Identification Guides

There were two main types of new design after World War I. The German Bauhaus designers used good design for production of machine-made goods, while the French art deco designers created carefully made, handcrafted, luxurious products.

After World War I, machine-made, mass-produced design was available because of changes in manufacturing, materials, and design. The technically oriented Germans, such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) and Marcel Breuer (1902–1981), were designing for the mass market using machine-production techniques and new materials like steel tubes. Handwork was not important; cost-effectiveness was.