Reflections on the History of Modern Design

     In my hometown of Chicago, it’s a rite of passage to steal a train map off of the “L.” Being the law-abiding citizen and model student that I am, I obviously never took park myself, but I could totally see why all my friends did. To us, the neat collection of crisscrossing colored lines beautifully represents our city and is the perfect piece of room décor. Although we all love the design map, I don’t think any of us know anything about its origins. This past week during a trip to the London Transport Museum I learned the format for this symbol of Chicago is actually based on the London Tube map, redesigned by Henry Beck in the 1930s. The redesign of the transportation system in London led by Frank Pick that took place in the 1930s introduced a number of lasting changes that greatly improved the passenger experience. New stations and ticket booths improved the flow of people through the system, but the redesign of the London Tube map was arguably the most radical cha...

    When I first entered the Victorian Era rooms at the V&A museum was a bit overwhelmed by wide variety of aesthetics bombarding me as I strolled through. But when I got to the area dedicated to the floors from the House of Commons, I stopped. It said, “PLEASE TOUCH,” so I had to. The best part of museums is touching things. While I was running my hands over the tile, I recognized a familiar name from my class readings; A.W.N. Pugin.        I decided to check out what he had to offer since I appreciated his commitment to designing wallpapers that fit their purpose and place (Wedgewood, 2004). He also happened to be one of the most prominent designers of the design reform movement when Victorian Era designers criticized the British public’s bad taste and offered their own opinions of what good design was. After seeing what the public liked I honestly get it, but even the reformers couldn’t agree on what good design was. For Pugin, it was the Gothic styl...