Just as modernism was closely connected with the economy of a production-oriented society and thus
with the optimization of the production process (fordism), post-modernism is the expression of a
consumer society. With the shift from production to consumer oriented society the economy's demands
on architecture have also changed. While industrial demands on architecture as a means of increasing
production abated, economic pressure on it to perform as a market product grew. To maximize
consumption it was necessary to satisfy the aesthetic tastes of a post-modern society. The result was a
formal diversification of products. Packaging became a central feature of the economy. Whereas in the
modern era function dominated (form follows function), in the post-modern context effect gained ground.
Frivolous combinations of form and colour and any sort of geometry were now possible. Eclecticism was
accelerated as the influence of the media on society spread. With increasing 'mediatization' politics,
culture and architecture have become saturated with images. Architectural products and images are
turned over at an ever-increasing rate. In a climate of short-lived aesthetic and cultural values the
relevance of these images fades fast. The problem facing the architectural product is that, as in any
area of fashion, it is subject to permanent demands for innovation in style which render it passé as soon
as it is built. Through the separation of form and content and the exponential acceleration of fashion
trends, form has become trivial and meaningless. The result of this development is the trend to 'nostyle'
architecture