Search

The Implicit Influence of Mondrian’s Philosophy on Sustainable Product Design

Author(s)

Mengqian Pang

Affiliation(s)

School of Design, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

Abstract

Mondrian’s abstract painting has completely subverted the paradigm of traditional realistic painting in terms of creative concept, formal language and color application. Based on Kandinsky’s “internal demand principle,” he put forward a very original proposition that painting should reflect the internal order of the universe. The influence of this idea has far overflowed the field of painting and penetrated into many categories such as architecture, furniture design, visual communication and product design. Based on Mondrian’s abstract painting theory and tacit knowledge theory, this paper examines its influence on modern design around the dimensions of creative concept, composition form, color organization and structural order, and combines typical cases to explain how the artistic concept is implemented as a specific design scheme. The results show that Mondrian ’s inspiration for sustainable product design does not lie in the direct misappropriation of red, yellow, blue squares or black grids, but more in the designers ' absorption and re-creation of the principles of simplification, sense of order, modularization, structural clarity and lasting aesthetic value. His abstract philosophy reveals many possibilities of design creation, and also highlights the importance of interdisciplinary transformation of non-rigid thinking and tacit knowledge in contemporary design. Therefore, it is of both theoretical and practical significance to explore the impact of this implicit context on sustainable product design.

Keywords

Mondrian; Abstract Painting Philosophy; Tacit Knowledge; Sustainable Design; Modernism; Product Design

References

[1] Polanyi M. Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958. [2] Blotkamp C. Mondrian: The Art of Destruction. London: Reaktion Books, 2001. [3] Overy P. De Stijl. London: Thames & Hudson, 1991. [4] Cross N. Designerly Ways of Knowing. London: Springer, 2006. [5] Cha Xue. An Analysis of Mondrian’s Artistic Characteristics. Collection and Investment, 2025, 16(01):152-154. [6] Curtis W J R. Modern Architecture Since 1900. London: Phaidon Press, 1996. [7] Liu Huan. Analysis of the Application of Mondrian’s Color Theory in Interior Design. Metallurgical Industry Education Resource Development Center. Proceedings of the Fourth Digital Education and Training Seminar for the Steel Industry. [Publisher unknown], 2024:222-225. [8] Papanek V. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. New York: Pantheon Books, 1971. [9] Fiell C, Fiell P. 1000 Chairs. Cologne: Taschen, 2019. [10]Dormer P. The Meanings of Modern Design: Towards the Twenty-First Century. London: Thames & Hudson, 1990. [11]Jencks C. Modern Movements in Architecture. London: Penguin Books, 1985.