Ulm Design: The Morality of Objects

During its brief existence from 1955 to 1968, the HfG Ulm exerted an influence that no one could have predicted from its small size, improbable location, or short lifespan. Originally conceived as a successor to the Bauhaus, the school quickly abandoned that model and set out to explore the uncharted territory of designing for mass production. Under the direction of Max Bill and Tomas Maldonado, the school became an extraordinary laboratory of design and center of talent. Even all these years after its closing, Ulm is still considered the most important European school of design since the Bauhaus. This is its story.