In our Past Masters series, we look at the famous multidisciplinary designers from history who knew design’s transferable skills and were able to use them in their work. We do this to inspire you to develop a wider range of creative skills.

In Scotland, there is no better shining example than Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 

Nollie Design is about sharing Design’s transferable skills so that you can begin to become a multidisciplinary Designer. We believe that by learning fields of creativity out with your specialty you can grow your skills, and your passion and build your curiosity. 

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is a staple in the Scottish Design landscape thanks to the length and breadth of his work. He’s even on Scottish banknotes! He was involved in Architecture, Interior Design, Industrial Design, Textiles, Graphic Design and Watercolours.

He and the Four helped create a Design movement known as the “Glasgow Style”, which grow within Art Nouveau. He is still celebrated across Scotland, but his work and influence can be found most easily across the city of Glasgow. 

In this post, we’ll delve into Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the skills that allowed him to work across such a large breadth of work and share my experience doing the Mackintosh Trail in Glasgow.

By the end of this post, I hope you will learn that being defined by your design specialty is a very new concept and one that may limit the scope of work that you can produce. 

Personal Experience

Every designer in Scotland knows Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 

My first experience of learning about Mackintosh was as a teenager, studying his chairs in my Art and Design class in high school. At the time, I didn’t even realize I would become a Designer or know how much his work would influence me now.

This continued through learning Graphic Design and again when studying Industrial Design at University. No matter what specialty field you learn in Scotland, some aspects of his work will overlap.

Since moving to Glasgow, where his influence is prominent, his work and influence can be seen everywhere. It helped me build a bigger understanding of his work and changed the way I view myself as a Designer.

There is something for everyone when looking through his work, but what I want to know is what led to him working across so many types of design. As a cross-discipline designer now, what can we learn from a cross-discipline designer then?

Who was Charles Rennie Mackintosh?

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1868. He was born with what we now know as Dyslexia, but at the time, his reading and writing skills were described as “slow”.

In 1884 he started working for an architectural firm, Honeyman & Keppie, whilst studying Architecture part-time at the Glasgow School of Art. 

Through Honeyman and Keppie he began his first Architectural project, the Glasgow Herald Building completed in 1895, now known as the Lighthouse. (Fun Fact, if you ever visit Glasgow, the top balcony is one of the best places to see the cityscape.)

Through the Glasgow School of Art, he met his future wife Margaret MacDonald, her sister Frances MacDonald, and Herbert MacNair. They began collaborating and became known as “The Four.” At Glasgow School of Art, he also made friends with the Principle, Francis Newbury, who helped spur on the Four and promote their work.

The Four were inspired by rugged Scottish nature, particularly the plants and flowers. They created posters that featured avant-garde naked ladies, which caught the attention of conservative Victorian viewers. 

They exhibited their work across Glasgow, London, Turin, and Vienna, and the “Glasgow Style” influenced the Art Noveau movement that was starting in Vienna at the time. They built a collection of friends in mainland Europe, whom they would keep in contact with over the years with letters, which would later come back to haunt them…

In 1897, Mackintosh’s design for the School of Art building was submitted by Honeyman and Keppie into a competition and won. It was completed in stages between 1897 and 1909.

 This building is one of the most celebrated as one of the finest buildings in the UK. But it was damaged by fire on two separate occasions, once in 2014 and again in 2018. (Another Fun Fact: Brad Pitt is a big collector of Mackintosh and helped pay for it’s restoration)

Kate Cranston commissioned Mackintosh to develop her Willow Tearooms which opened in 1903. Tea Rooms were a staple of British life at the time because our love of tea wasn’t just a stereotype.

The Tearooms are still functional and part of the Mackintosh Trail. When you enter you can see how much attention to detail went into its design. From the architecture down to the cutlery, every detail has been meticulously planned and executed in his trademark style. This attention to detail is seen throughout his work.

His other building commissions included the Ruchill Free Church Halls (1899), Queens Cross Church (1899), the Hill House in Helensburgh (1903), The Daily Record Building (1905), The Scotland Street School (1909) and the House of an Art Lover, which was designed in 1901 but built by the Glasgow Council in 1996.

After 1910, his commissions began to dry up and it is said that this is where he turned to alcohol. He resigned his partnership with Honeyman and Keppie in 1913 and moved to England with Margaret in 1914.

Remember those exotic European friends? Well by 1915 the First World War had broken out and the couple’s ties to mainland Europe made them suspected spies. MI5 were suspicious of the couple, with Mackintosh often painting the Suffolk coastline and their letters to their friends in mainland Europe. MI5 raided their house, making Charles and Margaret move to London not long after.

With the war, he couldn’t find many commissions in London and had to try his hand at Textile design to pay the bills. 

By 1923, the couple moved to Port Vendres where he gave up his interests in Architecture and Design and focussed solely on watercolour. He intended to release an exhibition in London of 50 of his watercolor paintings. 

He died on the 10th December 1928. He had only completed 41 of the 50 watercolors. He was diagnosed with Tongue Cancer as a result of pipe smoking. 

