Mondrian went on to form a group with others, which they named De Stijl (Dutch for The Style).  The group also included writers, and architects who had concerns about design. It is significant that one of their aims was to make art/design more simple, more pure: an aim set against the backdrop of the carnage of World War 1.

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They set out their precepts for the movement:

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• Colouration must be in the primary colours of red, blue and yellow or the noncolors of black, grey and white.

• Surfaces must rectangular planes or prisms.

• Aesthetic balance must be achieved and this is done through the use of opposition.

• Compositional elements must be straight lines or rectangular areas.

• Symmetry is to be avoided.

• Balance and rhythm are enhanced by relationships of proportion and location.

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Few things happen in art in isolation. The first two decades of the 20th century were a ferment of ideas about the role and the possibilities of art. Many artists began to explore the focus on line, form and tone.