Victorian Design

13 January 2022 / ERIKAFUKASAWA

Victorian design refers to the design styles developed in Great Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 – 1901). It was a time in England’s history when there was political stability and strict cultural norms. (Bigman, A., 2016)

Figure 1 – Family of Queen Victoria by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

In this era, consumerism was founded, and the Industrial Revolution foreshadowed the contemporary Technological Revolution. New discoveries and technologies transformed manufacturing processes throughout the Victorian era. With the introduction of railways and steamships, travel became simpler. As production and commerce developed, more and more things became affordable.

The Victorian style and period:

The romantic design was heavily influenced by the past, so it has a great sense of nostalgia and romanticism. We can see the Victorian influence in figure 2, by the style of the furniture, the dresses that the women are wearing, and the decorative curtains and carpet at the bottom.

Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
  • Revival of Gothic and Medieval decoration. (Figure 3)
  • Complex style of ornamentation. (Figure 4)

Colours, Themes and Typify:

The Victorian posters and advertising always filled the entire page with images and type with decorative borders and used ornate type and romantic imagery. Generally appeared in a curve or wave surrounded by a banner. (Leeanne, B., n.d. Graphic Design History – Victorian Era, 2012)

  • Heavy and simple letters.
  • Intense colour backgrounds and frames.
  • Typographic poster mix with Figurative poster.
  • Typography types of wood + lithograph.
  • Figure 5
  • Figure 6
  • Figure 7 – Beecham’s Pills

Over time, during the victorian era, Chromolithographs appeared in children’s and fine arts periodicals, as well as advertising graphics on trade cards, labels, and posters. It is a multi-colour printing technique. This sort of colour printing evolved from the lithographic technique and encompasses all varieties of lithography that are produced in colour. Instead of using raised relief or recessed intaglio processes, lithographers tried to employ chemicals to print on flat surfaces. (Alessia Mosciski, 2022)

  • Figure 8 – Folding Card, The Old Woman Who Lived in A Shoe, 6 April 1883.
  • Figure 9 – Christmas Card from L. Prang Co.
  • Figure 10 – Prang Christmas cards are highly collectible

Victorian era’s main practitioners:

  • Kate Greenaway was the most popular illustrator of children’s book.
  • Augustus Pugin was considered an architect of the Gothic Revival style.
  • Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a gifted poet and painter. He created The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
  • John Ruskin for his writing styles and literary forms.

Victorian contemporary designs

A designer Coralie Bickford-Smith at Penguin are continuing the tradition with fabric-bound classics. (Maria Popova, 2010)

Figure 11
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Figure 13

Her signature patterns for Penguin books are somewhere between Victorian wallpaper and modernist upholstery, her sophisticated minimalist designs flow a kind of obsession that is cherished and passed down through generations. (Susanna Baird, 2020)

Reference List:

Pictography:

Published by erikafukasawa

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