Back to the drawing board, form follows function, less is more.
All common prevalent sayings in design circles and well used in the wider world, but where do they come from, what do they really mean, and are they still relevant?
Back to the drawing board
The saying originated in the 1940s and is still well used, and not just in the design world. It refers to ‘the drawing board’, which refers to the architect’s or draughtsman’s table, and was coined as the caption to a cartoon by Peter Arno for the New Yorker magazine. It means to start again after a failed attempt, and is still as relevant today as it was 60 years ago, despite drawing boards being largely replaced by CAD systems. It’s a useful way to light heartedly say ‘let’s start over’.
Form follows function
Meaning that the shape of an object or building should be primarily based on its intended function or purpose, form follows function is a principle associated with modern architecture and design. The phrase was coined by an American architect, Louis Sullivan, who actually said ‘form ever follows function’ in his 1896 article ‘the tall office building artistically considered‘. The simpler version is the one that stuck however, and has led to much debate, which still goes on. The adoption of form following function saw the rejection of unnecessary ornament in favour of functional shapes and use of modern materials to create buildings and objects that owe their looks to function rather than tradition. Aerodynamics can be said to be form following function, and the principle has also been applied to graphic design.
Less is more
This 19th century proverb was first found in print in Andrea del Sarto, 1855, a poem by Robert Browning:
Who strive – you don’t know how the others strive
To paint a little thing like that you smeared
Carelessly passing with your robes afloat,-
Yet do much less, so much less, Someone says,
(I know his name, no matter) – so much less!
Well, less is more, Lucrezia.
Architect & furniture designer Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe adopted ‘less is more’ as a motto which has led to often being associated with his work as one of the founders of modern architecture and a proponent of simplicity of style. It is one of the fundamentals that minimalism is based on, and is very relevant today in all forms of design, as well as being a great maxim for the environmentally conscious.