DESIGN THE WHOLE STORY
Chapter 1: THE EMERGENCE OF DESIGN (1700-1905)
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
(p.18-23)
Approximately 1760-1840
Industrialization marked a shift from individual, handmade production to powers, special-purpose machinery,
factory, and massive production. This was possible thanks to a cumulative effect of a number of inventions and
designs. Richard Arkwright was one of the entrepreneurs. He created the first water-powered cotton mill, combining
skills, machinery, and material into what became the factory system. He also developed the horse power and the
water power. Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom that mechanised the process of weaving cloth. The use
of fossil fuel exploded and mining became more important, and systems like flooded and hand pumps became
inefficient. Richard Trevithick, in the early 19th century, constructed the first steam train. Iron and steel became
essential materials. Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed dockyards, railways, steamships, tunnels, and bridges. He
became head chief engineer of the construction of the Great Western Railway. Introduced the broad-gauge railway
which made trains faster and safer. As industrialization spread across Europe and the US, people increasingly
addressed questions of industrial design.
Single-action Steam Engine
JAMES WATT
The first commercially used steam-powered engine was built by Thomas Savery. Improved by Thomas Newcomen.
This last version was fairly complex and was never cost effective. James watt decided to improve the design, and
once he formed a partnership with the manufacturer Matthew Boulton, he was able to mass-produce his engines.
This signed the start of the industrial revolution.
Cotton Gin (1793)
ELI WHITNEY
This machine, designed in the US, revolutionized the production of cotton by accelerating the process of removing
seeds from cotton fiber. Through the reduction of processing time, cotton became the US’ leading export. This
invention saved labor, enabled huge expansion, and reduced the price of cotton. Yet it made little money for Whitney
due to technicalities in patent laws. Another negative factor was the increase of slavery.
CLASSICAL REVIVAL
(p.24-27)
New technologies, and the new and more efficient productions made possible to extend diverse assortments of
goods to a more disparate section of the population. This stimulated a feeling of confidence, sense of progress, and
interest in design. The role of the designer changed; conceptual work became an essential aspect of machine-made
designs. Going on a Grand Tour of Europe had become hugely influential on design and taste. Rome was so defined
as the cultural center of the Western world and expanded the appeal of classicism. Central figures of the classical
revival were the Adam brothers (Adam style), and designers like Thomas Chippendale, also influenced by Chinese,
Gothic, and French Rococo styles. They capitalized on the expansion of the middle class who were demanding luxury
goods. Josiah Wedgwood, aiming to serve the middle classes as well the aristocracy, became a pioneer of the
mass-market. He was one of the first to advertise in newspapers and to develop retail displays. He founded his
Etruria pottery factory, and divided production in separate activities. Each of his factory workers specialized in a
single activity, which increased overall output. The Etruria factory produced two categories of ceramics: “ornamental”
and “useful”. Both were made of earthenware, but the designs and finishes were different.
The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (1754)
THOMAS CHIPPENDALE
In 1753 Chippendale opened a furniture showroom in London, offering a wide range of high-quality furniture. In 1754
he published an innovative catalog: The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director. It was not the first catalog
published but none were so comprehensive or on such a large scale. The Director was reissued in 1755 and 1762
included additional plates of his latest furniture. Clients used the Director as a guide and ordered simpler pieces for
their homes.
THE CONCEPT OF TASTE
(p.28-33)
The idea of being able to discern vulgarity from decorum became soon a measure of a person’s worth. Good taste
became synonymous with etiquette, sophistication, and refinement. The dramatic Baroque style became replaced
by two distinct design approaches. Rococo was whimsical and light hearted, while neoclassicism rejected the
asymmetrical frivolity of Rococo. Richard Boyle on his Grand Tour, was inspired by the architecture of palladio (1500),
who was inspired by Vitruvius (15 BC). In Germany the philosopher Baumgarten gave the term “esthetics” a modern
application: sense of beauty. During this time several public museums opened. In 1757 Edmund Burke, concludes
that esthetic abilities are improved through experience and knowledge. In 1738 and 1748 Herculaneum and Pompeii
were discovered intact. The neoclassical style generally engendered the consensus that good taste is discerned by an
appreciation of restraint, quality, and harmony.
Bodoni (1785)
GIAMBATTISTA BODONI
At the time book publishing focused on illustration, and typography’s significance had diminished. Bodoni
established his own foundry and started designing a typeface that departed from the French designs and moved
towards the Baskerville. He designed a typeface characterized by simplicity and emphasizing straight, clean
Neoclassical lines with bold, contrasting strokes and an overall geometric construction, reminiscent of ancient
Roman inscriptions.
First Edition of the Portland Vase (1790)
JOSIAH WEDGWOOD – JOHN FLAXMAN JR
Made of a violet-blue layered glass with white cameo relief, it dates between AD 5 and AD 25. In 1784 it was bought
in Portland and two years later it was lent for a year to Josiah Wedgwood. In 1789 Josiah sent the first successful copy
to queen Charlotte and then organised a private viewing. By 1790 Josiah had received twenty subscriptions for the
vase. After a six-month Europe tour of the vase, the Wedgwood company’s reputation was very reinforced.
DESIGN REFORM
(p.34-37)
In 1835 and 1836 in Britain, British-manufactured goods were lacking in style and risked losing the “export race”. In
1837 the Government School of Design (RCA) was founded in London to improve the education of designers. During
the industrial revolution, manufacturers viewed design as simply a part of production, not a separate consideration
requiring specialist thought and planning. Henry Cole was one of the first critics. In 1845 the society for the
Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) offered a prize for designs for a tea service. Between
1847 and 1849 Cole organized an annual exhibition for the RSA to promote a greater focus on good design, and in
1849 he founded a Journal. The poor standards of British design became apparent during The Great Exhibition in
London in 1851. The event was a success and part of its profit was used to form a collection in a new Museum of
Ornamental Art. One room in the museum displayed poorly designed objects(Decorations on false principles),
intended to educate the taste of the public and the manufacturers.
The new Art and Crafts movement rejected modernity and industry.
Wallpaper for the House of Lords (1849)
AUGUSTUS PUGIN
He focused on purity and clarity, initiating the idea of “honesty” and “propriety” in ornament and design. He insisted
that false illusion depth, texture, and three dimensions were dishonest and contrived. Pugin argued that good
design had moral integrity, while bad design was insincere and deceitful. The Gothic Revival that he promoted was
to him both ingenuous and Christian. At the Great Exhibition, he designed a complete range of Gothic-style
furnishing, appealing to visitors of the Crystal palace.
THE GREAT EXHIBITION
(p.38-41)
In 1849 Cole visited the Exposition Nationale des produits de l’Industrie Agricole et Manufacturière in Paris and he
noticed that there wasn’t any opportunity for international exhibitors. In London the Great Exhibition took place from
1 May to 15 October 1851 with more than six million visitors. It demonstrated national differences, especially between
Europe and US. Europeans still appreciated the virtues of hand craftsmanship. Americans preferred mass production
as a means to achieve better-made, simply designed objects in greater numbers.
Sewing Machine (1851)
ISAAC MERRITT SINGER
He didn’t invent the sewing machine, but he patented the first practical and efficient one. In 1850 he was given a
sewing machine to repair and eleven days later he had made a better one, which he patented after the Great
Exhibition. From 1854 Singer began marketing a smaller machine for domestic use, and his company became the
largest producer of sewing machines in the world. In 1867 the company opened the first factory outside the US, in
Scotland.
BENTWOOD AND MASS PRODUCTION
(p.42-45)
Expensive and time-consuming handcrafting was replaced by production systems that used unskilled labour to
make standardized components and the assembled with the aid of specialized machinery. This made possible to
produce a high quantity of goods at affordable prices. Also, transportation methods improved, connecting factories
worldwide. Michael Thonet wanted to create elegant and light products embracing the mass-production. He started
producing using different bending wood techniques. His new chairs were innovative and elegant and eliminated
completely the use of hand-made processes. Thonet also pioneered “kit furniture” creating his furniture in parts that
could be easily stored in a flat box. The furniture once arrived at destination was easily assembled using some screws.
Model No. 14 Bentwood Chair (1859)
MICHAEL THONET
It’s one of the most purchased items of furniture ever made, the first mass-produced chair. Using Thonet’s
revolutionary process of bending bench wood with clams, metal strips, and heat from steam, a process that didn’t
need skilled workers, the chair had instant appeal for its modes, organic design. Early versions were glued together
but during the 1860s each chair was made from just six components, ten screws, and two washers, and could be
easily transported. It won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867. By 1930 more than 50 million
No.14 were sold around the world.
MILITARY INNOVATIONS
(p.46-51)
The US in the industrial revolution took hold with the greatest speed. The new country was under-populated, and
machine production was the right answer to this problem. Yet the demand imposed by the civil war provided the
greatest spur to development. Armies must be clothed, equipped, fed, and moved where they are needed.
Production increased for weapons (36 Colt Navy Revolver). Factories processed food, churned out farm machinery.
In 1864 more than 5000 patents were issued.
In 1862 was invented the Gatling gun, able of continuous firing.
In 1854 was invented condensed milk.
In 1861 paper money became legal.
In 1862 started the construction of an east-to-west transcontinental route.
In 1873 a barbed wire was invented, to protect the land of farmers.
In 1890 was patented the Swiss Army Knife.
36 Colt Navy Revolver (1851)
SAMUEL COLT
Samuel colt had been fascinated with the way the ship’s wheel could either spin or lock in fixed position through the
use of a clutch. After carving a gun out of wood, in 1836 he developed his idea into a working design. It was a
revolutionary repeating gun. In 1835 and 1836 he patented his invention in England and in the US, and in 1847 the US
government ordered 1000 revolvers for the Mexican war. Orders increase after the Great exposition in London. 80
percent of the components were machine made. He produced 150 guns a day by 1856. During the US Civil War he
sold his guns two both sides. He used promotion, publicity, and press advertising as powerful marketing tools.
MORRIS AND CO
(p.52-57)
William Morris' vision was in linking art to industry by applying the values of fine art to the production of commercial
design. He mastered numerous crafts to ensure that quality in his manufacturing company was always upheld.
Morris and co emulated the medieval workshop tradition with a community of creators who took control of their
own work. Morris also adopted the principle of “truth to materials”, focusing on the inherent value and beauty of
every material used. Most of the Firm’s products were too expensive for any but the rich to afford, which opposed
Morris’s socialist ideals.
Sussex Chair (1860)
MORRIS AND CO
Was simple, purposeful, and handmade, available to all, for the improvement of design for everyday use. The
designer, Philip Webb, was inspired by a late Georgian country armchair found in Sussex with a rush seat and a
turned frame. The chair was produced from 1869 until the 1920s.
Willow Bough Wallpaper (1887)
WILLIAM MORRIS
Inspired by trees and plants he saw on county walks. This is a delicate, flat design, with fine curving leaves. The subtle
interplay of rhythms suggests Japanese Art, while the soft colours the natural curves and waves of willows in the
English countryside. Because of the complexity of block-printing it was quite expensive.
DESIGNER AS INVENTORS
(p.58-67)
During the late 19th century, the world was living “la belle epoque”. A golden age of the designer as inventor. The US
Patent Office opened in 1836, which stimulated the even more design research and development. In 1853 at the NY’s
Exhibition of the industry of All Nations, showcase the latest global industrial achievement. A safety elevator, the First
Transcontinental Railroad, the first commercial typewriter, the telephone, phonograph and microphone, perfection
of the light bulb, the first practical internal combustion engine, mobilization of cars, aircraft. Such advances in
communication and transport have grown markets and given rise to new industries.
QWERTY Keyboard (1874)
CHRISTOPHER LATHAM SHOLES
Sholes developed a machine that made possible to write faster than by hand. He designed a layout that helped the
user to memorize the layout for typing faster. In 1873 he sold the patent to Remington, who produced with the
qwerty layout the Remington No.1 in 1874.
Rover Safety Bicycle (1885)
JOHN KEMP STARLEY
It was a solution to the “penny-farthing”, the bicycle with the big front wheel. It was more safe and usable not only
for young tall men. Starley’s bicycle had its boom after the world record during the 100-mile race. After the invention
of the pneumatic tyres it was even more comfortable.
Vacuum Flask (1892)
JAME DEWAR
Also known as Thermos, it keeps its content hot or cold for several hours. The flask consists of two glass vessels, one
within the other, joined at the neck, with the air between them pumped out to create a near-vacuum. He silvered the
glass with mercury to reduce further transfer of heat by radiation. In 1904 Reinhold Burger patented the flask as
thermos, making it usable for drinks.
Gillette Safety Razor (1901)
KING CAMP GILLETTE
Gillette was not the inventor but he introduced in the market the idea of replacement of the blade, so that it wasn’t
necessary to sharp the blade. This razor was supplied to the US army during WWI. It became the model for every
modern razor.
BIRTH OF BRANDS
(p.68-73)
With the increase of mass-production, and the new factories, to stimulate customers demand and make profit,
manufacturers spent a great deal on advertising. The development of new printing methods, that cost less and
colorized, helped finding an identity to brands. Products were bestowed with unique identities, individualizing them
and assuring potential customers of their quality and price competitiveness. Also, packaging had been
revolutionized especially with the invention in 1879 by Robert Gair of a prefabricated folding cardboard box.
Coca-Cola Logo (1886)
FRANK MASON ROBINSON
Robinson invented the name for the drink thinking that the two Cs would look well in advertising. He designed its
trademark to be instantly recognizable. The cursive logo was immediately adopted, and the first advertisement on a
newspaper featuring it appeared in 1897. Campbell’s Condensed Soup Label (1898)
VARIOUS
The first labels were printed in orange and blue in 1897. From 1898 the orange and blue were replaced by red and
white. The cursive is thought to be based on the signatures of the founder, intended to create an intimate
impression that would appeal to housewives. The soup won in 1900 the Gold Medallion for excellence at the
Exposition Universelle in Paris.
ART AND CRAFTS
(p.74-81)
It was a protest against the poorly designed and inferior goods being produced in factories, and the inequalities
caused by industrialization. Following Morris’s philosophies, they valued human endeavour, and aimed to eliminate
artifice, excessive ornamentation, and shoddy workmanship. Its opposition with the modern methods of production
meant that it failed in its socialist ideal of producing affordable, quality handcrafted design for the masses.
Morris Chair (1901)
GUSTAV STICKLEY
Stickley designs were both nostalgic through being handmade, and modern, in their lack of adornment. Simple,
solid built, and functional, with generous brown leather cushions became widely copied. Inspired by the Morris and
Co style.
Oak Letchworth Dresser (1904-05)
AMBROSE HEAL
The dresser was part of a range of homely Country Cottage furniture. Heal’s simple, well-made pieces were
competitively priced, which made them accessible to a wide section of public. Ambrose also embraced the use of
machinery where appropriate, which kept costs down.
Oak Settee (1906)
ERNEST GIMSON
Gimson helped to establish the Cotswolds School of Art and Crafts. He used locally available woods and traditional
crafts, demonstrating his commitment to the honesty that Ruskin and Morris advocated.
THE JAPANESE INFLUENCE
(p.82-87)
Japan had been a closed society for over 200 years when it responded to pressure from the US and Britain to open
up to the rest of the world in 1854. The export of Japanese culture had a profound impact on the West. In France the
craze became called Japonisme, in Britain it was known as the Anglo-Japanese style. The minimal lines,
asymmetrical composition, elongated formats, organic motifs, and blocks of flat colours, became fashionable and
emerged in every aspect of western design. Some important designers leader in the use of Japanese imagery, where
Fèlix Bracquemond, Christopher Dresser, Siegfried Samuel Bing, Charles and Henry Greene.
