovative a medal. As opposed to solid furniture, Thonet proposes the practical advantages of fineness and lightness, and at the same time the fundamental need for comfort, and with this concept he conceives his products. The Industrial Revolution was at its peak and Thonet went from craftsmanship to industrial production. Their original and quality products transformed the furniture concept of their time and acquired universal fame. Like the Thonet chair nº14, dismountable in five pieces, ideal for storing and facilitating its transport, which contributed to the increase in sales.

What we can call the great era of Thonet ends in 1914, when the First World War begins, until then had manufactured 50 million chairs.

ARTS & CRAFTS

The Arts and Crafts movement, born in England in the second half of the 19th century, as an ideological reaction to the consequences of the nascent industrialisation in the field of object production, attempted to resurrect craftsmanship and improve the quality of design in Victorian England, and had a decisive influence on all English craft production from 1860 until the arrival of Art Nouveau, part heir to the Arts and Crafts movement.

ART NOUVEAU

With the generic name of Art Nouveau is known a style within the field of design, art and architecture, characteristic of the last decade of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century, which developed in Europe and America, albeit with local particularities, in Germany was called “Jugendstil”, in England “Modern Style”, in Austria “Secession”, in Italy “Liberty” or “Floreal”, in Scotland “Glasgow Style” and in Belgium and France “Art Nouveau”. in Barcelona “Modernism. This style, which rejected the return to the past, was characterized by a rich linear vocabulary, straight lines, sinuous or wavy curves that often ended in an energetic whip movement; intertwined lines and vegetal forms have a dominant role in the plane and space, and in general there are no ruptures.

THE STIJL MOVEMENT AND NEOPLASTICISM

While Art Nouveau was invested with its sinuous and serpentine lines, in the first decade of the twentieth century. Art Déco began to work on the design of furniture, domestic appliances, transport and means of communication, such as cinemas and later radio, using straight lines, geometric and compact forms.

The Art Déco style as such is to explain a set of different aesthetic manifestations that came together after the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, several French artists formed a formal collective dedicated to avant-garde decorative arts. In 1925 they organised the Exposition Internationale de Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, where they presented the new trends in this movement.

The influences come from constructivism, cubism, futurism and the art nouveau itself, from which it will evolve. As a style of the age of the machine, it used the innovations of the times for its forms: aerodynamic lines, a product of modern aviation, electric lighting, radio, marine cladding and skyscrapers.

ART DÉCO

While Art Nouveau was invested with its winding and serpentine lines, in the first decade of the 20th century. Art Deco began to work on the design of furniture, domestic appliances, transport and media, such as the cinema and later the radio, using straight lines, geometric and compact shapes.

The Art Deco style as such is to explain a set of different aesthetic manifestations that took place after the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, several French artists formed a formal collective dedicated to the avant-garde decorative arts. In 1925 they organized the Exposition Internationale de Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, where they presented the new trends of this movement.

The influences come from constructivism, cubism, futurism and from art nouveau itself, from which it will evolve. As a style of the machine age, it used the innovations of the times for its forms: the aerodynamic lines, product of modern aviation, electric lighting, the radio, the marine coating and the skyscrapers.