Design should serve a purpose first. Aesthetic qualities should emerge from functional requirements rather than being imposed.
Example: Marcel Breuer's Wassily Chair (1925)
Materials should be used honestly and their natural properties respected. No material should pretend to be something it is not.
Example: Barcelona Chair's visible steel frame and leather (1929)
No hierarchy between fine arts and applied arts. Painters, architects, and craftsmen should work together toward a common goal.
Example: Bauhaus Building in Dessau combining all disciplines
Less is more. Reduction to essentials, eliminating decorative elements in favor of clean lines and simple forms.
Example: Wilhelm Wagenfeld's Table Lamp (1924)
Emphasis on basic geometric forms and primary colors (red, yellow, blue) plus black, white, and gray to achieve visual clarity.
Example: Herbert Bayer's typography and poster designs
Designs suited for industrial production, making good design accessible to the masses rather than luxury for the few.
Example: Mass-produced Marianne Brandt's Tea Infusers
"The ultimate aim of all creative activity is building! The decoration of buildings was once the main purpose of the visual arts, and they were considered indispensable parts of great architecture. Today, they exist in complacent isolation, from which they can be rescued only through the conscious, cooperative effort of all craftsmen."
— Walter Gropius