Silver Teapot (1879)
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER
This teapot epitomizes his approach, amalgamating the influence of Japanese design with his ideas. This teapot is
pure and unadorned. The striking, diamond-shaped body is pierced by a smaller diamond-shaped aperture in the
centre. The lid is an integral part of the body, and the ebony handle is both a design feature and a practical
consideration, wood remains cool.
AESTHETICISM AND DECADENCE
(p.88-91)
Aestheticism was a Britain development of design reform that emerged as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution. It
was a rejection of Victorian morality and promoted the notion of “art for art’s sake”. Aestheticism emphasized the
sensual and visual quality of design and art, embracing the importance of the object itself separate from social,
political, and moral considerations. Nonetheless, Aestheticism helped to reinforce the importance of design and the
need for refinement in the creation of mass-produced goods.
The Yellow Book (1894-97)
AUBREY BEARDSLEY
It contained both literary and artistic elements, giving equal weight to each, and did not include serial fiction or
advertisements. Beardsley's artistic contribution gave the journal its distinctive character and established its
decadent reputation.
ART NOUVEAU
(p.92-101)
It was an international movement. It aimed to produce original design and reconcile mass production with
craftsmanship. Its inspiration was found in natural forms, and sinuous, organic shapes, that not imitated the past but
embraced modern technology, and that was truly international. The undulating, asymmetrical, and abstracted
plant-like designs convey an impression of dynamism.
In France hoardings of lithographed posters were common, serving as street gallery.
In Belgium Art Nouveau appeared first in architecture.
In Britain the centre of this movement was epitomized in the work of silver, pewter, and jewellery.
In Germany, Austria, and Scotland the style proliferated with the architecture, furniture and household goods.
In Spain Gaudì created highly individual and expressive architecture.
In 1900 the Paris Exposition Universelle was a showcase of Art Nouveau. It became the first international decorative
style of the modern age.
Porte Dauphine Métro Entrance (1900)
HECTOR GUIMARD
Chiefly made out of iron and glass these entrances were designed to meet the needs of an expanding city. Guimard’s
designs for the Metro became a lasting embodiment of Art Nouveau, with Style Metro becoming one of the terms
used to describe the entire style.
Tiffany Wisteria Table Lamp (1902)
LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY
Composed by 2000 pieces of glass shaped to resemble a wisteria in bloom, and a base made out of bronze. A
combination of the Art Nouveau style and the Japanese design. Tiffany believed that women had a superior sense of
colour, so he mostly employed female technicians to make the lamp.
Hill House Ladder-back Chair (1903)
CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH
At the time when popular tastes favoured curving lines, his style was a combination of gentle curves and stark
vertical lines, fusing traditional Celtic craftsmanship and design with the purity of Japanese esthetics.
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE
(p.102-107)
An offshoot of the Vienna Secession, it sought to reinvigorate the decorative arts by providing a creative outlet for
artists, designers, and craftspeople. Cross-fertilization between the fine and applied art was key. Wiener Werkstätte
was able to be more adventurous and experimental than conventional firms. Free spirited and exuberant, its
products celebrated the visual potency of decorative art.
Coffee Service (1901-02)
JUTTA SIKA
Made from porcelain, this coffee service and its unusual shape clearly made a dramatic impact.
Fruit Bowl (1904)
JOSEF HOFFMANN
Oppose to historicism, he frequently drew on classical shapes, stripped back to their purest elements. His
three-dimensional designs are elegant and beautifully proportioned, but he also had a flair for dynamic surface
patterns. Both aspects, the plain and the decorative, are encapsulated in this design. His objects display a
complementary esthetics to his interiors, the two could be seamlessly combined, a key motivation being to create a
Gesamtkunstwerk, a complete work of art.
Chapter 2: THE AGE OF THE MACHINE (1905-1945)
THE PRODUCTION LINE
P.110
One of the most important technological influences upon modern design was the development of mass production
in factories. It made possible the mechanized manufacture of standardized products from interchangeable parts,
which could be sold at lower prices as a result of the economy of scale that was achieved. Design became a highly
planned activity, with products fully envisaged before the production process commenced. There was no room for
improvisation as the machines used in factories exerted an influence upon the final appearance of products.
Products and prototypes had to be designed with the constraint of available production machinery in mind. The
mechanization of production was introduced speedily in the United States, starting with its arms industry, however
the fully-fledged system was still absent. Finally, the moving assembling line was introduced by Henry Ford
(1863-1947) in 1913. It changed the nature of mass production: rather than the factory workers having to work on static
objects, they could remain in one place while the products moved past them. It significantly increased the speed of
manufacture and therefore profitability. It combined divided labour, product standardization, interchangeable parts
and mechanization with a moving assembly line. The year after it was introduced WW1 broke out and the
production line was pressed into service to create vehicles and armaments. After the war ended, the model of
mass-production underwent a shift as people increasingly demanded a greater choice and better specification of
products. Ford’s competitor, General Motors, with his strategy of “a car for every purse and purpose” was ahead of his
game. General M. employed a more flexible model of mass production called “batch production” This
market-oriented approach sacrificed a degree of production efficiency in the interest of increased sales. It also had
the effect of placing styling and designers at the heart of the motor industry.
FORD MODEL T 1908
The Model T was the company’s first mass produced, affordable car with completely interchangeable parts and
brought car ownership to middle class to the US families. It was also the first global car. Ford worked on improving
and rationalizing its means of production, which allowed him to reduce costs and drop the sales price. It is one of the
best-selling cars of all times. The assemblage of its component parts can be seen by the gap visible between the
chassis and the body and the sense that its headlights had been added separately. Its shapes were simple, straight,
as speed was not its selling point, unlike aerodynamically shaped cars that came after it.
PIONEERS OF MODERNISM
P114
Although the modern movement in design and architecture did not emerge until the 1920s, “proto modernism”
revealed itself in the late 19th century in response to the rampant eclecticism of those years and the growing
dissatisfaction with conspicuous consumption on the part of an international group of progressive architects and
designers whose belief was that the rationalism of engineering provided a better basis on which to move forward.
The group began to search for a new language of design, many of them rejecting the idea of decoration. The roots of
modernism lay with the reformist ideas that were expressed in the writing of architect Pugin, designer William
Morris and others allied to the British Arts and Crafts movement. Central to their idea was the sense of unease with
what they felt to be over embellished, inauthentic products of the factory. These concepts spread around Europe,
impacting the work of many designers, including the Spanish Mariano Fortuny(1871-1949). It also took roots in:
Germany: it was established the Deutscher Werkbund (german work federation). It was an association of artists,
architects, designers whose aim was to improve the quality of German goods.
Netherlands: a group of modern architects and designers associated with De Stijl the style) movement were hugely
influential. They proposed that function should drive everything, and the language of art (form, surface, colour)
should be used to communicate.
FORTUNY LAMP 1907- Mariano Fortuny
Floor light based on the principle of his patented cyclorama dome that made it possible to change stage lightning
instantly. The lamp is a black steel frame with a rotating diffuser shade that is black on the outside and white on the
inside. The light is indirect and diffused, illuminating an area with an emphasis on the quality rather than the
quantity of light created.
AEG ELECTRIC KETTLE 1909- Peter Behrens (Deutscher Werkbund)
Kettle designed in three styles, octagonal, oval and round, with different materials and finishes and with a choice of
handle shape to fit in with the living rooms and kitchens. The interchangeability helped to promote consumer
choice.
REVOLUTIONARY GRAPHICS
P 120
After WW1 and Russian Revolution of 1917, reverberations were felt across the design discipline. The seeds already
existed in Vorticism, an alternative to Cubism and Futurism. Vorticism rejected traditional artistic subject
matter-portraits, nudes, landscape, still life- in favour of more abstract representations that wanted to capture the
driving pulse of the emerging machine age. In Russia Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935) was instrumental in the formation
of suprematism, a movement that exalted pure abstract forms- supremacy was of geometry over representational
imagery (circles, squares, a limited range of solid colours.). Suprematism was a great influence on the Constructivist
movement that emerged after the revolution. Constructivism departed from Suprematism in its insistence on the
roles that art, architecture, design should play as agents of social change. These disciplines were no longer for an
elite but harnessed for the greater good. In the new Communist era, the Constructivist movement had a profound
influence on every sphere of design, from propaganda posters and packaging to book covers. Among the most
prolific pioneers was painter and Graphic Designer Alexander rodchenko (1891-1956) who became associated with
Productivism, which promoted the infiltration of art into the life of the masses via everyday graphic means.
BEAT THE WHITES WITH THE RED WEDGE 1919 – El Lissitzky (Suprematism)
Soviet propaganda poster. Objects are distilled into an idealized geometric form, alluding to similar shapes on
military maps. A red wedge pierces the white circle- a symbol of the Bolsheviks breaching the anti-Communist white
army. The palette is of primary red, blach and white. The text means “With red wedge beat the whites”.
MERZ MAGAZINE 1923-32 Kurt Schwitters
Magazine created by Schwitters in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters used printmaking to express concerns central to
his artistic project in collage, assemblage and poetry. He constructed experimental layouts according to Dadaist and
Futurist Theories. Blank spaces in the page are positive typographical values with Dynamic interrelationships. He
called his process-driven method “Mertz '' and through it he observed how the essence of things changes as soon as
they are placed out of context and put to different use. He called this “detoxification of material”.
BAUHAUS
P. 126
The Bauhaus was a design school set up in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius (1833-1969) in Weimar, Germany. It was
created through a merger of the Grand Ducal School of arts and crafts and the Weimar Academy of Fine Arts.
Groupius’s vision was to create a school led by architecture that crossed all the art and design disciplines. The first
phase of the Bauhaus was influenced by the artistic movement German Expressionism, which rejected traditional
stylistic conventions and subjects in favour of boldly simplified forms and exaggerated colours. It was an experiment
in design education that encouraged its students to work with abstract form applied to a range of materials. The aim
was to create functional products. The preliminary course was the most radical. It had a strongly Expressionist
approach, and it was led by Johannes Itten. Students were encouraged to engage with a certain style of dress or
adopt a particular diet. This approach was soon left and Itten was replaced with photographer Moholy-Nagy, who
focused instead on aesthetic ideas and theories of form influenced by constructivism. Klee and Kandinsky focused
on teaching about colour and composition. The first years of the Bauhaus were difficult ones financially and the local
government was not totally supportive of it. In 1925 the Weimar school closed because of political pressures and the
institute relocated to Dessau, to a purpose-built building designed by Gropius. Students here went to work in one of
the material workshops where they were taught craft skills and also continued to learn about form and integrated
that knowledge into their material-focused work. The objects created in the Bauhaus workshops were conceived as
prototypes for factory production. The radical formulations of existing objects were made possible by the designer’s
deep questioning of the ways these objects performed their functions and exploited their materials. They succeeded
in creating a radically new aesthetic for the modern home and its contents. Bauhaus focus was on space rather than
mass, and this required objects to blend seamlessly with the architecture that contained them.
The Bauhaus also influenced modern graphic design and typography. Moholy-Nagy introduced Bauhaus to “new
typography”, an approach that focused on clarity of communication and prioritized the use of sans serif and
asymmetry. Students also undertook theatrical performances led by Schlemmer, that brought the pedagogical and
aesthetical ideas together. Schlemmer saw the body as an artistic medium and pioneered abstract dance (es.
“Triadic Ballet”, photo p.128). In 1932 the Bauhaus came under attack by the national socialist party and was moved to
Berlin, where after ten months it was closed by the Nazis. Its life lasted only 14 years but it managed to radicalize
design education and consolidate a modern design aesthetic that lasted for decades. The idea of combining the
principles of abstract art with craft skills led to a radically new approach towards the material environment.
WG24 LAMP 1923-24 (Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Karl J. Jucker)
Elegant little lamp, intended for a side table, is one of the most lasting icons from the Bauhaus. The light was created
thanks to Karl J. Jucker, who had formal training in electrics. The lamp comprises a small number of components – a
glass cupola, a post, a base and electrical component. Consisting entirely of geometric forms, this design is a classic
Bauhaus object. The designer has transformed it into a functional object that has no extraneous components.
TEA INFUSER 1924 (Marianne Brandt)
In 1924 Marianne Brandt was the first woman to join the Bauhaus metal workshop. She designed this little tea
infuser which consists of several geometrical elements, inspired by the machine aesthetic, carefully combined into a
satisfying whole. Brandt has combined a hemisphere, a circle and a cylinder to create a form that is highly sculptural
and that reflects the design at the Bauhaus. The aim was to create a harmonious form while not forgetting the
function of the artefact. Thought has been given to all its functioning parts, from the non-drip spout to the fact that
the ebony handle will not burn its user.
THE MACHINE AESTHETIC
P. 134
The sense of rationality that pervaded modernist architecture extended to the way in which the interior was
conceived. Decoration and domesticity were rejected; the emphasis was upon space and the rational way of life that
went on it. In response to the requirements of the modern home that took the metaphor of the machine and of
mechanized production. Architects saw furniture as an extension of the architectural frame. Modernist architects
also designed their own furniture and their favoured material was tubular steel, because it was strong industrial
material that had no domestic connotation and it could be made into skeletal furniture pieces that did not block
special flow. The most famous items of tubular steel furniture from the 1920s were designed by Dutchman Mart
Stam (1899-1986), Le Corbusier (1887-1965), Marcel Breuer (1902-81) and Bauhaus director Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
(1886-1969).
WASSILY CHAIR 1925 (Marcel Breuer)
Firstly known as the Model B3, it was later named after Breuer’s friend and fellow Bauhaus instructor, Russian
painter Wassily Kandinsky. It was made of bent tubular steel and leather. The steel enabled him to make a skeletal
version of the chair without sacrificing any of its comfort. Dependent on steel’s strength, the design reduced the
traditional chair to its essential lines and planes. Emphasizing structure rather than volume, and using at first canvas
and later leather strips as support for the body. Breuer’s radical vision was of a comfortable and visually pleasing
object that had significant presence without disturbing the architectural space it occupied. It epitomizes the idea of
machine aesthetic and repudiates the concept of Victorian domesticity.
LC4 CHAISE LONGUE 1928 (Le Corbusier)
Originally, the chaise longue was conceived as a piece of seating for Villa La Roche, a house built in paris in 1925. Le
Curbusier was inspired by the Surrepos, which was invented for therapeutic purposes by Parisian doctor Jean
Pascaud. Designed for mass production, the chaise longue went through several evolutionary stages until it reached
its final form. The predominance of industrial materials used contribute to the machine aesthetic to which Le
Corbusier aspired. Its visual, material and spatial characteristics combine to communicate the core messages of
modernism.
LESS IS MORE
P.142
The concept of “less is more” is firmly associated with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1696), although he did not
actually coin the phrase. German architect Peter Behrens (1868-1940) had used it when he employed the young Mies
to work with him on the AEG turbine factory in Berlin (1907-1910). Mies effectively made the phrase his own as he
reduced and distilled his buildings, their components and furniture design into simple, integrated forms. He was
inspired by Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the ideas of Russian Constructivism and Dutch De Stijl.
Schinkel focused on clean lines, constructivists on using architecture to benefit society and the De Stijl philosophy
advocated simplicity. He sought to create a new design style to exemplify modern times. His focus on minimal
components and the reduction-or abandonment- of ornament underpinned his design philosophy and led to
furniture made off glass, steel, chrome, brick, concrete, and leather with unique structural interpretations.
