ABSTRACT
The application of art to industry in the form of design was at the top of many of the mediators’ agendas. The major concerns were to encourage economic activity especially in competition with France; to establish a set of principles that applied across the designed world including not only the formal principles but also the relation between construction and ornament; the distinction between artist and designer; and between hand and machine work. For many, drawing was the key to solving many of these issues. Principles of design were key to the thinking about design improvements. Again, the eighteenth century provided precedent for these thoughts. The three major elements of design are the visual elements; the conceptual elements, and the practical elements. One of the main ideas about materials was that their use in relation to design should somehow reflect the concept of ‘truth to materials’.
