We, designers, should know the history of our profession to be able to take it further into the future. We should understand design decisions in their historical, political and cultural background to make the right design decisions in our own processes.

How do design movements implement their visions into their design process? During the assignment Design History in Global Perspective I analyzed multiple design- and art movements, designers and visionaries. From Henri Ford and Frederick Winslow Taylor to Charlie Chaplin and his Modern Times, from Buckminster Fuller to Dieter Rams, Charles and Ray Eames and Ettore Sottsass.

As a part of the course I needed to design an object to complement the Rietveld-Schröderhuis. The signature of Rietveld is that everything has a function, and only a function. Everything is brought back to function. There is no place for ornaments, little personal memorabilia or other objects that make a house a home. On top of that, Rietveld accentuates the wide, open space in his designs. So what is left in one big emptiness, filled with nothing but beautifully designed functions. In my opinion the Rietveldhouse has everything you need in a house to live a comfortable life, except emotional comfort. Therefore, I wanted to design an object which gives warmth to the open spaces. A candle would do.

As I fell in love with Rietvelds Berlin Chair, that was placed at the dinner table in the house, I chose to design a candle holder that would suit black and white, asymmetrical morphology of this design.