form follows function
Shape serves purpose
Form follows function is a design principle holding that the shape of an object should be determined by its purpose.
Originated in architecture, the idea rejects ornamentation for its own sake—a building's appearance should emerge from what happens inside it.
The principle extends to industrial design, typography, and software: The app's minimalist interface shows form follows function.
Often invoked to justify austere aesthetics or criticize decorative excess.
- pragmatismPractical problem-solving philosophy
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- utilityFunctional worth or purpose
- design thinkingEmpathy-driven solution framework
- user experienceInteraction quality perception
natural selection · survival of the fittest · biomechanics · modernism · structure · built environment · minimalism · clean lines · interdependence · morphology · elegance · proportion · fitness · ecological niche · efficiency · Bauhaus · less is more · harmony
- Design HistoryArt Nouveau, Bauhaus, mid-century modern, Modernism, Postmodernism
- design conceptsBauhaus, modernism, minimalism, industrial design, product design
- design principlescontrast, proportion, symmetry, balance, composition
- minimalismminimalism, declutter, decluttering, simplicity, less is more
- minimalist designminimalism, simplicity, negative space, white space, uncluttered
- Modern DesignBauhaus, contemporary, minimalist, sleek, mid-century modern
form follows functionart for art's sake
Intrinsic value of creation
postmodernism · aestheticism · formalism · maximalism · deconstructivism
forms, formed, forming, formal, format, formation, formula, formulate, formulation