It was not uncommon for design ideas to be linked to societal ideas in this movement. A lot of people wanted society to change so that the worker was not mistreated and worked to the bone, but could instead invest time in his craftsmanship. At the time, manufactured products were usually poor in quality and not well designed. It was thus proposed that we bring back the ideas of workers being treated well and allowed time to take pride in their work. People wanted to produce good products for consumers while providing decent employment for the workers
The American arts and crafts movement was diverse and multicultural compared to the movements, which came before it. A lot of aesthetics came from Medieval European, Japanese and Islamic inspirations. Angular and linear forms taken from these cultures and others were popular. A book called The Grammar of Ornament by a designer named Owen Jones was inspirational for many artists of this time and later. The book consisted of mostly ideas coming from medieval and Islamic sources
The American arts and crafts movement was more fully realized than the British arts and crafts movement, although it was also less individualized. The Stickley Company in New York, founded by Gustav Stickley of Craftsmen magazine, used factory methods to produce sturdy, good-looking furniture, which was sold all over. Popular furnishings and interiors of the time were called “mission style”. This means that they have American Southwest influences. This mission style had a lot of similarities with the British arts and crafts movement. Hispanic elements could be found all through American interiors and furnishings of the time. Interiors were also often decorated with Native American patterns, rugs, pottery, and baskets and Southwestern artifact collections became quite popular in the early 20th century.
Art Nouveau was a style of the Arts and Crafts movement, which had nothing to do with the social reform of the day. It was more centered on the displacement and diversity of Europe in the mid 19th century. Nature and its graceful curves (grasses, lilies, vines, etc.) were popular amongst Art Nouveau designers.