Yesterday I began watching the 2010 BBC 5-part documentary series The Genius of Design exploring the history of design. Episode 1, Ghosts in the Machine, traces the birth of industrial design and mass production techniques pioneered in the industrial revolution. 

Most striking, the so-called ‘x-files’ of Victorian taste revealed (Video here - 28:39) in the distinctive textile patterns of William Morris, the most celebrated and influential designer of the nineteenth century.
The rise of the machine age in Victorian Britain, fuelled by industrial capitalism, caused Morris and many notable designers of this period to view the aesthetics of mass production as a direct threat to the aesthetic sensibilities of the arts and crafts movement. The styles achieved by machine-production were, in Morris’ view, devoid of any truth to their material, rather emphasizing superficial ornamentation and a general lack of regard for traditional craftsmanship.