Abstract：Form follows function， and will drift away from function with time and historical background. The relationship between function and form is only at the beginning of the great changes in the mode of social production， form will be tightly attached to the function， sometimes even almost invisible， only when the productive forces are in a relatively stable development bottleneck period， form will gradually begin to dissociate from the function.

Modern design is to complete the harmonious relationship between things and things， things and people， things and the environment through the medium of things. Therefore， things themselves and various factors and conditions in the network constitute the basic content of design. In the past， functional and formal schools led the trend of design in different times. In the long history of design， these two concepts were inseparable as light and shadow.

Functionalism and stylism are the two major systems of modernist art and design， which have played a leading role in different periods of the development of modernist art and design. Functionalism mainly took place in Europe， especially in Germany. American art and design started later than Europe， but art and design from Europe to the United States， did not make American art and design European. It was itself Americanized. American art design follows not the principle that form serves function， but the principle that form is greater than function and seeks novelty of form without function. This style is called stylism.

Functionalism is a creative method， an art genre and an aesthetic theory. He deals with the relationship between form and function， beauty and utility. Functionalism became the focus of attention in nineteenth Century. This was related to the artistic practice of Europe at that time. At that time， European architecture and pragmatism in the emergence of complex decorations， paintings filled with false gorgeous. Dissatisfaction with the current state of art has prompted many artists and theorists to rethink the form and function of art from the standpoint of cultural development. Functionalist schools advocate that form follows function， advocate simple and rational design， achieve production standardization and high efficiency against excessive decoration through the unity of technology and design in the machine age.

Sullivan holds that the true standard of artistic creation is the relationship between form and function. In order to prove its correctness， he expounded a natural law： "Every substance in nature has its form， in other words， has its own external characteristics. The external characteristics indicate to us what this thing is， and what is the difference between it and US and other things. No matter where， no matter when， form follows function. The function remains unchanged and the form is unchanged. "

Functionalism is a design school that appeared in the era of mechanized mass production after the industrial revolution and adapted to the background of that time. Its prosperity was completed by Bauhaus in Germany. Functionalism has monopolized the architectural circle for more than 30 years， which has made the World Architecture lose its regional and national characteristics. Architectures around the world are becoming more and more identical， lack of humanity and individualization， and have formed an international style. Its characteristics are： the building is a geometric structure， steel， glass and reinforced concrete construction， modeling rules， pure white， from an abstract and functional point of view to design， not to accommodate the surrounding landscape and appearance. In the mid-1960s， controversy arose in architecture and urban planning in the West. Criticism of modern architecture， psychology， and symbolism emerged in the United States， gradually forming a postmodern theory， criticizing the pursuit of pure functional purpose rationality as the sole purpose of mass production， arguing that the design lacked emotional color and was contentious. On the role of art in design. In 1968， some people proposed that functionalism should no longer be regarded as the supreme design principle， and criticized the formalism of cement slab architecture in the 1960s and 1970s， which made people feel monotonous. In the United States， even some tall glass buildings have been pushed down. Thus， the era of functional design ideas occupying the absolute right of discourse has passed， and the development of design history has entered the next stage of spiral rise - stylism.

It can be imagined that with the development and transformation of the level of productivity， form and function will not be stable in a long-term balance. In the subsequent human design activities， their respective fans will alternately lead the design trend of the times. Compose beautiful movement of light and shadow.

作者簡介：王珏（1990.7.17 -），男，汉族，籍贯：山西省晋城市人，齐鲁工业大学（山东省科学院）艺术设计学院16级在读研究生，硕士学位，专业：艺术设计，方向：服装设计与形象策划。