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Design
Clean lines, exceptional quality and a modern functionalist style have
made German design famous the world over. History and industry are as
important in its development as are form and function.
 Bauhaus
Industrial
Design
Car
Design
Bauhaus
The central German town of Weimar is widely heralded as the birthplace
of German design. In 1919, the Bauhaus, probably the most influential
school of design and architecture of the 20th century, was founded there,
before it was forced to move to Dessau for political reasons in 1925.
Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, Wilhelm Wagenfeld
and Marianne Brandt were some of the leading names in Bauhaus design,
which called for a basic principle to underlie all modernist design: Form
follows function.
In the 1920s, German electronics company AEG commissioned designer Peter
Behrens to create a corporate design, the first use of a unified “corporate
identity.”
After World War II, the Ulm Hochschule für Gestaltung (Ulm School
of Design), opened in 1953, following in the footsteps of the Bauhaus
and further developing the concept of industrial aesthetics. Founded by
the designer Otl Aicher, his wife Inge Aicher-Scholl and the Swiss artist
Max Bill, it soon gained internationally attention for its new standards
of modernist design. During its 19 years in existence, it strongly influenced
many prominent designers. Among other achievements, Aicher developed the
“corporate identity” of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich,
while others from the school designed the sleek Intercity Express trains
that now criss-cross Germany.
Industrial Design
For many years, the Braun brand was closely linked with the concept of
German design and its combination of functionality and technology. The
most influential designer at this electronics company was Dieter Rams,
a key figure in the German design renaissance of the 1960s and a former
teacher at Ulm. Other firms continue to set styles with their products:
Jena Glas is well known for glassware and china, Leica for excellent cameras
and Loewe for electronic equipment. Wilkhahn and Vitra are famous for
furniture, Lamy for writing instruments and Erco for lighting.
In the 1970s, a more pop art-influenced approach hit German design. Contemporary
design reflects these trends in its lightness of touch, yet it resounds
with the functionalist tradition. Products of Ingo Maurer and Tobias Grau
(lighting), German-based Porsche car designer Luigi Colani, Herbert Jakob
Weinand and companies like Nils Holger Moormann (both furniture) all follow
in this tradition.
With the information age and the new opportunities created by virtual
media, the importance of design is assuming an ever greater role. Thus,
it comes as little surprise that according to the latest survey by Design
Report magazine, 82% of design-related managers credit designers with
a "considerable part of the company's success." However, these
managers expect not only creativity, but pragmatism and a solid grasp
of marketing, as well.
Institutions
A range of German design institutions promote the interests of both designers
and the industry. The Rat für Formgebung (German Design Council)
advises designers and the industry, and supplies information in matters
of design. On behalf of the Minister of Trade and Industry, it awards
federal prizes for product design and design promotion. The interests
of designers vis-à-vis the political sector and the public are
represented by the Deutscher Designertag (German Designer Association),
which, among other things, constitutes the design section of the German
Arts Council, the umbrella organization of the federal arts associations.
Several German museums feature exhibitions of historical and contemporary
design, such as the Neue Sammlung in Munich, the Bauhaus Archive in Berlin,
the Neues Museum für Kunst und Design in Nuremberg and the Museum
for Art and Trades in Hamburg.
Links:
General Information:
Goethe
Institute Design
Goethe
Institute Design(1)
Design
Report (in German only)
Facts
about Germany, Architecture and Design
Schools:
Bauhaus
Hochschule
für Gestaltung (in German only)
Designers:
Dieter
Rams
Ingo
Maurer
Tobias
Grau
Nils
Holger Moormann
Luigi
Colani
Companies:
Jena
Glas
Leica
Loewe
Wilkhahn
Vitra
Vitra
(1)
Lamy
Erco
Institutions:
German
Designer Association
German
Design Council
Car Design
Exceptional quality, pioneering technology and thoughtful functionalism:
In the auto industry, these are the cornerstones of German design. With
good reason cars "made in Germany" are regarded as some of the
best in the world. Auto manufacturing is also a major engine of the German
economy: The country is the world's third-largest producer of automobiles
after the U.S. and Japan, with an export rate of about 65% (1999). Moreover,
German car companies hold majority stakes in several overseas brands,
such as BMW’s stake in Rover, or have merged to form global powerhouses,
such as that created by the 1998 merger of Daimler Benz and Chrysler of
the U.S. Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen/Audi have achieved
major feats of engineering and automotive design that span the cultural
history of the 20th century: From the utilitarian VW Beatle to the stately
Mercedes-Benz, from the luxurious Porsche to the racy BMW motorcycle,
all tell their very own stories of German life and values.
Links:
VW
Mercedes
Benz / DaimlerChrysler
BMW
Porsche
Audi
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