The arts and crafts movement:

The arts and crafts movement developed in England during the 19^th century. (The arts and crafts movements was also known as Mission style)

The movement was inspired by social reform. There are plenty of  designers in this movement: Walter Crane, John Ruskin, and William Morris.

Medieval ages could have be one of the most influential times that inspired this movement, for example the medieval guilds, aesthetic ideas from Medieval European, and Islamic sources, and Japanese ideas were incorporated early in the Arts and crafts movement.

The main forms of the Arts and Crafts movements were rectilinear and angular, with stylized decorative motifs.  

Art Nouveau 

The arts and crafts style came to be known as Aesthetic style, which shared the same characteristic of Art Nouveau. Art Nouveau originated in Belguim and France, the movement advocated nature as the true source of all great design. Art Nouveau designers object to borrowing ideas from the past, from different cultures, Japanese approach was very influential. The characteristics of the style included the use of: Sinuous curved line, together with asymmetrical arrangement of forms and patterns, and flowing curves. Other used forms included peacock feathers, butterflies and insects. Art Nouveau designers included Victor Horta, Hector Guimard and Henry van de Velde.

Distinctive graphic design style developed: Typography styles, distinctive manner of the female figure, print of Aubrey Beardley and Alphonse Mucha are typical of this style.

William Morris:

 William Morris 19^th century was an influential designer of the arts and crafts movement. In the 1870 made a commitment to increasingly political activities. William Morris patterns have been popular since the end of the 19^th century, Morris’s patterns never lost their appeal, he had changed the director of English art, architecture and design. William Morris painted with styles that consisted bright and colourful pictures, he used to make wallpaper, he also used dark colours for wallpaper. William Morri’s commissioned Philip Webb to design Morris’s famous Red house. The house was decorated in medieval fashion, building all the furnishing, designing stained glass windows, painting murals, weaving tapestries, and designing textiles.

Reference links:

David Cody, 1987, Morris's socialism, victorianweb.org, retreived 03/11/2013,http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/authors/morris/wmsocialm.html

Anon, William Morris, historygraphicdesign.com, retreived 03/11/2013 http://www.historygraphicdesign.com/index.php/the-industrial-revolution/the-arts-and-crafts-movement/248-william-morris

 Charlotte Jirousek, 1995, The Arts and Crafts Movement, http://char.txa.cornell.edu,  retreived 03/11/2013 http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/artcraft/artcraft.htm