What Influenced Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Images from The Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections

Celtic revival

Mackintosh was highly inspired by Scottish nature and Celtic imagery for his work. Celtic Revival was popular around the time, with many artists and designers looking to our past to create something new. This movement started in Ireland and grew in Scotland. Reintroducing Scottish and Irish myths, legends, and folklore in a modern way, allowed Mackintosh to develop a style that reflected nature and provided a new way to look at traditional Celtic emblems and motifs.

He was a big fan of traditional Japanese paintings and looked to reflect something similar but with a Scottish twist.

Geometry

Geometry played a large part in Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s style. In his earlier years, he traveled to Italy to study classical Italian architecture, where he learned how to implement geometry into his architectural and design style.

He often started his artwork and designs using a grid pattern which he then would distort and change to create his distinctive style.

Motifs

The Mackintosh rose was an emblem that often accompanied his work. The Mackintosh rose was developed from the Glasgow rose, and he made it his own through his style.

His famous rose is seen across his furniture buildings and artwork. Often influenced by nature, the rose became a trademark and one of the easiest ways to recognize his work.

Movements

Mackintosh and the Four helped shape the Art Nouveau movement. For those who are unaware, Art Nouveau is the name of the style at the time. 

Design and Art movements are better described as “trends”. They are the trending styles of art and design during a period. As creatives collaborate, and share ideas and philosophies there becomes a cohesiveness, which in turn becomes a movement. As with all trends, they come and go with time. 

Art Nouveau is an art movement that was a very ornamental style that lasted from 1890 to 1910 and came as a result of the Arts and Crafts movement. It used very organic lines, which in Mackintosh’s case reflected natural plant stems and trees.

The Arts and Crafts movement was a rebellion amongst artists and designers against the sharp, rigid lines that came with manufacturing at the start of the Industrial Revolution, it was highly decorative and many used nature as their inspiration.

This movement developed into Art Nouveau which used those organic lines and natural elements and developed them in a more stylized manner.

The Mackintosh Trail

The Mackintosh Trail was set up by Glasgow City Council to encourage more people to learn about the man and his work, and for this post, I decided to go and check it out. 

The trail is a fantastic way to get a better understanding of Mackintosh and his work. Not only is the work of the man impressive, but everyone we encountered was incredibly knowledgeable and had a true passion for Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

I would like to thank the people we met along the way who were more than happy to share information particularly Gordon at Mackintosh at the Willow, who gave us access to the rest of the building that was unavailable to the public and provided a small tour. You legend!

Mackintosh at the Willow

217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3EX

Mackintosh at the Willow is a museum and operating tearoom in the restored Willow Tea Rooms. From the outside, you can see how different the building is with its ornate metal decorations and impressive windows from the street.

We sat down next to the beautiful chandelier sculpture that sits in the front room. After a cheeky glass of wine, we were invited by the manager to see the rest of the building.

What is so impressive about Mackintosh at the Willow is the level of restoration work that went into getting it as it once was. Thankfully, the building is now owned by the Willow Tea Rooms Trust, which took the building to ensure that its historical relevance isn’t lost to time and can provide learning about Mackintosh and Design. They provide tours and you can even book the rooms for events like Weddings!

I have to say again, that the staff at Mackintosh at the Willow were incredible. If you’re reading this, thank you for being so accommodating!

The Mackintosh House

82 Hillhead Street, Glasgow, G12 8QQ

The Mackintosh House, located in the University of Glasgow’s Huntarian Museum and Art Gallery, is a perfect recreation of the house shared by Charles and Margaret. The house contains over 90% of the Mackintosh’s original furniture.

In each room, you can see how he and Margaret used light, furniture, space, and color to create a new environment in every room.

One of the members of staff there spoke to us and gave us many insights into Charles Rennie Mackintosh. We later found out he’s called “The Oracle” as he knows so much about Mackintosh!

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum

Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AG

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum have several pieces of Mackintosh in their collection. It contains the largest display of the Four and has a collection of their work across multiple mediums.

House of Art Lover

Bellahouston Park, 10 Dumbreck Road, Glasgow, G41 5BW

Originally designed by Mackintosh in 1901 in an unsuccessful architecture bid, the house was built in 1996 to celebrate Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Mackintosh’s Queen’s Cross Church

870 Garscube Road, Glasgow, G20 7EL

The church is one of the only places of worship designed by Mackintosh. The church is now the base for the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society which runs events from within the venue. They also helped me fact-check this article. Thanks guys!

Hill House in Helensburgh

Located in the small town of Helensborough, just outside of Glasgow, lies the Hill House.

What can we learn from him?

Curiosity

Mackintosh was fuelled by a curiosity towards nature, traditional culture, and classic Renaissance architecture. This curiosity then became reflected in his work by using floral motifs, and long flowing organic lines like plant stems within set geometric boundaries.

What are you naturally curious about? The best way to grow a love for learning, which enhances your design work, is to focus your efforts on topics that you are interested in. Follow these threads, and let them be your inspiration. 

As you learn topics that you enjoy, you can deliver more of what makes you happy in your design work. These reflections in your work represent your interests and will allow your personality to shine through.

