Developed In Response To The False Principles Of Design

‘True Principles’ of design were developed in response to consequences of industrialisation (Scudder, 2018) in order to create moral, and standardised designs. This included ornament and form dictated by function, as well as the respect of materials (Oshinsky, 2006). False principles, however, were classified as illusionistic imagery, violations of structure, and constructed ornament (Scudder, 2018). An example of design

Figure 1. Unknown (1853). Wallpaper illustrating the Crystal Palace that demonstrates the false principles of design is this 1853 wallpaper illustrating the Crystal Palace. The use of columns and the realistic scene in the wallpaper class it as false design because it manipulates perspective, has ornamental use of architecture,

An example of a true design principle was “reducing motifs from nature to severely ordered mathematical abstractions” (Wallpaper Design Reform, 2013), which I have done with the use of a stylised geometric branch pattern, block colours, and contrast between the lines and curves. The pattern I have used shows a representation of nature that doesn’t show a superficial appearance of form, but rather is abstracted to only display fundamental aesthetic principles (Keyser, 1998). This “honesty” of ornament was also significant to the true principles of design, as restrained ornamentation was thought to have an influence on morals in society (VAM, 2013). Owen Jones argued this idea further claiming that 19th-century design lacked a style and culture, and this method of transforming nature into ornament would show an “enactment of imperial and industrial” and a “scientific modernity” (Sloboda, 2008). Honesty in design can also be seen in the true principle that ornament is secondary to form, and is also dictated by the materials used (Oshinsky, 2006). Unlike the wallpaper that displays false design principles, of illusionism and imitation of nature, the Owen Jones inspired wallpaper that I have designed is simple and contains a limited colour palette. The form and ornamentation I have used is dictated by the