As a twenty-six-year-old architect, arthur mackmurdo met william morris and was inspired by his ideas and accomplishments in applied design. he led the group that established the century guild, which aimed to elevate the design arts. they incorporated renaissance and design ideas into their work. their designs provide one of the links between the arts and crafts movement and the floral stylization of art nouveau. some of their swirling organic forms, in fact, seem to be pure art nouveau in their conception and execution.