The Bauhaus (which means German for 'building house'), was an influential German Art School that was founded in 1919 until its closure by the Nazis in 1933. The school combined fine arts and crafts and gained world fame for its unique approach to design, which attempted to amalgamate the principles of mass production with individual artistic vision and strove to combine aesthetics  with everyday function.

Underlying the Bauhaus aesthetic was a fervent utopianism, grounded on the ideals of simplified forms and unadorned functionalism, as well as a belief that the machine economy (spurred by advancement in industry and technology) could produce elegantly designed items for the masses using techniques and materials employed especially in industrial fabrication and manufacture. For example, steel, plastic, chrome, glass, concrete etc. Every student at the Bauhaus took a preliminary course before moving on to specialist workshops which included carpentry, weaving, pottery, stagecraft, graphic arts, and graphic design.