Collaboration

Collaboration can be seen throughout Mackintosh’s work, especially with his wife Margaret. By starting the Four, and his lifelong partnership he had a person in his life to bounce ideas off of and enhance his work. 

Collaboration is a great way to enhance your skills as a designer. It allows you to bounce ideas off of someone you can trust and that your success, is shared. It will build your ability to work as a team and allow everyone’s ideas to converge into something bigger. It also helps share the workload of a project.

In a modern context, you could start this now! If you have a group of creative friends who you trust to give you feedback on your work, you could create a collective together. 

Celebrate Culture

Mackintosh was inspired a lot by the Celtic Revival, which saw many Scottish and Irish creatives look to their traditional culture for inspiration.

What is your traditional culture and how can you use your ancestral history to come through in your work? Many cultures have their traditions surrounding creative work, including visuals, craft processes, and approaches to design.

Also, culture in itself is an ever-changing thing. Traditional Scottish Culture is very different from modern Scottish Culture. You can use people’s assumptions to your advantage. To many, the only experience they have of Scottish culture is kilts, tartan, swearing, and Groundskeeper Willie, but that doesn’t represent what actual Scottish life is like today. What do people misunderstand about your history and ancestry? Now is a chance to change their opinion.

What makes a good designer is being able to display their personality in their work. If you feel strongly attached to your history and culture, let that shine in your work. You will let people learn more about what is important to you and who you are. It will also showcase your culture in a new way.

Asking Nature

Nature played a big part in Mackintosh’s style. He would often sketch the Scottish and English countryside  He reflected these floral patterns in his work through the intricate details. 

As designers, we are problem solvers. If we are looking at a problem there is a fair chance that there is a solution in nature. You could look to nature to inspire the shapes of your design and how your design functions. Take a look at Biomimicry, where designers are using nature to give them the answers in their design.

Nature can play an even bigger role in your work these days. Since Mackintosh’s time, we have developed a new understanding of the natural world and we know now that it is under threat from climate change. 

Not only can you reflect nature through the imagery of your work. But we now have a responsibility as designers to protect the environment. As innovators and creators, it is our responsibility to be the force for change. If you enjoy nature, the new stance we have to take is to create work that doesn’t harm it. 

Thankfully, the design world is alight at the moment for creating new sustainable work that when put out into the world, creates a positive impact instead of a damaging one.

Consistency

Mackintosh had an incredible eye for detail. When he was designing his buildings, he wanted everything inside to reflect the same as the outside. This is what drove him to work across several design specialties, he wanted everything to look consistent with his style.

Finding your style is a difficult task for any young designer. But to create a range of consistent work can be even harder. Apply the same processes and let your influences drive you. 

Exhibit your Work

The only way to grow as a designer is to promote your work. How can anybody know who you are or what your skills are without knowing you? 

When the Four exhibited across Europe, they helped contribute towards a larger movement in which they cemented themselves. Throughout the world, Mackintosh’s designs are now renowned.

Build your audience. Post your portfolio of work everywhere you can. Today, we have more ability to put our work out there than ever before. We have social media, we have the internet, and platforms like Behance and Dribbble.

Exhibitions are still one of the best ways to be seen in your local area and worldwide. They get your work in front of the eyes of design critics and bloggers who can promote your work more and celebrate you. If you don’t have a large body of work to create your exhibition, find other creatives that you can work with together.

Recognizable Motifs

The Rose motif has become instantly recognizable as one of Mackintosh’s trademarks. It’s become one of the symbols that has been used to promote his work. It is also the main imagery you’ll find in any Mackintosh Museum gift shop.

Create your own visual identity that can be transferred across your work. In a modern context, this could be referred to as branding. 

Much of Mackintosh’s work had emblems that allowed people to instantly recognize the work was his. You could do the same, by creating a brand that represents you and the work you do.

Friends in High Places

One of Mackintosh’s biggest fans was Francis Newbury, the Principle at Glasgow School of Art. He encouraged Mackintosh and the Four and as head of GSA, his name carries a lot of clout.

While you might not know the Principle of a prestigious art school, you can build a network that can help promote your work. By going out and meeting people interested in the same things as yourself, showcasing your work, building an audience, and collaborating with others you’ll raise your profile among other designers and potential clients.

Conclusion

At Nollie, we want to show you that your design skills can transfer across several types of design and to show you the rewards of using those skills. Don’t stay in your lane, your creativity is not defined by your specialty.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a pioneer of Scottish Design and a perfect example of what happens when you lean into these transferable skills. Learning more about him, and going on the Mackintosh Trail has helped me build a deeper appreciation for the man and his work than I already had.

Go and find your Four!

If you’ve made it this far, who are you’re favourite designers whose work covered multiple design fields? Are there any celebrated designers from your country? We’d love to know and include them in our Past Masters series.

This post was fact-checked by the Charles Rennie MacKintosh Society, an independent non-profit organisation, set up in 1972, to champion, preserve and promote the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

The original images of Mackintosh’s work was provided by The Glasgow School of Art’s Archives and Collections.