The debate over form follows function can be traced back to the 1890s, reports the New York Times. Later Walter Gropius, a German architect, founded the Bauhaus School and movement, which embraced “form follows function” although the two concepts standing in opposition has driven arguments in the design world for decades. But if there’s any industry that has adopted a form over function mantra, it’s the digital products we own today, especially those that begin with a lower-case i. So is the fact that we all buy gadgets and then have to spend additional money to buy protective coverings for our electronics speaks poorly of the design of these products?