Modernism was one of the most dominant forces in 20th century design; developing alongside new forms of technology, production, and transportation, it culminated in a contemporary lifestyle powered by electricity. Glass, tubular steel, reinforced concrete, and other new materials, abstract forms, plain surfaces and a restrained white, gray and black palette most basically characterizes Modern design.
The Modern movement extends from the 1920s through the 1960s in an international, multi-faceted history. The British Arts and Crafts Movement first spoke against the extravagant ornamentation of Victorian design in favor of simpler, more ¨honest¨ forms. Early Modern designers reconciled such principles with the potential of machine-made, mass-produced materials and technologies.
Designers imbued by radical utopian ideals opposed the repressive political and aesthetic agendas that dominated Germany, Russia and Italy. Italian Rationalism for example stood in opposition to Mussolini's preferred Neo-classical Novecento design. Economic turmoil and hyperinflation in Germany and Austria between the two World Wars gave rise to the functional, modern aesthetic of two major Modern design institutions, the Deutscher Werkbund association and the Bauhaus school.
Modernism also developed considerably in areas less affected by the political crisis in Europe. In fact, the first major Modern movement emerged in Holland (the De Stijl group) and Swiss architect Le Corbusier was one of Modernism's most key figures. A late form of Modernism called International Style was internationally embraced in architecture and interior design after the Second World War.
Many aspects of Modernism persisted throughout the 20th century informing late Art Deco and much American design in the 1920s and 1930s. Modern Streamline especially combined new materials with organically-inspired, abstract shapes to symbolize speed. Additionally, the ideals of ¨Good Design¨ from the 1950s and 1960s were a movement throwback without its initial social utopian roots. A new generation starting in the 1960s continues to playfully and ironically refer to Modernism in Postmodern expression.