After WW1, the Deutscher Werkbund (whose director was Mies) reasserted itself with greater strength with an
exhibition in Stuttgart, in 1927. The result was twentyone buildings, typified by plan, with unadorned facades, flat
roofs, open-plan interiors, prefabricated elements and a strong geometric formalism.
The simplified, streamlined, stripped-back and functional aspects of Mies’s “less is more” approach emerged in the
work of other architects and designers, and found expression in all forms of design, including packaging, graphic
design and typography. Combining purity with the avoidance of fussiness and nostalgia, the concept of less is more
became a precursor of minimalism and a recurring theme through the 20th century. Architect and designer Richard
Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), an early environmental activist, in 1927 promoted his principle that we must all find
ways of “doing more with less” in order that everyone can share in the planet’s resources. In the 1970’s the industrial
designer Dieter Rams explained that his approach followed his belief in “less but better”-or to use as little design as
possible.
CHANEL N° 5 PERFUME BOTTLE 1921 (Gabrielle ’Coco’ Chanel 1883-1971)
The n°5 perfume was the house Chanel’s first, and its bottle is a classica of modernist design. The bottle’s origins
remain elusive, some claim that illustrator George Goursat designed it, however it is more likely that Coco chose it.
The name on the bottle is written with a sans serif typeface, which was not a widespread fashion in Europe at the
time. The font was custom made. The plain white label and upper-case black lettering underline the modernist look.
FUTURA 1927 (Paul Renner 1878-1956)
Futura is one of the most successful typefaces of the 20th century. A geometric sans serif font typeface, it was created
by German Typographer Paul Renner. Its clean geometric shapes are synonymous with the principles of Bauhaus
design, although Renner was not a Bauhaus member. Futura was commissioned and released, promoted as “the
type of our time” by the Bauer type foundry in Frankfurt in 1927. Futura has width strokes of near/even weight and
contrast. It was refined by Bauer to work in small point sizes as well as large, and above all to achieve clarity. It
appears clear, efficient and unmannered. In keeping with the philosophical stance of Bauhaus, Futura was
functional, universal and focused on mass production for a new period in history.
BARCELONA TABLE 1930 (Ludwig Van Der Rohe 1886-1969)
The table was originally designed for the international exposition in Barcelona in 1929, where he presented his
concept of flowing or unrestricted space. However, he only featured the “Barcelona chair” and an ottoman. For the
table he used simple contours and modern materials. The tabletop is made of polished, thic, clear glass supported by
an x shaped steel support. It is so minimal in its design as to be almost self-effacing: restrained and transparent, it is
practically invisible.
MODERNIST TEXTILES
P. 150
The emergence of modernism during the 1920s triggered an exciting period of cross-fertilization between art and
design. Modernist designers embraced abstraction and experimented with revolutionary new artistic idioms, such as
Cubism, Futurism and Expressionism. Painters and designers enthusiastically engaged with textiles. In Britain the
omega workshop, led by painter Roger Fry (1866-1934) between 1913 and 1919 paved the way for future initiatives,
designing fabrics with colourful, energetic painterly patterns. In Britain there was an interest in block-printed textiles
during the 1920s and the medium was well-suited to small-scale artist-led workshop production. Phyllis Barron and
Dorothy Lacher were the leading lights of the movement, experimenting with the tones of vegetable dyes, they
created simple, energetic designs.
In Germany, following the establishment of the Bauhaus school there was an emphasis on weaving, rather than
printing. Gunta Stolzl and Anni Albers explored the technique to the full. Marion Dorn, who was based in London
during the 1930s was the most high-profile freelance designer of the decade. She collaborated with many leading
textile firms and was celebrated as the “the architect of floors”. The ambitious designs translated the aesthetics of
constructivist painting and sculpture into textiles with pure abstract patterns in subtle colours.
WALL HANGING 1927-27 (Gunta Stolzl 1897-1983)
The key principles behind textiles created at the Bauhaus were that woven patterns should be abstract rather than
figurative and that they should reinforce the structure of the weave. That’s why Stolzl hangings are so geometrical:
they highlight the vertical warp thread and horizontal wefts underlying the construction of the cloth. The wall
hanging is made from a combination of silk and cotton yarns handwoven by Stolzl. Itten’s theories about primary
colours and elementary forms are encapsulated in it, with its vocabulary of circles, chequerboards, and stripes.
BLUE MARINE RUG 1926-29 (Eileen Gray 1878-1976)
Gray here exploits the classic modernist vocabulary of abstract forms, using circles ovals and stripes, contrasting flat
planes of colour with dynamic linear motifs. Traditionally carpets had been symmetrical but Gray abandons
convention in favour of abstract motifs and she creates a balance through the contrast between light and dark tones.
Her palette echoes that of Henry Matisse, inspired by the south of France.
ART DECO
P.156
The first use of the term “Art Deco” is sometimes attributed to architect Le Curbusier, however, the term did not
come into general use until 1966, when an exhibition titled “les années ’25 Art Déco/Bauhaus/Stijl/Esprit Nouveau”
was mounted in France. Art Deco flourished between the two world wars and throughout the roaring twenties and
subsequent Great Depression, affecting all forms of design. The style contrasted with the depressed economic
conditions and sense of anxiety that rose as another war became inevitable. It focused on the exuberance and
excitement of the flapper era, Hollywood glamour and the optimism of the harlem renaissance that exploded after
WW1. Despite the negative undercurrents it was also a time of optimism with the belief that it was possible to
construct a new improved environment through design.
Art deco emerged as an eclectic style, drawing both on tradition and the mechanized modern world, embracing
both handcraft and machine production. Its place of origins was Paris in the 1910s/20s. there from 1910 to 1913
architect Auguste Perret (1874-1954) designed the Theatre des Champs élysees. With its straight lines, geometric
forms and bas-reliefs, the façade is one of the earliest examples of Art Deco. However the movement did not reach a
mass audience until 1925. It became popular for its diverse range of historic sources, from African tribal art to the arts
of pre-Columbian meso-America and those of ancient Egypt. The style was also influenced by contemporary artistic
developments such as cubism, futurism and the shiny streamlined components of machines. Its influence emerged
in design of transport, public and private buildings, interiors, household goods, typography, jewellery and fashion.
SKYSCRAPER FURNITURE 1926 (Paul T. Frankl 1886-1958)
After training as an architect in Berlin, Paul T. Frank moved to the United States in the 20’s. enchanted by the
optimism he experienced in NYC, he settled there and soon after he built himself a lacquered wood bookcase based
on the Manhattan skyline he could see outside his window, filled with the city skyscrapers, symbol of US modernity,
independence and power. His Art Deco and modernist-inspired designs reflected the common feelings of wanting
to discard the past, of confidence in the present and hope for the future.
FANTASQUE CERAMICS 1928-34 (Clarice Cliff 1899-1972)
Clarice Cliff created ceramics using brilliant enamel colours on plain white ceramic bisque or pottery. Her designs
were brighter than most, and she became recognized for her palette of reds, oranges, yellows, blues and greens. She
began designing shapes that harmonized with her Art Deco-inspired patterns, such as square and hexagonal plates,
conical coffee pots and sugar shakers. She developed her Fantasque range between 1928 and ’34. It originally
included eight patterns, as it evolved it featured abstracts, landscapes of cottages and trees and Art Deco-inspired
patterns.
LABOUR-SAVING DESIGN
P. 162
By the 1920s designers began to examine how to reduce the levels of work in the home and make the housewife’s
life easier. These primarily focused on changes to the design and layout of the kitchen. One of the most influential
figures of the movement was economist Christine Frederick (1883-1970), who applied the principle of step saving to
the domestic sphere and produced diagrams illustrating interior planning. Translations of the book reached
European modernist architects, among them the Austrian architect Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky (1897-2000), who
developed one of the most famous examples of rational kitchen planning: the Frankfurt fitted kitchen. The downside
of this design was that it tended to isolate the housewife from the family and that Frederik still advocated the use of
simple kitchen utensils instead of embracing the innovative electric labour-saving devices that were coming out of
US factories. When the economic depression arrived in the ’30, domestic appliance manufacturers stimulated the
market with modern designs in curvilinear, streamlined forms that suggested efficiency and rendered older yet
functional goods stylistically obsolete. They employed industrial designers to apply their skills to electrical
labour-saving devices.
FRANKFURT FITTED KITCHEN 1926 (Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky 1897-2000)
It is a kitchen layout that emphasizes the importance of step-saving and efficient storage. She devised a small,
laboratory-style kitchen where the housewife could work like a scentist, seated on a stool at a workshop. She
developed a workstation where all the implements were within easy reach of the operator’s hand and added a
continuous work surface, which gave the kitchen a more unified modern appearance. Even the colour choice was
designed to promote efficiency: the original blue was supposedly effective in repelling flies and added to the space
visual impact. Linoleum, glass and steel enhanced the room’ sophisticated, modern look.
KITCHENAID MODEL K FOOD MIXER 1937 (Egmont Arens 1889-1966)
The KitchenAid launched by the Hobart Manufacturing Company in 1937. This low-cost Model K proved to be a
design classic. Its elegant, streamlined form not only rendered it stylish, but also helped persuade the consumers
that electrical goods were safe to use. Its light weight and fully interchangeable attachments also appealed the
consumers, and it was a commercial success for the company.
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
P. 168
In the early 20th century, the aesthetic shift that took place from the use of surface decoration to a commitment to
pure unelaborated form is one of the most important stylistic transformations of modern designs. The idea that pure
derives from function, and that products should not display surface decoration does not mean that the use of an
object determines its appearance. Rather the concept is based on the notion that the inner structure should
influence the outer form. “form follows function” was coined by US architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), who believed
that, just as a flower grows out of the roots and stem of a plant, so the outer appearance of a building should be
determined by its inner structure.
0024 SUSPENSION LAMP 1931 (Giò Ponti 1891-1979)
This lamp, in the purity of its shape, created out of concentric circles, the use of unadorned modern industrial
materials, such as steel and glass, and the reduction of a hanging light to its bare essentials, is a clear expression of
the Rationalism adopted by Italian designers. It was also influenced by the French art Deco movement, which
sought to establish a decorative modern style to accompany the more minimal forms of architectural modernism.
ANGLEPOISE TASK LIGHT 1932-35 (George Carwardine 1887-1947)
The Anglepoise Task Light epitomizes “form follow function”: it contains no parts that do not contribute to its
purpose and its appearance is determined by its functional components. Carwardine created a spring that could be
moved in several directions but that remained rigid and went on to develop a joint that could be moved into many
positions and remained in place without extra support, then he used this mechanism for the task light, as it would
allow the beam to be focused on multiple points.
PLYWOOD AND LAMINATED WOOD
P. 174
Plywood and laminated wood are closely associated with the 1930s modernist furniture, but they are by no means
new material at that time. The German Michael Thonet had experimented with bent laminated wood as early as
1830, boiling strips of timber in glue and shaping them in moulds. Plywood has several advantages over solid wood
because it is more stable and less likely to warp or crack, it can be manufactured in large sheets and it is very strong.
Laminated wood is similar but made from thicker slices of timber, with the grain running in the same direction layer
upon layer. When modernist architects turned their attention to furniture in the ’20, they focused initially on metal,
however the elasticity, malleability and strength of wood later inspired many.
STACKING STOOL 60 1932-33 (Alvar Aalto 1898-1976)
With its circular stool and three l-shaped legs, the stool’ structure is rather simple and constructed in a way that
facilitates stacking. Aalto was so proud of the leg structure, which is laminated at the top and bent into shape, that
he patented this element of the design. The legs are screwed to the seat’s underside and both are made of birch
wood, that is structurally ideal for laminated wood.
PENGUIN DONKEY 1983 (Egon Riss 1901-64)
This hybrid- part bookcase, part magazine rack-was produced by the Isokon Furniture Company. The name “Donkey”
derives from the pannier-like shape of the main bookcase, which is designed and built to carry the maximum
amount of weight. The bookcase is made from a combination of thin moulded plywood and thicker laminated wood.
The plywood folds to create a pocket in the centre for the magazines. The “penguin” component of the name comes
from the fact that the design was created to accommodate Penguin paperbacks.
TAKING PICTURES
P.180
In the 1880s, when US entrepreneur George Eastman released the first Eastman Kodak camera (modified the
following year to take film), taking pictures started to be popular outside studio-based professionals. Eastman
understood the potential market for film rested on persuading non-professionals that great pictures could be taken
by everyone. To do this, he produced an affordable camera that was easy for amateurs to operate and separated the
complicated process of processing photographs. Eastman’s slogan “you press the button, we do the rest” spelled this
message to the customers: They sent the camera to the factory fully loaded for the film to be processed, receiving in
return not only the camera but prints, negatives and new roll film. Picture taking became part of family life and
photography reached a mass audience through the medium of magazine publishing. The magazine “life”, for
example, helped the career of numerous significant 20th-century photographers. Photography’s influence on design
was immense, capable of capturing the “decisive moment”. As a form of visual communication, the photograph was
upheld as an objective truth-teller despite the fact that images have been manipulated since the earliest days of
picture-taking.
LEICA 35MM 1925 (Oskar Barnack 1879-1936)
The first 35 mm Leica was designed privately by Barnack in 1913 and its lightweight, small format went to cause a
revolution in the nascent world of photography. Its outstanding quality gave it iconic status almost as soon as it was
launched. It was designed to use small rolls of film that could be carried with ease rather than bulky glass plates.
Taking one frame at a time, Barnack could expose the 35mm area of film to create a negative before enlarging the
picture in the dark room. The camera had an accessory shoe to which a flash unit or other accessories could be
attached.
KODAK BEAU BROWNIE N°2 1930 (Walter Dorwin Teague 1883-1960)
This box camera was part of the popular Brownie range made by Eastman Kodak in Rochester. It was designed as a
special edition for women and had Art Deco front motif and faux leather. Produced from 1930 to 1933, it was available
in two sizes. It is known as the camera that democratized photography, as it spread desirability of the camera across
the sexes and the classes. Its appeal came from the fact that it was more compact, easier to use and less austere
than many other models.
MINOX SUBMINIATURE CAMERA 1936 (Walter Zapp 1905-2003)
Zapp designed in 1936 this small camera that could be concealed in a pocket. At first its launch was met with
indifference, but in the following years nearly 20.000 were sold, many of which found military use. Aside from its
small size, the camera had macro focusing ability, which meant that it was ideal for photographing documents and
recommended for spy use.
EARLY PLASTICS
P.188
The development of plastics was the result of technological advances and the rising demand for goods by
middle-class consumers who could not indulge in luxuries. The first natural and semi-synthetic man-made materials
emerged as substitutes of a range of luxurious materials that included ivory, jet, amber and horn.
The result of the development of early plastics was a huge expansion in the production of commodities for the
middle classes and the emergence of large number of manufactures emerged keen to invest in the new industry.
The first fully synthetic material was Bakelite, invented in 1907 by Belgian born US chemist Leo Baekland (1863-1944).
Plastic products had curved forms, which made it easier to extricate them from the moulds, and helped foster the
craze for streamlined style that became synonymous with the objects whose forms had little to do with their
utilitarian functions. The transformation of the new materials into products was made possible by designers who
employed them to fashion the streamlined bodies of objects such as telephones and radio sets.
Nylon was invented by US chemist Wallace Carothers (1896-1937). It transformed the toothbrush by providing
material to replace the natural hair bristles. Nylon was capable of being woven, which led to new possibilities in the
area of textiles, including nylon stockings.
