Hi, I'm Doug Pat and this is 50 ways To Design like an Architect short videos with tips about how the architect does their job. This is part 6, form follows function.

The phrase form follows function is coined by Louis Sullivan of late 19th and early 20th century architect. What Sullivan meant that he believed the form of a building should be dictated by what goes on on the inside. Later, modern architects adopted the same ideology. They also added the notion that building should be simplified to the point that ornament could be eliminated completely and a building’s form would represent a clarity never before seen in architecture.

Regardless the phrase form follows function is an important milestone in the historical thinking of architects and designers because it sets a precedent for how anyone might approach design whether it's a stadium, a museum, a house, a piece of furniture, a shoe, a watch, a weapon, an automobile, a motorcycle, an airplane, a rocket ship, a bike, a phone, a book or a simple utensil. Form follows function represents one way anyone can approach design. They could do this by first considering the purpose for the thing they're designing and then designing with those parameters in mind. We’ll see you next time.