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New Objectivity: Did Peter Behrens Help or Hurt Human Interaction?





Peter Behrens was the father of corporate identity. Based on research into his work, he created the idea that “form follows function- and it can be beautiful too.” Today our world is not in awe of revelation, we expect it. When a pain-point occurs in our lives, we as people find ways to alieve it. Behrens gave us this industrial framework to create beauty while fulfilling our needs. However, has his standardization and neutrality into the graphic design world brought the world closer together? Or has finding aesthetically pleasing and simplifying solutions reduced the number of channels people have had to undertake thus, hurting the basic human need of interaction.
 Peter Behrens was a German artist, architect, and designer who some might say is the “father of industrial design”. He designed and manufactured everyday products such as tea kettles, streetlights, clocks, and more. What differentiated his designs from any others were the simplicity of the designs that standardized these items in such a manner that attracted all social classes. These designs also simplified the design for manufacturers. Behrens style foreshadowed his success as he utilized space to his advantage in all designs. His spacing induced meaning which today is an inspiration for all logo designers. All in all, Behrens took his discipline and found function with every move he made. 
Today, our world has symbols, apps, logos, and more to help satisfy needs by adhering to Behrens guidelines that form follows function. We are connected through applications that connect such as Facebook and twitter. We utilize apps that get us to and from destinations such as Uber and Lyft. These outlets are utilized because no one is different for using them. These apps are advertised by society to make all our lives easier despite social or economic status. We as a culture have evolved further industrial revelation but, not the influence it has made. We recognize that everyone has pain-points that need to be fulfilled and we understand the logos and brand marks of companies that can satisfy these needs/wants there goes the need of interacting with society to obtain this solution. 
Behren allowed the world to not only see a way to make something beautiful. He gave art function which is the definition of design. Without his ingenious way of thinking, would as a society would not have mutual understandings of companies and abilities just by a simple direct design. At times it does disconnect people with answers at their fingertips but, it leaves room for people to discover a new way a communicating on a deeper level.



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