#12 :: Less and better: Bauhaus approach to products that connect
Collected in this article:
Lessons from the Bauhaus: Why products need both functionality + desirability to connect
Guiding principles: Takeaways for really standing out
The latest: Notes from the future - AI iPhone; Simplicity in coffee; User generated signposting
01: Lessons from the Bauhaus: Functionality, desirability, connection
Innovation innately implies looking forwards: emergent tech, trends, the avant garde. Yet oftentimes, it’s the past that offers deeper and more profound insights. Like the Bauhaus. More than a century ago, in 1919, a design philosophy emerged in Weimar, Germany, that transformed art, design, and with it, functionality, commerce, manufacture and consumer expectations. This issue, we look at key principles from the Bauhaus era that still guide businesses today in connecting functionality + desirability in superior propositions.
Bauhaus students at the Dessau building (1931)
The Bauhaus school was unique in bringing together the art, architecture, crafts and manufacture. Its aim was to revolutionise design and urban living: to create objects and spaces that were as practical as they were joyful to use. It ultimately forged both a new aesthetic and economic strength for Germany.
Walter Gropius, its architect founder, developed a set of principles to instil better things and places. But Gropius was also intent in putting people at the heart of design. These concepts still ripple across modern enterprise — Apple, Porsche, IKEA, Braun, Mercedes, Bang & Olufsen are all heavily influenced — in uniting user-centricity, ethics, and commercial success. Its impact still abounds globally in products, architecture and visual culture.
Familiar designs influenced by the Bauhaus (by IKEA, Apple, Vitsoe, Audi, Hilfiker, van der Rohe, Renner)
So how can modern firms efficiently implement the Bauhaus method? In today’s climate, it goes beyond understanding what customers want and need, to carefully engineering their experience across a brand ecosystem. Here are three Bauhaus principles to guide a truly holistic approach.
Guiding principle #1: Directness to add value
'Less is more’ is an ethic that underpinned the Bauhaus in both aesthetic and ethos. The Wassily Chair, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1925, encapsulates this. Using just two materials - tubular steel and leather - it is stark, straightforward, transparent. Revolutionary simplicity for the 1920s home, while remaining comfortable. And successful - it’s still manufactured by Knoll today.
So ‘less but better’ is an important contemporary mantra. Provenance and authenticity are critical factors amid endless choice, overload and overwhelm. For better or worse, firms are recognising that users expect products and experiences to be intuitive, easy, functional. Customers trust ecosystems that are simple, efficient and bring value to address their needs. IKEA and Android’s Material Design encapsulate both purpose and user friendliness.
[ Takeaways ] Communicate directly. Ask what customers really need and value. Audit features and portfolios. Do your answers suggest distillation to less but better features? Keep messaging succinct, interfaces intuitive, and services straightforward.
Breuer on the Wassily chair (1926)Guiding principle #2: Connecting design to people
Everything at the Bauhaus started and ended with people. Production held equal status to design, and so the manufacturing process - with all its social aspects - were critical. Details on paper are redundant without accurate realisation. Gunta Stölzl, a master of textiles, was a pioneer in creating modern weaving production by drawing from traditional techniques. Her work contributed to job creation, apprenticeships, training and the wider crafts economy.
Social responsibility automatically denotes connection with the audience: Products broadly impact society, beyond just aesthetics and function. For example, Patagonia is renowned for its unilateral commitment to environmental and social responsibility - via its supply chains, robust community engagement, and underlying responsibility to ‘the Earth’ as its sole shareholder. Its entire ethos forges deep resonance with customers while balancing profit and purpose.
[ Takeaways ] Recognise the customer as the most important stakeholder, and think about fostering that connection. Regularly review your social and outreach activities. Share progress and communicate results transparently. Being authentic means taking feedback, and involving people in discussions about the future.
Gunta Stolz on weaving machine (1927)Guiding principle #3: Using holistic insights
The Bauhaus blended assorted craft skillsets into industrial production of things. It resulted in holistic design - joyful products made for mass production. Gropius, who was trained as an architect, exemplified this in the second school building at Dessau by enmeshing insight from a coterie of experts - interior design, fine art, psychology, ergonomics, usability and social theory - throughout its development. The building was a functioning space for education and practice, as well as a collaborative work of art.
Engaging multiple viewpoints across organisations indisputably makes commercial sense. A holistic approach creates better products, more efficient processes and smarter experiences. Tesla exemplifies the multiple perspectives approach. Amalgamating automotive engineering, renewable energy, robotic manufacture, software development, and customer experience design has resulted in groundbreaking innovation and products that captivate and serve.
[ Takeaways ] Facilitate active conversations, workshops and projects that include representation from throughout the organisation - not just design and engineering - and especially front-facing units.
So, beyond the mission to bridge art, design + manufacture, and its simple aesthetic, the Bauhaus has a profound legacy for modern commerce.
Today, brands need to resonate deeply and honestly in the face of discerning audiences and fragmented markets. By taking care to understand and pay close attention at every human link in the journey, the Bauhaus philosophy offers a grounded framework for creating unique and strong propositions. What can you be doing today to better connect?
02: The latest: Notes from the future
Our work involves triangulating field and macro research. Here are the latest stories from tech and commerce that we find significant:
iPhone of the AI era? Sam Altman (of Open AI) and Jonathan Ive (ex Apple) are attempting to raise $1bn to create a new kind of consumer product built around AI (via the Verge)
Holistic architecture: Vienna based startup Gropyus unveiled a new 9 story, 54 units housing development built in just 11 weeks. Gropyus aims to revolutionise construction by using AI to replace labour-intensive methods (via Forbes)
AI as entertainment: Meta is staking its bet on lots of AI companion bots tailored around different tasks. This week, it launched 28 personalities - some voiced by celebrities - at Connect 2023 (via FT)
Mixed physical-digital world: Also at Connect, Zuckerberg unveiled the Quest 3 mixed reality headset, and indicated a new direction for the company’s metaverse strategy, putting new emphasis on layering real and virtual worlds (via Wired)
Simplicity: Starbucks is still grappling with overwhelm. This week it was reported that there’s an estimated 383bn different drinks combos available. Little wonder customer satisfaction is dwindling (via Bloomberg)
User generated signposts: Chatloop, a browser that enables static messages left by users upon websites, is launching this month, after having been awarded the very elusive default browser status in the App Store (via The Times)