EKCO AD-65 RADIO 1934 (Wells Coates 1895-1958)
Ekco AD-65 is the work of Canadian designer Well Coates. Its Bakelite body shell, combined with steel and woven
fabric, had no stylistic precedents. The availability of plastic material meant that the radio could take on a modernist
look. The moulding technique used in the manufacture allowed the development of the curved profile for the
object’s body shell that created its distinctive appearance.
BALLPOINT PEN 1938 (Laszlo biro)
The search for a pen that would facilitate writing with ink in a way that was cleaner than the fountain pen began in
the late 19th century. The biggest breakthrough came in 1938 when Laszlo Biro filed a British patent for a ball-socket
mechanism that combined a ball bearing and quick-drying ink. The ballpoint could be used at high altitudes
without leaking, so Laszlo licensed his idea to the Royal Air Force, and the pens were used during WW2 by air crews.
Post WW2 the French firm BIC took the lead in the international marketplace, mass producing cheap BIC ballpoint
pens in enormous numbers from 1950. The availability and cheapness of plastics made them an obvious material for
the ballpoint pen.
THE CONSULTANT DESIGNER
P. 194
The role of consultant designer to industry came of age in the US in the years between the two WW, primarily as a
result of the effect of the economic depression in manufacturing, but also af expanding consumer needs. Consultant
designers needed to combine high visual and conceptual skills with the ability to work across a broad range of
disciplines. The arrival of consultant designers represented the moment when designer culture came into being.
Objects gained added value when the names of well-known designers were attached to them. Their celebrity status
was important to them as individuals, but it was more crucial for the manufacturers who employed them, as the
designer’s names were used as a form of product endorsement. Soon other countries emulated the model of
consultant design that emerged in the united states, as they searched ways of embedding design into their
emerging industries and encouraging consumer interest.
GESTETNER DUPLICATOR 1929 (Raymond Loewy 1893-1986)
In 1929 Sigmund Gestetner approached Raymond Loewy and asked him to improve the visual appeal of his outdated
office duplicator. The existing machine had a complex mechanical top that did all the work and a base. Loewy’s
modernization retained the functional divide between the copying machine and the wooden cabinet and removed
the physical gap between the two. This transformed the duplicator into an integrated object that was attractive to
both consumers and users. Its profile was in keeping with the new streamlined aesthetic of the day and it
transformed the duplicator into a symbol of progress.
BELL MODEL 302 1937 (Henry Dreyfuss 1904-72)
The bell 302 was designed in 1937 by US industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss. It was inspired by principles of
functionality, which Dreyfuss described as “the human factor”. He conceived this model holistically, according to how
it would relate to the human body. He softened his design, rounding corners and smoothing edges. For example, the
triangular handle follows the shape of the palm when holding the phone.
PUBLIC SERVICE DESIGN
P.200
National flags, emblems, military uniforms and coinage have always been ways of branding a kingdom or state since
the early times. Guided by the widespread moral and intellectual rejection of laissez-faire capitalism of the 19th
century, the early 20th century saw a blurring between public and private sectors and the creation of intermediate
entities, while publicly owned services convey the qualities of efficiency and up-to-dateness associated with
enlightened commerce. The public sector had the opportunity to give design a role in branding, not primarily
connected to selling, but to building a sense of familiarity and security. For example the Nazis simultaneously
promoted the nostalgic rural heimatstil style, but also modern motorways and the people’s car that became the
Volkswagen Beetle. Streamlined Art Deco was a feature of Italian design under Fascism leading to streamlined
Littorina railway passenger cars for the Ferrovie Dello Stato and named for Mussolini’s regime.
LONDON UNDERGROUND MAP 1933 (Harry Beck 1902-74)
As the network of the London Underground was extended into new suburban area, it became difficult for
mapmakers to balance the dense texture of the central areas against the distant tails of newly built lines at a
consistent scale. By abandoning realistic scale and aiming for the topological rather than topographical, Beck made
a conceptual leap that, once put in use in 1933, was immediately popular among customers. His design synthesized
features of earlier maps while making major innovations. the shapes of the routes were simplified and easily read
symbols were used for interchange stations. These principles were adopted over time by almost every transport
system in the world.
THE BOOK OF PTT 1938 (Piet Zwart 1885-1977)
In 1912 Jean-Francois van Royen (1878-1942), the legal clerk to the directors of the Dutch PTT service, complained
about the ugliness of its existing government-produced design. Rather than imposing a new unified style on the
organization, he allowed designers to work in an individual manner. Van der Royen brought Piet Zwart to design the
“het boek van PTT” (the book of PPT). This was given to children to encourage them to make more use of the
company’s services. With photomontages of cut-out paper dolls and graphics representation of statistics, he helped
to modernize and transform the PTT’s image.
THE RISE OF MOTORING
P. 206
The mass production of the Ford model T in the USA kick-started an era of mass car ownership. As more people
invested in cars, there was an increased need for the vehicles to look good. In response to this change in consumer
demands, General Motors rejected product standardization in favour of a more flexible manufacturing system. Its
launch in 1927 of a styling section represented the first attempt to introduce an aesthetic element into the
mass-produced automobile. During the interwar years, cars remained large and stylish in the USA, but in Europe the
concept of the small, low cost “people’s car” took hold. Appearance was subservient to utility and the engineer rather
than the automobile stylist reigned supreme. The advent of people’s cars facilitated mass travel and tourism on a
scale never experienced before. The need for rubber tyres on a mass scale saw the growth of the Michelin and
Dunlop tyre manufacturers, while the requirement for a widespread fuel distribution system led to the construction
of petrol stations across the globe. The democratization of leisure and lifestyle provided designers and
manufacturers with a variety of new challenges.
“YOU CAN BE SURE OF SHELL” POSTER 1933 (Edward Mcknight Kauffer 1890-1954)
The fuel company Shell promoted itself through innovative advertising campaigns, which stressed the reliability of
its fuel and the pleasure of the countryside. This poster was part of a campaign undertaken by Shell advertising
department in the UK. Kauffer employed a basic palette, reflecting modernist thinking manifested by the De Stijl
artists and Bauhaus designers. His greatest contribution to advertising was to bring avant-garde movements, such
as Futurism and Cubism, into advertising. The use of two sans serif typefaces also associate the poster with the
modern movement in graphic design.
VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE 1938 (Ferdinand Porsche 1875-1951)
In the early 1930s the Volkswagen beetle emerged as a result of a project led by automotive engineer Porsche,
working in Germany and supported by Hitler. Compared to other western countries, levels of car ownership were low
in Germany. Hitler wanted to develop a low-priced people’s car which the majority of the population could afford to
purchase. In 1937 he decided that its production would be state-founded and his government founded Volkswagen,
the next year the car was finally launched. When WW'' broke out, in 1939 the car was shelved, but its reintroduction
to the US market in 1949 paved the way for its eventual commercial success and status as a design icon.
WORLD AT WAR
P.212
Many significant advantages in medical science, engineering and design had their origins in conflict, WW2 was no
exception. In some cases, such advantages represented true breakthroughs, others built upon previous
developments, broadening their scope and application. Radar, synthetic rubber and the jet engine were all
inventions that resulted from government investment in research and development. Examples of new machines are
the tank and the jeep, a vehicle originated in 1941 because the US War Department needed a cheap yet robust
vehicle for basic tasks. Materials were applied in ways that broadened their possibilities. Plexiglass was pressed into
service to make lightweight, shatter resistant bulletproof cockpits, windscreens and aeroplane glazing. Plywood
found an important role as an economical means of using scarce timber resources. Many modern technologies that
continue to shape the world , such as computing, navigation systems and rocket science, emerged during the war.
SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE 1936 (Reginald J. Mitchell 1895-1937)
This plane was esteemed for its key role in winning the Battle of Britain in 1940. The plane shares certain features
with other WW2 fighters, such as the large cowling up front to house , the huge engine, the retractable
undercarriage and the tail wheel. What made the Spitfire such a pre-eminent fighter was largely due to its wing
design. The Spitfire had an elliptical wing to minimize tip vortices that was exceptionally strong, which meant that it
was able to bear even heavier engines and armament that emerged as the war progressed.
9 MM STEN MACHINE GUN CARBINE MARK - 1941 (Reginald Shepherd 1892-1950 Harold Turpin d.1977)
After the British force was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940, rearmament was a matter of desperate urgency. In
response to this crisis the Sten gun was developed, commissioned by the Royal Small Arms Factory in London. It was
designed as a weapon to be used at close quarters, the Sten was robust, cheap to produce, compact and easy to
conceal. Capable of being fired without lubrication it was also an asset in desert conditions. It was extremely simple
and economical to manufacture: the most basic versions could be produced in hours. The chief advantage of the
Sten was that it required a minimum of materials and labours when both were in short supply. More than 4 million in
various versions were produced during the ’40.
ON THE HOME FRONT
P. 218
WW2 had a major impact on designers and manufacturers in the UK. Government restrictions, such as controls on
the supply of timber, came into force a few days after the outbreak, and the furniture and furnishing industries were
drastically affected by shortages of materials. Many small companies shut down all together or struggled to
re-establish themselves after the war. Those that continued in operations, used their equipment and skill to produce
vital wartime necessities. Although abnormal conditions prevailed during the war, some positive initiatives did
emerge. Important technical advantages such as the development of synthetic resin adhesives for moulded
plywood, were a direct result of wartime research. Such breakthroughs were of great benefit to the furniture industry
after the war, and they were harnessed by designers.
One design field in which creativity flourished during the war was graphics, because posters were an important tool
for disseminating information. They were also an important propaganda vehicle in the USA. One of the most iconic
images was “we can do it!” (1942) by J.Howard Miller, which featured Rosie the Riveter flexing her biceps and
encouraging the US public to support the war effort.
UTILITY FURNITURE: COTSWOLD SIDEBOARD 1942 (Edwin Clinch Herbert Cutler)
By 1941 furniture-grade timber was so scarce that the government introduced a quota system for domestic furniture.
Utility furniture had to be made to the highest possible standards within the tight constraints. The economical use of
material, practicality, strength and simplicity of construction were key criteria. This sideboard is a perfect example of
these aspects: the sideboard is simple and plain, with no surface decoration, epitomizing the modern movement. It
was designed to use the minimum quantity of wood to create the maximum amount of storage and was
remarkably solid and robust to stand up to domestic wear.
Chapter 3: IDENTITY AND CONFORMITY
DANISH MODERN
p 224
Keywords: affordability, human scale, domestic materials
Of all the Scandinavian countries, Denmark made the greatest impact on the international design scene in the mid
20th century. The concept od Danish modern had its origins in the 1930s. That time saw the use of traditional
materials - wood, metal, clay and glass - and the presence of the work with small-scale manufacturers. More
humanistic and organic than Germany’s modernism, Denmark’s design movement was oriented towards the
domestic sphere and directly inspired by nature. Also profoundly democratic. A key figure was Kaare Klint
(1888-1954), head of the Royal Danish Academy of fine Art’s school of architecture in Copenhagen. In 1931 there was
an exhibition called Den Permanente, an artists’ co-operative moment. It showcased the best of Danish designs of
the era. The Danish modern movement in the immediate post-war years grew and established its influence
worldwide. The aim was to improve the lives of ordinary people through design and for that forniture played a key
role (domestic design). Hans Wegner created a number of very simple designs that quickly became iconic: the
Chinese chair, the Peacock Chair and the Round Chair. Today, Wegner’s designs represent the very best of Danish
modern. Danish modern took off in the USA too thanks to Edgar Kaufmann. Nanna Ditzel was one of the few famous
female Danish designers. Really known her Hanging Chair, a wicker egg shape designed to be suspended on a chain
from the ceiling. Danish modern textiles were another success. By the late 1960s had had its day.
Round chair 1949 - Hans Wegner
Focal points:
Natural materials - wood and woven cane or leather
Craftsmanship visible in the joints
Curved lines that follow the body
Its form is extremely well proportioned and highly elegant. Its highly sculptural form suggests the presence of the
body even when it is absent. The Wegner’s most important chair is recognized for: use of natural materials, organic
form, simplicity, humaneness, modernity, comfort and modesty.
In 1960 it was chosen as seating for the televised presidential debates. Kennedy specifically requested it.
Another variation is the Wishbone Chair in the curved top rail becomes unsupported arms rests that are not directly
attached to the front legs.
3107 Chair 1955
Focal Points:
balanced curves
two distinctive ears
moulded plywood
tubular steel legs
In his furniture designs of 1950s, architect Arne Jacobsen brought together European modernism and Nordic organic
form. He developed the more elegant chair 3107 chair as part of ‘Series 7’. To meet the needs of the variety of
environments into which the collection Series 7 chairs could be placed, a number of modified versions were
created.
Artichoke light 1958 - Poul Henningsen
Focal points:
harmonious light diffusion
illumination is softly distributed
glowing sculptural object
multi element shade
materials - copper or brushed stainless steel
inspired by nature - it recalls an artichoke or a pine cone
In 1925 he designed a multishade light, the first that came to be known as the PH series. This was the initial result of
the designer’s extensive analysis of the way in which the design of fittings can affect the distribution and diffusion of
light. Poul Henningsen worked for Louis Poulsen for many years and designed more than 500 lights for the
company.
SCANDINAVIAN GLASS AND CERAMICS
p 234
Keywords: abstract, organic shapes
The Nordic countries distinguished themselves in the applied arts during the early post-war period, particularly in
glass and ceramics. The two principal glass companies in Finland were Littala and Nuutajarvi and abstract organic
shapes characterized the design. The Swedish glass industry, centred in Smaland, was substantial and wide ranging.
and in Finland two well established firms - Orrefors and Kosta - stood out. Notably glass work was The Apple (1955), a
giant free-blown spherical vase - delicacy and translucency of glass, malleability and monumentality.
Kilta Tableware 1948 - Kaj Franck
Focal points:
pared-down forms
monochrome glazes
robust body
His vessels were no superfluous embellishment in form or decoration. Frank’s principal source of inspiration was a
traditional rustic object created to meet basic needs. The austerity of World War II had an impact on Franck's
mindset and his designs remained extremely economical throughout his career. Kilta Tableware was revolutionary
not only for its minimalism but also because the pieces were flexible and informal.
Tapio Glassware 1954 - Tapio Glassware
Focal Points:
organic lines
stems, foot and bowls made separately and joined
suspended air bubble
One of the distinctive characteristics of scandinavian glass factories was that they also created limited edition of
glass art and abstract glass sculpture.
THE HALSINGBORG EXHIBITION
p 240
Keywords: H55, Scandinavian and Swedish Design
In 1955 the Swedish city of Halsingborg hosted an international exhibition of architecture , industrial design and
home furnishing called H55. Organized by the Swedish society of Crafts and Design, H55 provided an international
showcase for Swedish applied arts, which had been flourishing since the 1920s. H55 provided the launch pad for
many new products. Scandinavian design took centre stage at H55, presented in two large pavilions and various
room settings in furnished apartments. The motto of the Swedes was ‘More beautiful things for everyday use’. They
believed that the environment in which people lived - both indoors and outdoors - had a huge impact on their
quality of life for the functions and aesthetic qualities. The public and media interest in design generated by H55 was
sustained over the coming years by the annual Scandinavian Design Cavalcade, hosted on a rotating basis by each
Nordic country in turn.
String Shelving System 1949 - Nils Nisse Strinning
Focal Points:
modular elements
easy to pack
adjustable
ladder-like supports
Scandinavian modern appealed to post-war consumers on many fronts. The well-proportioned furniture designs
were space-saving. Strinning developed a way of coating wire with plastic, a technique he put to good use in the
shelving system. The wall-mounted system was visually unobtrusive and functional. It could be extended and
configured in many different ways.
