Blog Assignment 3

In the 'Grammar of Ornament' (1856) Owen Jones argued that "Construction should be decorated. Decoration should never be purposely constructed." I think that he meant that when we design we should first design the object and then decorate it. Rather than changing our design to fit the decorations. Visual aesthetics are important but not to the point where it overpowers the functionality of the object.


A.W.N Pugin (1812-1852) backs up this argument by saying that painting and sculpture should be added to architecture rather than be by itself. He also states that the intention of the ornament should match the use of the object.


I completely agree with both Jones and Pugin. The fact that designers were/are designing around the function of an object to the point where the function is secondary to the aesthetics is wrong. There is no use to an object if it doesn't work as needed. Here are two examples:

The table on the left, designed in 1740 France, clearly shows decoration constructed. The design of the legs is extremely decorated and carved. The overall structure and use of the table has suffered because the table will not be as strong. Not that this is a bad thing, but its design has led to a decrease in its functionality.

However, the table on the right, designed in the 2000's, has very little decoration on it. It has been specifically designed to be a table, looking at its function before thinking about its aesthetics. We can see that this table looks very sturdy and safe. This backs up Pugin's statement that function should come first in design.

Pugin quote referenced from Lecture 27/07