William Morris Design
I was struggling for inspiration for something to blog about this week when I put on a shirt I was given for Christmas, patterned with a unique birds and branches design.
William Morris is a 19th century poet, author, social activist and designer most known for his work in the field of textiles. He is accredited with revolutionising Victorian attitudes and tastes through his furniture, fabric, stained glass windows and wallpaper. Even if you’ve never before heard of William Morris, you’ll for sure have seen his designs before. Morris drew inspiration from nature, particularly utilising swirling leaves, boughs and bird motifs. Lots of these patterns came from his walks through the countryside by his house, and so his designs took on uniquely British quality that was never before seen at the time, as similar styles typically made use of exotic imports. He had a keen eye for pattern and his wallpapers and fabrics had an ability to scroll on and on with an interwoven foreground and background, but did not make use of the popular tromple l’oeil effect that was so fashionable at the time. Instead, his designs were more simple and honest, without any illusion or exaggeration. Because of this, they were initially considered strange and overly stylised and so were only bought by artists and bohemians. They only broke into the mainstream when Queen Victoria herself commissioned him to decorate a room in Balmoral Castle.
An early socialist, anti-imperialist and atheist, Morris was well ahead of his time. He felt enormous guilt at how his success, which he regarded as nothing more than a by-product of being born into a wealthy family, had allowed him to pursue his passions and live a luxurious lifestyle. Morris's ethos of his design was one that I particularly enjoy:
"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."
In many ways, this echoes Dieter Rams’ 10 Principles of Good Design, in that Morris also believed that one should not own unnecessary items. However, he also highlights what I believe is lacking in Rams’ design, and that is the concept of beauty in its own right. I believe that not everything has to have a clear functionality. Objects are allowed to exist for the sole reason that they look good and bring the user joy on a purely aesthetic level. Morris is considered the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement, which was a direct response to the industrial revolution rose from his fear that mass-production would bring about an end to beautifully crafted products. He believed that a designer should have a working knowledge of any media that they used, rather than relying on new machines. He was also well aware of how the rise of machinery was beginning to adversely affect the environment, which he was determined to protect.
Timeless design is something that we keep coming back to over and over again as a form of great design, but Morris’ designs really do stand the test of time. There can’t be many fabrics that look good both on the walls of a Victorian home and reimagined as a shirt sold at H&M. I believe this comes from the way that Morris went firmly against the grain, in a sense rebelling against society at the time, which is true of both his methods and his political views. He also recognised that design doesn’t have to serve a purpose and that beauty is in itself purpose enough, which is what I believe makes his designs so great. Plus there’s just something so honest and lovely about a pattern that depicts a bird stealing a strawberry amongst some leaves and flowers.