However, perhaps best-known today is the 606 Universal Shelving System designed in 1960 by Dieter Rams for
Vitsoe.
Ericofon 1956 - Ericsson
single unit
organic form
available in 18 different colours but not black
As soon as plastic came on scene, designers began to look for ways in which to express the sculptural potential of
this versatile family of materials. And a number of designers began to investigate the possibilities of creating a
one-piece telephone. The Ericofon was the first realization of this aim. Designed by Swedish firm Ericisson, the model
was launched in the market in 1956. But the revolutionary Ericofon design was the first commercially available
telephone to house the dial, receiver and speaker within a single unit nicknamed the ‘Cobra’ .
Ericsson company profile (1876-present)
The Swedish company was founded in 1876 as a telegraph and telephone repair workshop. It rapidly moved into the
manufacture of telephones. It grew up and during World War I, the Russian Revolution and the Depression hit sales.
After a bad period for the company, it was saved by the Wallenberg family. During World War II business focused on
the domestic market but in 1950 Ericsson hit the headlines when the world’s first international call was made on an
Ericsson telephone exchange. After a hands-free telephone was launched and by the late 1970s the firm was moving
into digital. By 2000 it was the world’s leading supplier of 3G mobile systems. In 2009 Ericsson collaborated with
Verizon to carry out the first data call on 4G.
Princess telephone 1959 - Henry Dreyfuss
The post-war era, it became increasingly common for middle class households to own more than one telephone. This
created the chic style.
LA RICOSTRUZIONE
p 246
Keywords: post-war, Milan based architects, new aesthetic, dolce vita, Triennale di
Milano, economic miracle
In the mid 1940s, Italy emerged as a vibrant new force in modern design. This development was the result of many
factors at the end of the War. One was the presence, mostly in Milan, of a generation of modernist-trained architects
who found themselves without work after the war. To earn a living, architects such as Castiglioni Brothers - Achille
and Pier Giacomo - Vico Magistretti, Marco Zanuso and Ettore Sottsass turned to furniture and product design. They
wanted to take the opportunities offered by the new industries that were beginning to rise up in the Brianza region
and elsewhere. These new firms wanted to take the distances from a fascist past by adopting a different aesthetic.
We are talking about the years of ‘La Ricostruzione’. During the war, Italian cities had been devastated by bombing
and their widespread destruction created an urgent need for housing. This stimulated the production of furniture
design. Large technical firms such as Olivetti also joined in the research of dynamic new forms. Another sphere was
the automobile industry.
Modern italian design was clearly aspirational and the late 1940s to 1950s was a time of improvement in the quality of
products for the domestic and international market. This was possible thanks to the economic expansion and the
emergence of the concept of Dolce Vita.
Events such as the Milano Triennale (1947-51-54), acted as a stimulating international forum for debate, with
exhibition themes including ‘Form of the Useful’ and ‘The Production of art’. The late 1950s marked the high point of
what came to be known as the “economic miracle” in Italy. It was seen as the home of stylish modern design.
However, by the early 1960s growing industrial unrest indicated that this era of optimistic economic expansion was
beginning to slow down.
Vespa 1946 - Corradino D’ascanio
Focal Points:
desirable
cult
aerodynamic appearance
technologically radical
designed also for female drivers
He designed the Vespa motor scooter for industrialist Enrico Piaggio and it was named the Wasp in reference to its
body shape and antenna-like wing mirrors. The brief had been to design a simple and affordable vehicle for the
masses. It needed to be easy to ride and able to carry a passenger. It quickly became iconic. For many italians, to
abandon their bicycles for any kind of motorized transportation, it symbolizes a new era of freedom.
Piaggio introduced the concept of Vespa Clubs to help grow its popularity. Lambretta motor scooter was the main
competitor of Vespa. A large number of Lambrettas were produced, but it never achieved the same cult status.
Olivetti Lettera 22 - 1950 - Marcello NIzzoli
Focal Points:
sensoriality
sculptural form
body shell with visual unity
soft colours
Designed as a portable typewriter it was compact and elegant and it was awarded with the Golden Compass.
Olivetti had visited the United States and he realized that in order to compete with US products, post-war Italy
needed to go one stage further and make its industrial objects more attractive.
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint 1954
Focal Points:
radiator grille
chrome detailing
classic streamlined profile
subtle teardrop shape
Giuseppe Nuccio Bertone Italy post- war successes included automobile design.
In the years after World War II, Alfa Romeo decided to move into the mass-produced family car market. The Giulietta
was an example of this success. It was designed by Nuccio Bretone, one of the great names in post-war Italian car
styling. The Spider was also one of the most iconic models.
BRAVE NEW WORLD
p. 254
Keywords: post-war, design+science, modernity, organic
After World War II, there was a collective feeling of optimism in the design profession and scientific community: both
were committed to creating a better world. The early post-war period was momentous of scientific research, with
significant progress such as X-ray crystallography, molecular biology, nuclear physics, space exploration and
astronomy. There was a growing consumer demand and design flourished as a consequence. Confidence in the
future prompted designers to explore new sources of inspiration for the form and decoration of everyday products
that purposely evoked modernity. Contemporary art proved fertile territory, hence the vogue for Abstract
Expressionist textiles inspired by Pollock and organic ceramics. The vogue for free-forms shapes during the 1950s,
which affected all, can be linked to developments in molecular biology.
One of the most fascinating science-inspired initiatives was the Festival Pattern Group project. Instigated by the
Council of Industrial Design as part of the Festival of Britain in 1951, the aim of the scheme was to stimulate a new
approach to decoration by encouraging manufacturers to use diagrams of crystals structures as the basis for
patterns on textiles, wallpapers, plastics, glass, ceramics and metalwork. Fusing Art and Science the Festival Pattern
Group represented the ultimate embodiment of the brave new world of post-war design.
The Hang-It-All coat rock 1953 - Charles and Ray Eames
It evokes the molecular structures revealed by the electron microscope.
Ball Clock 1947 - George Nelson Associates
Focal Points:
ball spoke inspired by atomic structures
no numerals
eye-catching
Architect Nelson had an extremely positive influence on US post-war design. He recruited in his company some
artists such as Charles and Ray Eames and he also provided an umbrella for a group of talented individuals who were
responsible for some of the most imaginative designs of the period, including the Coconut Chair and Marshmallow
sofa. The Ball clock, witty and playful, married the language of contemporary art and science to create a visually
stimulating object serving a practical purpose. It is still in production.
Calder Sculptures
Us sculptor Alexander Calder made the coloured kinetic and standing sculptures from 1931 using abstract shapes
and bold colours to create visual and spatial rhythms. He also attempted to evoke the planets and their movements
in his work.
Lancet Blade Dish 1951 - Stig Lindberg
Focal Points:
Leaf motifs
scooped rim
white
He introduced a new vocabulary of pattern-making into Swedish post-war design. He married fluid curvaceous forms
with stylized organic motifs, seductive sculptural shapes, brightly coloured pattern, visually arresting and consciously
joyful. So biomorphic forms and quasi-biological imagery continued throughout the 1950s.
THE FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN
p 260
Keywords:
World War II comes to an end and the United Kingdom elects a Labour Government. The landslide victory reflects a
strong public mood for social change. The origins of the festival of Britain held in 1951 go back to 1943 when the
Royal Society of Arts proposed a celebration of the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851, which had been
mounted in Hyde Park, London. The idea was revived in 1945 under the new Labour government and the Festival
expressed the spirit and ideals of Labour. The Festival was conceived as an ambitious programme involving the
entire country. HMS Campania toured the coast, local exhibits were staged, an exhibition of housing was held and
The Festival Pleasure Gardens were built at battersea. It was concerned with both architecture and design. The two
key buildings - The Dome of Discovery and The Skylon were equally futuristic in nature. The Festival was
forward-thinking in its approach, focusing on the role of design and architecture in creating a new world. In the
summer ‘51 the Festival came to an end and the new Conservative government decided to destroy all the structures,
excepèt the Royal Festival Hall.
Antelope Chair 1951 - Ernest race
Focal points:
ball feet
steel rod
skeletal form
This chair has stood the test of time and remains an iconic, mid century British design.
Calyx Furnishing Fabric 1951 - Lucienne Day
Focal Points:
mottled texture
lines
flat colours
black and white
In this revolutionary printed furnishing fabric, Day broke with the conventions of floral pattern design and introduced
an exciting vocabulary of abstraction.
GERMAN RATIONALISM AND RECOVERY
p 266
In the aftermath of its defeat in World War II, Germany looked for a way to regain its pre-eminence in the field of
modern design. The post-nazi climate encouraged a reappraisal of the work of the Bauhaus, which had been closed
down by Hitler in 1933. The post-war German spirit in design was rooted in a commitment to rationalism and
geometric minimalism. This new spirit manifested itself in a number of ways, including the formation in 1953 of an
education establishment: the Hochschule fur Gestaltung at Ulm (Ulm School of Design). The specific aim of the
school was to revive and develop the programme of the Bauhaus. Its first rector, Swiss designer Max Bill, made sure
that the school adopted a highly rational approach towards design, both intellectually and formally. Design was
conceived as a rational process in which the end products reflected a problem-solving approach. The curriculum
featured graphics and product design at its heart, but the decorative arts were absent, as was architecture. When
Argentinian designer Tomas Maldonado took over in the late 1950s, he introduced the study of semiotics. In essence,
Maldonado’s strategy was to employ linguistic theory as a model for a theory of design practice: in other words, to
place the emphasis on the meanings of designed objects rather than their forms(1960s magazine advertisement for
German airline Lufthansa exemplifies Germany’s post-war design spirit). Rams’s highly rational forms summarise
Germany’s post-war product design. His approach was always to work from an object’s function outwards and to
create simple, geometric forms with no surface decoration. His most influential designs included audio equipment, a
food processor with multiple accessories, electric razors and, by the 1970s, pocket calculators. German design spread
was helped by a support system which included the newly reformed Deutscher Werkbund (German Work
Federation) and the publication Form magazine which disseminated its ideas.
Porsche 356 - 1948 - Erwin Komenda and Ferdinand Porsche
Focal Points:
aerodynamics: the form follows the function
steel and paint
The 356 Porsche was the first mass-produced car, it was one of the most elegant and stylish on the market when it
was launched combining lightness and compactness with high speed. It’s a two doors luxury sport car. The idea was
to create a highly powered small car that gives its driver a great deal of pleasure.
Braun SK4 1956 - Hans Gugelot and Dieter Rams
Focal points:
rational form: every element was included because it had a function to fulfill. This sense of logic was
reflected in the minimal, geometric form of the product, which consists mostly of straight parallel lines,
rectangles and circles
minimal colours: white gray black and the wood brown
simple controls
accessibility by the transparent plexiglas
This radio and record player was the result of a collaboration between Dieter Rams and Ulm School of design
teacher Hans Gugelot. It was the first company radical design in the audio equipment field. They put a radio and a
record player together as one unit to create a new hybrid understood as a system and not as a single-function
artefact. It was the first German product of its type to go into mass production. Its design was a reflection of its
function, nothing was superfluous. The components were positioned in such a way that the product was not only
easy to use but it also looked as if it were easy to use.
DIETER RAMS
1932-87
Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, Dieter Rams joined Braun in 1955 initially as an architect and interior designer.
However, by 1961 he had become the head of the company’s product design development division. He also worked
for the furniture manufacturer Vitsoe from 1959 onwards.
1988 - present
Rams was asked to join Braun’s board of directors in 1988 and after 7 years he became the company’s executive
director of corporate identity. He retired in 1997. Rams continues to engage with design in different ways. In 2002 he
was honoured with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his big contribution to design.
THE BRAUN COMPANY
Established in 1921 in Frankfurt by engineer Max Braun, the company began by making radio components. By the
end of the decade it had a reputation as a leader in the field, in 1932 it became one of the first manufacturers to
combine a radio and a phonograph. Max Braun died and after Dieter Rams worked for the company and it became
increasingly respected for its innovative design. In 2005 the Proctor and Gamble group acquired Gillette, which had
already taken over Braun.
Kodak Carousel-S 1963 - Hans Gugelot
Focal Points:
form follows function
good mechanism
the name Carousel brings to mind childhood fun or a circus ride
Slide projectors became popular in the 1950s. With the early models, each photographic slide had to be inserted
manually. In response, Louis Misuraca came up with a design for a circular tray with an automatic slide feed. He sold
it to Kodak. Hans Gugelot worked on a version for the german market. His Carousel-S slide projector was launched
and sold worldwide.
SWISS NEUTRALITY AND VIRTUE
p 274
Keywords: graphic design, sans serif typefaces, grids, asymmetrical layouts,
composition, clarity of communication, Helvetica and Universe, ULM School
Switzerland, neutral during WW”, was one of the few European countries to emerge largely untouched by conflict in
1945. Its manufacturing base had never been placed on a war footing. During the post-war period, Switzerland’s
tradition of neutrality and prudence translated into a design style, predominantly expressed in graphics, which
aspired to universal application. Known as the International Typographic Style, the Swiss approach to typography
and layout spread far beyond Europe during the 1940s and 1950s. Focusing on simplicity, clarity and legibility, its
antecedents lay in the early modernist experiments of De Stijl, Constructivism and the Bauhaus taking up such a
lineage, it embraced abstraction. Swiss designers adhered to the modernist principle ‘form follows function’. The
movement originated in two schools - the School of Arts and Crafts in Zurich and the Basel School of design. The
style was noted for its use of unjustified sans serif type, mathematically constructed grids and asymmetrical layouts
that gave equal prominence to white space. Photomontage was preferred to illustration. The key elements were
unity of composition, clarity of communication and problem-solving based on an underlying scientific approach.
Muller Brockmann was one of the founding members of the collective that produced Neue Grafik, an influential
magazine. Emblematic of this period of Swiss design are the sans serif typefaces Univers and Helvetica, both
released in 1957 (Helvetica named as Neue Haas Grotesk).
The Swiss drive for clearness, clarity and legibility led in the direction of minimalism. The swiss designer Max Bill , who
had studied at the Bauhaus in its pre-war “heyday”, co-founded the Hochschule fur Gestaltung (Ulm School of
Design) in Germany in 1933 with Inge Aicher-School and Otl Aicher. The school, which was highly influential during
its fifteen-year existence, is where the story of German post-war recovery and Swiss design overlap.
In 1968 the Ulm School closed after a series of internal disagreements.
Helvetica Typeface 1957 - Max Miedinger
Focal Points:
legibility: the most distinctive features of Helvetica are the large x-height and horizontal stroke terminals,
which make it easy to read even in small points.
it symbolized a peaceful line under history and looking towards the future
after it became too much favourite for US big businesses
dense and dynamic
practicality
precision
Helvetica is a modernist sans serif typeface developed by Swiss type designer Max Miedinger, with Eduard
Hoffmann, president of the Haas Type Foundry in Basel. They set out to create a typeface of clarity that was
adaptable to wide usage and not associated with any political stance. The design was originally named Neue Haas
Grotesk. It was licensed by Linotype, who renamed it Helvetica to suggest its Swiss origins. It is relied upon not to
impart additional meaning to any given content. It neither appeals to fashion nor changes with it. In 20014 Christian
Schwartz was commissioned to digitize Neue Haas Grotesk.
SCULPTURAL FORM
p.278
Keywords: Hans Arp, Alvar Aalto, sculptural potential of furniture, organic design
A key feature of mid century design was the stimulating new vocabulary of sculptural forms. The inspiration for these
shapes can be traced directly to contemporary art. The abstract organic sculptures of the german-french artist Hans
Arp also exerted a powerful influence on many mid-century designers like Alvar Aalto.
