Fundamentals of style development in design of the postmodernist era

Abstract

In the materials of this article the processes of searching for the figurative language of design on the basis of two significant currents of the middle of the twentieth century are considered. On the one hand, it is the post-war continuation of the development of functionalism principles with the thorough methodology of the Bauhaus school. On the other hand, one of the most interesting trends of Italian design in the 60’s, the so-called “radical” design. It was widely spread and had a significant influence on the modern aesthetics of the object world and on culture as a whole. In fact, it was in the principles of German industrial design and new images of Italian object design of the post-war years that the main ideas of postmodernism were put into practice. In this connection it is necessary to consider two most important directions of development of industrial design of the 60s. Two schools, formed by virtue of historical foundations, in post-war Germany and Italy simultaneously outlined the problem – what should be the modern object world. Both camps had enough industrial potential and authority in the field of practical design so that their ideas were recognized and attracted a large number of supporters and followers.