De Stijl

De Stijl which means the style in Dutch began in 1917 in the Netherlands. The movement was made up of architects, designers and multiple artists many of which implied abstract ideas and thus moved away from old forms and philosophy. It consisted of some well known followers such as Piet Mondrian, Theo Van Doesburg, painter, writer and critic and Gerit Reitveld architect.
Simplicity and abstraction was what the movement sought out to propose. Their aim was to express an 'Utopian idea of harmony and order.' To obtain this the artists reduced elements and used geometric forms and primary colours.
De Stijl is also a publication which was published by Van Doesburg. The book discusses group theories and contains important and meaningful work of graphic design.
De Stijl artists made use of visual vocabulary and sought to express "the mathematical structure of the universe and the universal harmony of nature". Their wish was to express the 'general consciousness of their age.' The movement believed that the destruction of war would destroy and out date the era they lived in allowing a new era where science, technology and political development would emerge carrying with it a new age of objectivity and collectivism. Followers of De Stijl believed that beauty came out from the perfection of their purified work. They went about this by eliminating naturalistic representation, external values and subjective expression. Their work was to contain universal harmony a state they aim to spread throughout the universe. Two important influences implied by De Stijl are Cubism and Constructivism. These influences abled the movement to distinguish its style from the rest. These styles, A construction of multiple shapes, bright colours and multiple straight lines were implied in their work to create this style.
Many book covers implied these characteristics which feature graphical designs. De Stijl was a very influential movement which continues to inspire others to apply such characteristics to their work and design. One well known brand that has applied these modernistic principal to their product is Nike. Furniture brands have also applied these principals.

Bibliography

Anon., n.d. De Stijl. [Online]
Available at: http://www.allbuyart.com/art-movement-Destijl.asp

Jirousek, C., 1995. De Stijl. [Online]
Available at: http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/destijl/decstijl.htm