Recognizing the sculptural potential of furniture, the Danes not only exploited moulded plywood, but honed their
skills in shaping solid wood into appealing soft-edged forms. Swedish mid-century ceramics and glass designers
were masters of sculptural design. This kind of design also flourished in Italy, although it tended to be rather more
extravagant. Flamboyant architect Carlo Mollino created some extraordinary organic furniture.
Akari Light - 1951 Isamu Noguchi
Focal Points:
insect-like appearance
bamboo ribs that support the paper shade
Isamu Noguchi was one of the first US sculptors to embrace organic abstraction, an aesthetic he subsequently
applied to furniture design and lighting. He was born in the USA but he spent his childhood in Japan and this
influenced his work. As well as designing lights, he applied his artistic talents to furniture.
Citroen DS - 1955 - Flaminio Bertoni
Focal Points:
modern bonnet
sloping windscreen
special suspensions
glamorous
aerodynamic
futuristic
This elegant streamlined organic car is like a sculpture on wheels. Styled by an Italian designer, Flamino Bertoni. The
Citroen DS 19 was extremely stylish, summarising the suave sophistication of European car design. Still regarded as
one of the most beautiful cars ever produced, it was lovingly shaped by an artist-designer with a sculptor's eye. In
fact Bertoni, who was born in Masnago, attended the technical school and he studied drawing, carving and
sculpture. He became an artist in the automobile industry.
US MID-CENTURY MODERN
p.284
Keywords: USA, international design superpowers, informality, vivid colors, organic
shapes, Charles and Ray Eames
World War II resulted in a dramatic shift in momentum within the design world. Germany and France, the dual
progenitors of modernism during the interwar period, were no longer the dominant creative hotspots. A new
alliance of international design superpowers emerged during the late 1940s led by Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Italy
and the United States. The Americans had made a decisive contribution to modern architecture since the late 19th
century through the invention of the skyscraper and also thanks to Frank Lloyd Wright work. During the 1930s, The
US began to assert its own design identity, although on a commercial level, progress was hindered by the
Depression. A key figure was Russel Wright, a product designer who pioneered the concept of American modern.
The term ‘American modern’ - denoting a contemporary style that expressed the unique character and culture of the
United States. Expressively organic and sculptural, designs were characterized by relaxed informality, vivid colours
and malleable shapes. American modern remained extremely popular throughout the 1950s. American modern
encapsulated the material aspirations of the American dream. The delayed involvement of the United States in
World War II, combined with its remoteness from the main conflict zones, meant that US designers and
manufacturers were considerably less distrupted than their European counterparts during the 1940s. On a creative
level, the US architecture and design community had benefited greatly from the influx of European émigrés who
settled in the United States during the 1930s. There was the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, a progressive art
school modelled on the Bauhaus. In the meantime Charles and Ray Eames who emerged as the foremost designers
of the post-war era. The energetic Eameses encapsulated the spirit of adventure in US mid-century modern design
and the free flow of ideas between art , architecture and design. Charles first came to prominence in 1940 when he
and Saanerinen collaborated on two prize-winning entries to the Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition
organized by the Museum of Modern Art. Following their marriage, Charles and Ray Eames worked closely together,
establishing a joint design office in California in 1941. The war and the period of austerity forced designers to become
more resourceful, partly in order to overcome the problem of materials shortages but also to take advantage of the
latest war-time technology. In addition to embodying the idealistic, democratic ethos of the early post-war period the desire to create universal designs that were widely available and affordable - the Eameses’ furniture was
consciously economical. Initially focusing on creative applications for moulded plywood, which they harnessed for its
sculptural and design potential, the Eameses' first major breakthrough was their Plywood chair. What made this
chair so unusual was its fluid profile and the lightness and elasticity of its structure. The Eameses became
increasingly interested in plastic and they also produced the Womb chair and the Plastic chair, but they also played
with different metals and they produced the Wire chair.
George Nelson Associates created playful domestic seating, such as the Marshmallow sofa. Escaping from
conventional forms, the Marshmallow sofa consisted of four rows of disc-shaped seat pads mounted on a steel frame.
Working in parallel, Saanerin and the Eameses revolutionized the language of US mid-century modern furniture.
The impact of their work was considerable at the time and continues to resonate in the present day.
La Chaise 1948 - Charles and Ray Eames
Focal Points:
not upholstered
highly sculptural
fibreglass
hole in the back for a visual effect
base more linear that the seat
They designed this chair as their entry for a competition held by New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. The theme
of the competition was “Low-Cost furniture design”. They also created the Dar chair.
Tulip Chair 1956 - Eero Saarinen
Saarinen aspired to create fluid organic furniture that complemented the forms of contemporary sculpture. He put
faith in plastics - fiberglass in particular - because he believed that this material was better suited to the all-in-one
sculptural chair shells he wished to create. Ideally Saarinen would have linked to make the whole chair from one
material, but GRP was not strong enough for the thin stem and wide circular foot.
Designer's profile - Charles and Ray Eames
1907-39
Charles Eames was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1907. Bernice Ray was born in Sacramento, California in 1912. In 1925
Charles started an architecture course but left after two years. In 1938 he went to study architecture at Cranbrook
Academy of art in Michigan. Ray studied Abstract Expressionist painting with German-born artist Hans Hoffmann.
1940-41
Charles won the Moma ‘Organic Design in Home furnishing’ competition with Finnish designer Eero Saanerinen.
Charles and Ray met at Cranbrook, they married and began to work together in 1941.
1942-49
They moved to Los Angeles. They worked creating moulded plywood furniture and designed the Eameses House
(1949) in California.
1950-88
The Eameses designed furniture in fibreglass, plastic and aluminium. They also produced multimedia presentations,
exhibitions and films. After Charles’s death in 1978, Ray continued to work on their unfinished projects. She died ten
years after Charles.
Eames Storage Unit 400 Series - 1950
Focal Points:
plywood and masonite
texture
steel frame
Known as ESU, it grew out. The impetus of design storage reflected the concerns of the austerity-conscious early
post -war period. By creating modular cabinets, the Eamses sought to maximize the amount of storage in the
minimum amount of space. Particular is the radical simplicity of the concept and the use of inexpensive off-the-peg
industrial components, notably the angled steel frame criss-cross bracing rods. The varied colors and textures of the
interchangeable panels, shelves and drawers were visually stimulating, reflecting the creativity and playfulness of
this imaginative design duo.
Diamond Chair 1952 - Harry Bertoia
Focal Points:
wire mesh
diamond form
steel rod base
upholstered seat
Harry Bertoia was a metalwork artist who ventured briefly into furniture design during the early 1950s. Although
sculpture was his primary field, the Diamond chair clarifies the cross-fertilization between the fine and applied arts
in US mid-century modern design.
POST-WAR PLASTICS
p 296
The story of plastics In The post-war years was one of experimentation expansion and democratization. By the 1960
the visual and material world was radically transformed. This was as true In the home as is it was industrial,
commercial and retail spheres. In the process, plastics moved from being seen as materials and became valued for
their own characteristics. After the war plastics were ready to Be developed for Mass market. Polietilene was
developed. Plastic was a Key factor in the Us post-war consumer boom. Color was a significant part of its cheap and
cheerful appeal. For the First time everyday objects began to be available in bright contemporary shades and at a
price that ordinary families could afford. Kitchens in particular were given radical make or buy. The new materials are
marked with his eyes and Easy to keep clean plastic washing up boss dustpan and brush and lemon squeezers
among many people became widely available. Tupperware plastic storage containers transformed kitchens. Kitchen
worktops and tables were covered with Formica (a brand name for melamine), a plastic laminated that allows only
color patterns to be printed onto its surface.
Children's toys were also transformed. Italy also took a proactive role. A key figure was Giulio Natta, awarded the
Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1963. While the USA had set out to democratize plastica products, making them as
cheap as possible, Italy took a more upmarket approach and focused on the ways in which the new materials could
be used to express a moderna aesthetic. It was visible in the night quality plastic products of Kartell (founded by
Giulio Castelli). The magazine Stile Industria celebrated these new uses of plastic in photographs that made the
products look like works of art.
Britain was less enthusiastic about plastics.
By the end of the 1960s, plastic products were ubiquitous in the industrialized world and what had first been so
eye-catching became invisible, part of everyday life.
Tupperware 1946 - Earl Tupper
Focal Points:
polyethylene plastica
organized by color coding
While employed at US chemical company DuPont, Earl discovered a see-through, colourless plastic, which was a
waste product of the oil-refining process. In 1938 he used this material, PolyT, to create a bell-shaped container.
Tupperware was a light, durable, airtight, watertight food storage container for keeping food and leftovers fresh in
the refrigerator. First the Tupperware burp was emitted when the lid was taken over and second, the company
initiated a means of direct marketing through the Tupperware party, a party plan where women bought items from
other women who hosted events to demonstrate the products for neighbours and friends in their own homes.
Jif Lemon Packaging 1954 - Bill Pugh
Focal Points:
textured surface
Screw top
Plastic
This container is a playful piece of packaging that tells consumers at a glance exactly what they're buying. The
modernist idea of 'form follows function' is here replaced by 'form follows communication'.
Lego 1958 - Ole and Godtfred Kirk Kristiansen
Focal Points:
Colours
Modular design
Plastic light cheap and robust
Lego founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen named his company after the Danish phrase for 'play well': lego godt. Lego began
manufacturing interlocking toy bricks in Denmark in 1949 but did not file a patent until 1958. In 1939 lego released its
first building bricks. Lego Town Plan themed play set was launched, offering a larger imaginative landscape. In 1958
the bricks were improved with hollow tubes in the underside adding support and improved locking. Despite a slow
start Lego has grown into the world's largest toy company with around 7 sets sold every second.
DESIGNING FREE TIME
p 304
Keywords: teenagers, leisure, music, album cover, movie posters
During the 1950s, television began to supplant radio as a form of mass entertainment that could be enjoyed in the
privacy of people's homes. Television companies Aldo sought to establish their own identities. The greatest shift in
leisure culture occurred among young people. Despite a reputation for rebelliousness, they proved no less
status-conscious than their parents. Adolescents emerged as a demographic in their own right and were given a
new name: teenagers. Unlike previous generations of adolescents, who would have been expected to contribute
their earnings to supplement their family's income, the new prosperity meant that teenagers could spend their
Money on themselves as they pleased. And spend it they did - in records and record players, magazines, cosmetics,
movies, clothes and host of other products that both defined their identity and were essentially leisure-based. Music
was one of the chief ways in which the teen identity was expressed. A new graphic form of art spread thanks to Alex
Steweiss: the album cover. (Also famous are the various iconic movie posters).
Vertigo Film Poster 1958 - Saul Bass
Focal Points:
Strong
Simple
Memorable
Use of figures
Red
Lettering
He was an Academy Award winning filmmaker and a graphic designer who created many memorable film posters
and title sequences. 'Symbolize and summarize' was his motto. His poster design for the romantic thriller Vertigo Is
based on a simplified two-colour process that uses hand-cut lettering against the bright orange-red background.
POST-WAR DOMESTIC DESIGN
p 308
Keywords: post-war, new home design needs, Consumer Boom
The years between 1945 and 1960 saw an emphasis fall on the design of the home and its contents. In Britain and
mainland Europe, there was a need for reconstruction. Women who had been employed during the WW" in
essential industries were encouraged to leave the paura workforce to free up the employment for homecoming
veterans. The arrival of peace saw a return to domestic life.
The term "contemporary" was coined to describe the style, which was less abrasive and uncompromising than its
pre-war equivalent. Natural wood, wallpaper and fabric came back into vogue. In many cases these new homes were
less spacious than their pre-war equivalents. Instead, a Sense of space, light and air was promoted by open-plan
layouts. There was a Consumer Boom.
At the upper end of the market, Herman Miller and Knoll led the way in the United States, working with designers
Charles and Wales, George Nelson, Eero Saarinen, Isamu Noguchi and others.
Exhibitions played an important role in making consumers aware of what was fashionable and available. The Ideal
Home Exhibition held at London's Olympia became hugely popular, offering visitors a range of displays form entire
homes to kitchen gadgets. However by the end of the 1950s - the peak of the post-war consumer boom - a new
critical awareness was awakening.
Highlight Flatware 1951 - Russel Wright
Focal Points:
set for a family of four
Stainless steel
Pinch knife's handle
Wright believed in the centrality of domestic life and he focused here his career. His designs were simple and
modern and they helped many Americans to embrace modernism in their homes.
Russel Hobbs K2 Kettle - 1960 William Russel
Focal Points:
Red switch
Metal stirrup
Pleasant to use
Body of chrome plated copper
It can switch itself off once the water Is boiled
Russell Hobbs designed the world's first automatic coffee percolator, the CP1. The company followed It with the
world's first automatic kettle.
THE PERSONAL LUXURY CAR
keywords: car industry, style, drive-in
Quickly producers of cars, petrol and tyres found it useful to promote the concept of touring to stimulate demand for
their products. It grew a new market: the luxury car. Styling began to be important in the car industry. And the
concept of 'annual model change' was introduced. During the 1950s, the annuale practice of trading in last year's
model for the latest off the assembly line became a marker of status and affluence for middle-class Americans. There
was a great expansion of the road network in the US. In 1950 opened the First shopping Mall in the Northgate Mall in
Seattle. Other symbols of the new car culture were the drive-in-fast food restaurants and drive-in movie theatres.
Cadillac Coupe de Ville 1959 - Harley J. Earl
Focal Points:
panoramic visibility
Rear wheel
Exaggerated tail fins and dual bullet shaped tail lights
The curved windows and large amount of glass in the Cadillac are reminiscent of a fighter plane. Another known
model, the first conceptual car was the Buick-Job.
JAPAN AND QUALITY CONTROL
p. 318
Keywords: optimization, quality , technology
After WW '' the quality-control process revolutionized the Japanese manufacturing and led to its dominance of
technology markets in the late 1960s and 1970s. Most goods manufactured by independent companies were
State-mandated, under the auspices of the country's desire to be a great military power. With the cessation of
hostilities, the country's manufacturers had to shift away from a war footing to target export markets, but many of
their original products had been banned by the occupying forces. Made in Japan communicated low price, not
merit. But thanks to the quality-control the situation changed. The message was not only to improve the quality but
also the quality of the staff and organization. Famous companies that grew technologically were Sony, Nikon, Toyota
and Nissan. It was not until the 1980s, and the unexpected dominance of Japanese manufacturing, that the USA
woke up to what it had lost.
Sony TR-610 Transistor - 1958
Focal Points:
Speaker grills
Dials
Sony was co-founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita as the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corp.
It consisted solely of a small office in Tokyo. In 1949 the firm developed magnetic recording magnetic tape, followed
by the first tape recorder in Japan. Subsequent products included the first transistor radios, transistor televisions,
calculators, record players and many more objects. In 1967 Sony created the first Trinitron colour television.
Honda super Cub 1958
Focal Points:
hybrid between scooter and motorcycle
Kick-start
Multiple enclosure points
Honda was another Japanese success. Before the war, mechanic Soichiro Honda worked in a garage. After a series of
disasters he gradually realized his aim. By 1956 Honda was a stable and successful business. They wanted to yo male
a small, high performance, mass-market motorcycle. The model had to be quiet, reliable and easy to use. Honda
super Cub Is the most produced motor vehicle in the world.
Nikon F Camera 1959
Focal Points:
Wide range of lenses
viewfinder, lenses, prism and focusing screens could be changed
Nikon is one of the Japan's oldest manufacturing companies, founded in 1917. Originally called Japan Optical
Industries and Co. It specialized in optical lenses for binoculars, microscopes and cameras. During the WW'' It
worked for the government. The Nikon F was released in 1959 and within a year nearly every US photographer and
photojournalist had abandoned their German Leicas and adopted the Nikon. The Nikon F was the first Camera to be
taken to the Moon.
Chapter 4: DESIGN AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE (1960-1980)
BRAND LOYALTY
(p328)
Brand loyalty is the manufacturer’s Holy Grail. Packaging has been crucial since it has to carry all the important
information about the product: it has to be recognizable for everyone. It has the purpose to distinguish the same
kind of product and make one more appealing than another. Successful logos are not always the results of expensive
design consultancy (Davidson’s Nike logo was sold for 35$) but it has to be successful. Not all creative professional
were happy to work in a commercial world (“first thing first” Manifesto described this “collaboration” as a waste of
talent)
Packaging design:
●
Kikkoman soy sauce bottle (la bottiglietta di soia classica):
Designer: K.Ekuan (Japanese, he lost a sister in the Hiroshima disaster, became president of japan industrial
designers. He designed E3Bullet train)
3 years of work, 100 prototypes
Logo: kikko means tortoiseshell so the logo is about it (longevity etc etc)
Lettering: modern font (modernity) with gold letters (tradition)
●
Penguin Crime series (1961-65)
Designer: R. Marber (he also worked at the cover of The economist)
Characteristics: following and horizontal grid, drawing/pictures kinda dark and scary (crime series) on a
green background.
●
Olivetti Valentine (1969) PAG 334
Designer: Ettore Sottsassà born in Austria raised in Milan. Artist, product designer, writer, glassmaker and
ceramist. He worked with Olivetti for a bunch of products such as Valentine and then he joined the
Avant-garde. His “credo” was that design should be sensual and exciting. In 1958 start to work with Olivetti:
they wanted to combine Sottsass aesthetic with technical innovation. Valentine was the first office peace
reinvented as a desirable consume product (as Sottsass once said: an anti-machine machine).
Characteristics: not in metal; modern material as thermoplastic. This machine won the COMPASSO D’ORO.
It was made in other colours but its signature was red (passion colour).
DISPOSABLE DESIGN
(p336)
New kind of consumers after World War 2.
Disposable design was a very important part of this consumerism: new material from the post-war era / idea of
designing a kind of package that lasts only for the time that you need it and then it can be thrown away.
For the first time coffee can be taken away from the bar. The idea was to design something always more appealing
that the product designed before: in this way there was always something new to buy. Advertisements were very
important in this process.
●
McDonalds Golden arches (1960):
Designer: McDonald Corporation
Characteristics: At the beginning, they did not want to create an icon (It was not neither inspired by the M of
McDonalds) but it was useful to make the shop more visible and appealing. It then became the symbol of
the entire corporation
●
Anthora paper coffee cup (1963):
Designer: Leslie Buck
Characteristics: first design of a paper cup to take away. You can see it in a lot of American series and
movies. It was copied from other companies.
●
Post-it note (1968)
Designer: Spencer Silver and Art Fry.
Characteristics: Silver created this new kind of glue, which was weak but reusable. No one knew what to do
with it but Fry, who had the idea of notes. Even if it had a slow start it is now a production which creates 1
billion $ a year. The whole process took more than 12 years.
GRAPHIC SIGNPOSTS
(P344)
Massimo Vignelli is an Italian graphic designer: he wanted to affect the lives of millions of people with his own
design. His design wanted to be clear and concise. (“I like design to be semantically correct, synthetically consistent
and pragmatically understandable). Not everyone loves his design. He created the New York subway map (which was
criticized). It wanted to create something systematic and understandable rather than geographically correct. It was
sometimes inaccurate. He based his work on the London underground map. In Britain, Calvert and Kinneir used a
different approach: First at all, they didn’t use Helvetica as a base font for the signs. They created a new font, Trasport,
and it became a London’s Icon. The font has to be fast to print, legible in a long distance.
●
Motorway signage (1963):
Designer: Kinneir and Calvert
Characteristics: is a type of Akzidenz Grotesk. Sans serif. Low contrast. Very readable. White part of the signs
were reflectives. Background blue. The main aim was to reduce the information to the essence. Its name is
Transport.
●
Cifra 3 (1965):
Designer: Gino Valle (Industrial designer and architect)
Characteristics: it is a bestseller. It is minimalistic and it can be considered a classic post-war Italian design. It
is made of plastic. The numbers are in Helvetica. The numbers flip or rotate (they are like cards) and produce
an iconic sound which is different by the classic clicking.
PLASTIC FANTASTIC
(P350)
Plastic was the new entry of materials during the post-war period. The idea of this new material, very usable and
versatile, was appealing for the design world. Especially in Italy, designers decided to push a lot on this material, in
many fields (Olivetti Valentine is an example). By the mid late 1960’s plastic entered in the fashion and pop art scene.
They created a chair in a single plastic piece (they already tried to create chairs by a single plastic piece- like Aarnio’s
bubble chair- without success until the Panton Chair [vd dopo]). Plastic was considered the material of the future,
especially the ABS type. Then, the oil crisis in the Middle East made people realise how much they were dependent
on plastic. This did not make plastic disappear but it became less cheap.
●
Panton Chair (1960)
Designer: Panton (He wants to provoke people to use their imagination)
Characteristic: one single piece of plastic, bold, colourful, “sexy”.
●
Componibili Modules (1967):
Designer: Anna Castelli Ferrieri
Characteristic: plastic was still considered a poor material, but after designers like Anna this perception
changed. The Componibili were useful, produced with ABS and are still in production. Produced in pop
colours (white black and red)
●
Chimera floor Lamp (1969)
Designer: Vico Magistretti (he was quite strict but the Chimera is an example of his pop-oriented period: it is
more playful and creative)
Characteristics: icon of Italian design. Is an evocative object created (it was named after a greek monster
with 3 different features). Soft light.
SPACE AGE (P359):
Apollo moon landing in 1969: this event affected a lot the cultural and social environment. Space’s passion also
influenced design for as regards ideas, shapes and materials and colours. Italian designers were at the forefront of
technological developments in furniture and lighting during the 60’ (For example: Joe Colombo). The Apollo landing
inspired a lot of collections as the one of Squires and Palmer.
●
Ball chair (1963) Designer: Eero Aarnioà iconoclastic young designer. He experimented with plastic and
thought that design should look to the future and express ideas and interest of young people.
Characteristics: the chair reflects the space age: exploration of new limits. It became a cult. Sphere is a
natural progression of the cylinder, which was the previous iconic shape.
●
Concorde (1967) Designer: various. Characteristics: world’s first supersonic passenger aircraft. It was
stunning but not as efficient as other planes so its last commercial flight took place in 2003. Triangular
wings. Nose very sharp for technical reasons.
POP
(Pag 365)
factor as concept of disposability, growth of youth culture influenced the approach to design rejecting the old idea of
form follows function. Pop reached first media and graphic design before to come to furniture design and
architecture. Anyway, London was the epicentre of pop culture (The Beatles). The whole culture changed clothes,
colours, music and photography pop fashion and graphic design were ephemeral, and furniture instead was NON
HO CAPITO STA PARTE RILEGGI
●
Austin mini cooper S (1963)
Designer: Issigonis
Characteristics: It was meant to be a family car but it became a symbol of the swinging London (many
celebrities had it and loved it). BEFORE mini cooper S England was way behind other countries in the little
cars market. Not anymore. This car became a symbol and it was also proved successful as a rally and
formula one car.
●
Unikko (Poppy) textile (1964)
Designer: Maija Isola. Finland. Inspiration from nature and folk art. She worked for the company Merimekko.
Characteristics: Unikko is the response to a provocation (Ratia Armi said that the company did not have
floreal print)
●
Lytegem Lamp (1965)
Designer: M. Lax
Characteristics: geometrical shapes. Very “precise”. It is very useful thanks to the pointed light and to the
movable arm.
●
Blow Chair (1967)
Designer: various of Italian studio De Pas.
Characteristics: contrast with “traditional” Italian design only for rich people and opens the door to design
for everyone. It is made with sheets of PVC. It is light and playful, for outdoor, indoor and even pool. It is an
artefact, which is born from real people’s life.
THE MODERN CONSUMER
(Pag 374)
By the mid-1960s, a new group of middle class consumers had emerged in Britain; Europe and USA. This class
wanted immediate product availability, they were unsure of their taste etc. This new class opens the door to a new
kind of design. Who got that this could be a big source of income? Here two examples: Terence Conran and Ingvar
Kamprad. The first one created furniture shops where stuff were displayed in domestic settings and where
customers could go home with an entire kitchen or just with a teaspoon. He brought together traditional items with
modern design. The second one found Ikea. All the Ikea shops had the same “recipe”. It became very popular all over
Europe.
●
Carimate Chair (1960):
Designer: V. Magistretti (he played a key world in the reconstruction years in Italy)
Characteristic: Modern chair that impressed also Conran (he imported it in Britain). Wood made with bright
red colour on legs and back. It is the mirror of the new Italian society (modern, industrialized). It was created
near Milan for a golf club (Carimate).
●
Habitat Interior (1964)
Designer: Conran. He wanted to create a space where clients could find immediately what they wanted,
keeping the product appealing and desirable. He wanted to satisfy the new kind of clients (new class).
[Apart from that, he created the design museum]
Characteristics: wore uniforms for employees (design by Mary Quant), jazz music in the background,
appealing logo.
COUNTERCULTURE
(pag380)
(early 1960s It is a cultural phenomenon against the establishment (hippie).
Topics: Vietnam War, social and human rights, gender equality, civil liberties etc. hippies developed their own dresses
and style. Music was very determinating (Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Rolling Stones). Visual art mirrored this society
change. Especially graphic design with album covers and posters: a new “discovery” was psychedelia (strong
contrasting colours, crooked, deformed letters). This was influenced by art nouveau, Pop Art and op Art. Important
artists of this period were A. Mucha and A. Beardsley (posters as arts and not just as communication); M. Sharp
(Australian, posters and album for Dylan and other musicians); wes Wilson (lettering style); Jim Fitzpatrick (iconic Che
portrait.)
●
Bob Dylan Poster (1966):
Designer: Milton Glaser (he designed a lot of important icon such as I <3 NY)
Characteristics: it was the 3-4th poster of the artist but became super popular. The only world (Dylan) was
written in Baby Teeth font, which then became an icon of the period. Colored air is inspired by the art
Noveau’s style.
BACK TO THE PAST
(Pag 382)
In Europe, modernism began to be challenged by a growing interest in style and design of the past (like art Nouveau
and Deco). It started in Britain but then became important in USA too. Mass media had a huge part in this (thanks to
TV shows and movies like Bonnie and Clyde). Also, it was important the fact that after the War there were many
damaged houses and streets and at the same time a lot of “old” and historic houses were destroyed because they
were too expensive to maintain. So Britain needed a new start. Americans then adopted this style. The desire to
integrate the present into the past was not a short phenomenon.
●
Cottage Garden textile (1974)
Designer: Collier Campbell. She had a great talent for colour and she was inspired by nature.
Characteristics: Liberty of London (first clients) and then others (such as Saint Laurent) wanted her
drawings. It became the pattern of many fabrics and it was used for dresses, accessories and furnishing.
●
Cottage spring wallpaper (1981)
Designer: Laura. Ashley
Characteristics: “feminine” design, for interior different kinds of furniture or wallpaper. Inspired by nature
but reminds also waving kids.
THE APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE
(pag 390)
Now that the digital age is just around the corner, the format and the shapes of technology start to change:
everything becomes smaller and more compact (from cars, to commuter to calculator). Toyota gets what people
now want and create “corolla” which is a compact and “easy” car that became a bestselling car worldwide. Japanese
cars are dominating the market. In all the world cars improve their efficiency and safety (air bag). The appliance of
science is not only for cars: for example in Germany produce a new kind of washing machine.
●
Beolit 400 portable Radio (1970)
Designer: Jacob Jensen
Characteristics: the radio design is so cool and minimal that their function is not suddenly apparent.
Aluminium and plastic with glass cover. Design intelligent and neither pretentious.
●
Tizio Desk light (1972)
Designer: Richard Sapper
Characteristics: inspired Tolomeo desk light by Michele de Lucchi. It is described as masculine (“muscular”
and with a sort of tension) and “handsome”. It as an adjustable arm, which “fight” gravity. Available in grey
black and yellow. Very innovative and using 12 volt light (a new version is in led light). [Nelle lezioni Hoger
aggiunge che: La sua struttura è volutamente minimal (i fili sono nascosti nelle braccia) e prevalentemente
“aerea” perché non vuole prendere troppo spazio sulla scrivania. La sua forma è ispirata da delle macchine
per estrazione del petrolio. La sua connessione con Tolomeo Lamp è evidente ma non dal punto di vista
tecnico. Entrambe sono però della compagnia Artemide e hanno un design funzionale e simile.]
●
Volkswagen golf mk1 (1974)
Designer: Giorgetto Giugiaro
Characteristics: “Italy was poor so we had to work with the few things that we had” G.Giugiaro. It's a
minimalistic car but it was a huge success. It is a family car with confidence and character. It is born from
mathematic not from emotion, so it is very “scientific”.
CORPORATE IDENTITIES
(pag 398)
it was the Nazi Party to show the world the power of a unified corporate identity. A clear corporate identity became
crucial also in design groups: the first impression matters, especially in this field. The company identity usually
consisted in one or two words which must be configured in a way that is clear, distinctive and memorable with a
visual style that represents the company itself, the corporate identity, its business but also internal cohesion.
●
IBM Logo (1972)
Designer: Paul Rand
Characteristics: Rand wanted to explain his design decision to the employee with a corporate manual. He
gave the name a touch of “glamour” with the horizontal stripes (he used horizontal stripes because of the
security stripes on a banknote). He wanted to create something simple and clear, something that people
could trust since IBM's products were too complex to be understood by an average buyer.
●
Obi mascot (1987)
Designer: Javier Mariscal.
Characteristics: most successful mascot for an Olympic. Not traditional but referencing Spanish art and
culture. It was full of life and charm and loved by everyone. It is also inspired by Picasso’s works.
OBJECT OF DESIRE
(Pag 404)
How to convince people to buy new thing even if they don’t actually need them? You have to change the
perspective: wants, instead of need. The idea was to create new objects, which had to make the old models, seems
outdated even if they were still performing their job. The main colour became matte black: it became the base of
every technology type of product, all over the word. It gave the idea of seriousness and high quality. This trend also
affected the jeans market.
Slowly the “aura” that was connected with desire objects changed the idea that people had of designers. They were
not just only designers, they were now artists. The designer role became fundamental for the market.
●
Braun ET22 (1976)
Designer: Dieter Rams
Characteristics: aesthetically and functionally distinctive and it determined the next design direction. It was
made to be clear and useful, with black body and colourful buttons. Rams’ team wanted to create a high
technological and accessible object. Is connected to Bahaus from the concept: making thing that recede
into the background”
●
Walkman TPS-L2 stereo cassette player (1978)
Designer: Sony Corporation.
Characteristics: less appearance, more minimization of technology. It had great success in Japan and then
in the rest of the world. Easy and understandable. Marketing: it was very important to its success. Introduce
the idea of “Japaneseness' ' in the rest of the world (so small things and very high quality).
PUNK
(Pag 410)
Hippie era died with the ramones. The first Punk icon was the shop (in London) called Sex and owned by Mclaren
(the founder of Sex Pistols) and Westwood. Jamie Reid designed sex pistols’ graphics. The “marketing” of this kind of
music was deliberately amateurish and shocking. It was inspired by Russian constructivism. Women became much
more important. They were aggressive and violent ( the typefaces were oversized, of focus or of centre) everything
that creates chaos was ok (even pixelated photos)
●
Never mind the bollocks, Sex Pistols (1977)
Designer: Jamie Reid
Characteristics: it was shocking and grabbed everyone's attention. Bright colors (pink and yellow) and
impressive typography (the name of the band was like a collage with letters of a journal, as a blackmail
letter). It was loud and angry.
Chapter 5: CONTRADICTION & COMPLEXITY (1980-95)
POSTMODERNISM
In the early 1960s the Pop movement heralded a shift in values away from the tenets of modernism. - From then on,
design became increasingly driven by consumerism. - After the 70s design and designers became more aligned with
marketing, mass media, brand creation. Postmodernism broke with modernist tradition -- It operated as a high
cultural movement that critiqued the past and played with irony and skepticism towards popular culture and
western society. MEDIA= gave access to a range of lifestyles for the consumers. 80s-90s the culture of consumption,
with design at its centre, affected everyday life (shopping, tourism, buildings etc.) During this period it became
difficult to separate real from designed experiences. (p. 416)
Efforts were also made by manufacturing design. One of the most important groups in this context was the
Memphis Group, founded in the early 1980s and led by Ettore Sottsass. Began as an avant-garde activity and quick
transformed into a stylistic alternative to modernism Postmodernity -> importance of material goods-> related to the
context of consumption -> -> diede slancio to Memphis products like Sottsass’s Carlton room divider (p.418). However,
despite the intent to reach a wide audience, some objects have become bestsellers. Ex: First by Michele de Lucchi
(Memphis group). Many Companies (Alessi example) used the strategy to move its image forward and become
linked in its customer's minds with a cultural programme. That’s why during this period there were many
collaborations between renowned designers and architects, such as Aldo Rossi, Michael Graves, Robert Venturi etc.
Giving life to objects with a purely aesthetic function and not a utilitarian function. By the end of 80s -> Concept of
Postmodern Design became = Highly self-conscious use of decoration and stylistic quotation.
Memphis Group -> Sottsass gathered a group of young people: Michele de Lucchi, George Sowden, Martine Bedin,
Nathalie du Pasquier. -> AIM= create objects that would directly critique design modernism. Memphis Design =
simple, functional household furnishings (Ex: shelving systems, sofas, lights, ceramic artefacts) Rather they
reprioritize the role of design -> emphasizing meaning over utility. OCEANIC LIGHT - table light, Michele de Lucchi
1981. (p.419)
Alessi Whistling Bird Tea Kettle 1985 | Michael Graves
Design icon, the Kettle demonstrates many of Graves’s postmodern ideas in action. It has a cartoon look to it. In fact,
Graves worked on Disney theme parks and he was fascinated with the idea of bringing mass and high culture
together in one design.
-
ALESSI 9091 KETTLE - Richard Sapper, 1982. (p.421)
INDUSTRIAL CHIC
Some changes in the field of Design came out during the 80s. Industrial Chic started out as an anti-design
movement, promoting budget-conscious, do-it-yourself furniture and furnishings made from industrial materials.
Origin = late 1970s (from fashion for High Tech/High Tech architecture -> Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano etc... Inspired
by factory-style (steel structures) -> designers advocated the use of heavy-duty industrial materials and low-key
utilitarian products (steel lockers etc). Industrial decline and urban dereliction also played a part in fostering
Industrial Chic. Disused buildings were colonized by artists. ENGLAND, BEN KELLY - Haçienda Club, 1982. By using
low cost materials, adopting simple construction techniques, designers were able to create innovative furniture with
minimal capital outplay. Industrial Chic was very spread in Britain where it was less about simply reappropriating
existing products and more about exploiting industrial materials as a vehicle for new ideas. Nevertheless, we can find
different versions and ways of thinking/working into this movement. For example: Matthew Hilton and Jasper
Morrison associated Industrial Chic with more restrained minimalist design. Or, in the hands of maverick designers
such as Dixon, Industrial Chic was imaginative, playful and energetic. After few years, Dixon and Arad were both
being courted by leading European firms such as Vitra and Cappellini and hailed as the saviours of British design.
-
Rover Chair - Ron Arad, 1981
Arad moved from London from his native Israel in 1973. He got drawn into the design world after the success of his
Rover Chair. ( Idea taken by a seat of a Rover V8 car). Arad has always used industrial materials and techniques, such
as: tubular steel frame, low-cost solution, scaffolding poles, etc. Arad’s work later took a different direction and
became increasingly sculptural after he began fabricating chairs from welded sheet steel.
-
STEEL CHAIRS - RON ARAD, 1986 (p. 425)
STYLE BIBLES
1980s -> Deregulation of the financial markets = heightening competition between banks and lending institutions ->
The result was that for the people, it became easier than ever to get a loan or a mortgage. Trend change -> Property
values soared and saw working-class neighborhoods transformed by middle-class incomers. Fueling and reflecting
this trend was a boom in lifestyle publishing, highly illustrated books and glossy magazines targeting new
homeowners. Titles injected the fashion cycle into the realms of interior design, decoration, gardening and cookery.
In 1974 Terence Conran published his first House Book, an in-house training manual for the shop staff. In 1985 French
Style by Suzanne Slesin and Stafford Cliff was published. The first in the bestselling Style series. Hand in hand with
the success of lifestyle publishing went the increased prominence of the style-makers.After long careers at
magazines, these stylists were employed to prop catalogues for leading design firms, and their input had a
phenomenal impact on sales. Rover Chair - Ron Arad, 1981 STYLE BIBLES The rise of the style bible culminated in
Wallpaper, launched by Tyler Brûlé, 1996. Breaking the modul of the conventional ‘shelter’ magazine. 1991 -> World
Wide Web makes a lot of changes introducing the online magazine.
The Face Magazine 1980 - Nick Logan, Neville Brody. (p.428-29)
Launched in London in May 1980, it was a monthly independent music magazine. For the first time, music was seen
in the context of politics, street style, fashion and culture. Pages were heavily photo-led in the manner of a glossy
fashion magazine. The publisher was Nick Logan, a talented journalist from east London. The design of the magazine
was realized by Neville Brody. His style drew on the work of the Bauhaus, the De Stijl movement etc. They wanted to
create ambiguity and a flexible dialogue, and they aimed to be as creative as possible.
THE VIRTUAL DESKTOP
Early computers = large sizes and little importance to the interface. The first concept of a graphical user interface
(GUI) came from Vannevar Bush. He posited a memex computer, storing all a person’s documents, images and
memories linked by hypertext. Douglas Engelbart and his team created the oN-Line System (NLS) in the 1960s,
inventing the mouse, computer monitor and screen windows.... Icons and menus will be added later. Steve Jobs and
his Design team bring new things : the GUI designs for the Apple Lisa PC and Macintosh, while introducing
skeuomorphism to further reinforce the desktop metaphor. Microsoft with Windows 95, introduced the Start menu
and taskbar , which has better multi-application support and a more modern look. In 1988 NeXT computer, launched
by Steve Jobs, was powerful with an elegant and advanced GUI, 3D icons, submenus…
Microsoft Windows 3.0 Operating System 1990
Before Windows, Microsoft relied on its MS-DOS operating system (81’) but it wasn’t intuitive and required specialist
knowledge. That’s why they began work on a new operating system called Interface Manager ( renamed with
Windows later). Its original GUI could run multiple programmes simultaneously, and software like Paint, Calendar..
Later, Windows 2.0 introduced two core software : Excel and Word. The Face Magazine 1980 - Nick Logan, Neville
Brody. (p.428-29) THE VIRTUAL DESKTOP Microsoft Windows 3.0 Operating System 1990 Windows 3.0 (1990) was the
first truly successful Windows product for Microsoft. It featured a redesigned interface and improvements in speed
and multimedia support.
ThinkPad 700C -Richard Sapper, 1992. (p. 434)
Apparently nothing new, opening it up revealed surprises : a mysterious red nubbin and bright colour monitor.
Where other laptops were grey or beige with small monochrome screens, the 700C’s display was the big selling
point, because it was unheard of in a laptop and had been custom-developed by IBM. The ThinkPad series quickly
garnered more than 300 awards for quality and design.
-
TS 502 RADIO - RICHARD SAPPER & MARCO ZANUSO (P. 435)
PROBLEM SOLVING
Creative problem-solving has been the task of designers throughout history, and over the years it is an increasingly
complex skill to play. In 1970 Victor Papanek wrote about the social responsibility of design. This principle became the
theme of that decade and beyond, with increasing consideration of: ergonomics, efficiency, safety, and user-friendly
products. Ex.: AERON CHAIR 1992 During 80s-90s, computer era, there wasn’t only the need of creating new office
seating, desk etc, but also sophisticated programmes(CAD/CAM) helping the traditional hand-drawing.
Subsequently, greater awareness also took hold that design should address issues relating to the environment and
ecological concerns= role of designers as being a force for social good, not simply to design products for commercial
gain. 80s= Green issues= designers focus more materials and recycling.
-
EXAMPLES OF PROBLEM SOLVING (p. 437)
Brompton Folding Bike - Andrew Ritchie, 1988 (p. 438)
Inspired by the aluminium Bickerton folding bike (71’), Ritchie believed that a different metal and a different folding
bike would be more desirable to commuters and urban cyclists. After several prototypes he designed the final idea,
with small wheels, downward-pointing handlebars and hinges that folded the wheels inwardly, thus enclosing the
oily chain and chain wheel.
Good Grips Hand Tools - Davin Stowell, 1990 (p. 440)
Self-educated as a designer, Davin Stowell founded Smart Design in NY in 1980, the company became known for its
innovative thinking in relation, combining physical and digital. This set of smart kitchen tools was made on a special
request by industrial designer Sam Farber, as his wife suffered from arthritis. Main features of these tools: ergonomic,
oversized, black rubber handle with an extra flexible finger grip positioned close to the super sharp blade. Not only
easy but also visually appealing .
-
KITCHEN CLASSICS (p. 441)
Dyson Dual Cyclone DC01 - James Dyson, 1993. (p. 442)
In 1976 British engineer and inventor James Dyson had the idea of using cyclonic separation to create a vacuum
cleaner that would not lose suction as it picked up dirt. He became frustrated with his vacuum cleaner that
diminishing performance: the dust bag pores kept becoming clogged with dust thus reducing suction. The cyclone
idea came from a sawmill that used cyclone technology. Dyson’s revolutionary bagless vacuum cleaner first went on
sale in Japan, since he struggled to find a licensee in UK and US. Within eighteen months, it had become the
country’s best selling vacuum cleaner.
MINIMALISM
(p. 444)
After the overblown excesses of postmodernism, the 1990s saw a return to the basic principles of modernism.
Minimalism was a style like any other, but the difference was not that there was very little in the dressing-up box but
that the dressing-up box had been discarded altogether. Famed Designers as Mies van der Rohe, Dieter Rams
inspired this movement with this design thinking : prioritize function in favour of the honest expression of
materials.... Minimalism went a step further, resulting in highly refined designs.
-
INTERIOR MINIMALIST DESIGN * -> IMAGES P. 445
The most influential figure in minimalism, then and now, is British architectural designer John Pawson, his work
focuses on ways of approaching fundamental problems of space, proportion, light and materials (thinglessnes).
‘How High the Moon’ chair - Shiro Kuramata, 1986 (p. 446)
Kuramata was part of a generation that put Japan on the international design map. ‘How High the Moon’,
constructed entirely of nickel-plated steel mesh, has no supporting framework. which adds to its dematerialized
quality, as does the reflective sheen of the metal. Important design points are a number of tensions: between its
apparent ephemerality and its generous accommodating curves; and between the suggestion of solidity and a
material that is full of light and air.
FORM FOLLOWS FUN
(p. 448)
Early 1990s western world began to look more prosperous and more fun, and there was a lot of new real estate in
which to play. Sottsass and Memphis had already path away from the monochrome of modernism. In addition,
industrial designers were growing in stature to become owners of their own brands. Consumers began to be
interested in the designers’ characters and their jokes. Achille Castiglioni and his brother had, since the 60s, always
included elements of whimsy in their designs. They thought that the industrial design world lacked focus on the
important little pleasures of life. Leisure space became a major area for fun design too, such as at the fashionable
Sketch restaurant in London. Here, the pursuit of pleasure informs every design decision, and programme of
artist-conceived interiors rolls out biannualy.
Custom design=part of this design moment-era -> luxury, extravagance and exclusivity play major roles. Modernism
was= mass production, functional and affordable for everyone. This ‘funny-design’= create more limited editions at
high prices.
Spine Chair 1986 - André Dubreuil (p.450)
Light, airy and curvaceous, the Spine is a chair to be viewed and appreciated for its beauty, rather than one to be sat
in for long periods. The continuous flowing lines of the back and seat have a calligraphic quality: the chair looks as
much drawn as constructed.
PARIS CHAIR - ANDRÉ DUBREUIL - 1988
Antelope Table 1987 - Matthew Hilton
Long tradition of zoomorphism in furniture design (back to Egypt, Greece, Rome. Hilton’s Antelope table, a theatrical,
sculptural design, makes such hybridization more overt. For the design, Hilton combined traditions of craftsmanship
and hand making with techniques of mass manufacture (Ex: contrast of materials used).
-
HYBRID NO.1 P. 453
PORCA MISERIA! 1994 - Ingo Maurer (p. 454)
Inspired by the dramatic explosion in the last scene of the film by Michelang. Antonini. (1970) The light expres a
moment of frustration or possibly a nexus of anger in the most magical and beautiful way. He used white porcelain
dishes broken with a hammer and put it all together. The quality of the porcelain adds a breathtaking, translucent
glow to the light and a halo to the violence of the explosion.
-
LED WALLPAPER - INGO MAURER - 2011
DECONSTRUCTED TYPOGRAPHY
Jacues Derrida suggested deconstructing writing: to uncover its underlying structures and reveal how it affects the
way people read, write and think. US graphic designer Katherine McCoy drew upon philosophy and art theory to
produce work that blew apart typographic convention. Her compositions (posters) were often dense, chaotic, off-grid
affairs, with multiple layers of hierarchy and an unusual interplay between text and image, to make the reader aware
of the reading process. Such ideas reflected a mood of dissatisfaction with the bland, humourless, which meant that
the design world was receptive to new ideas and approaches. In typography, the resulting postmodern turn towards
playfulness and experimentation recalling the earlier 20th-century typographic innovators as Dadaists, Futurists...
The availability of the desktop computer was a key development, as it made the manipulation of typography possible
for any designer, in radical and creative ways previously impossible.
Typography As Discourse 1989 - Allen Hori (p.458)
Allen Hori’s poster, by discarding traditional page grids and text hierarchy, aims to present the content - ‘typography
as discourse’- through the form. There is no single way to read this piece. Words travel in multiple directions,
sweeping curves, miniature compositions.. Hori’s poster has an elegance, a compositional balance, and an almost
musical playfulness.
Template Gothic 1990 - Barry Deck (p. 460)
Deck’s typeface Template Gothic tries something different. It offers a direct challenge to the tenets of high
modernism by expressing and embracing the ambiguity and messiness that is human communication. He sought
to replicate its naive charm as a digital typeface, as well as the degradation that comes from repeated
photomechanical reproduction. He pushed this expressiveness to its limit
Ray Gun 1992-2000 - David Carson (p.462)
Carson is as close as typographic design comes to its own rock star. In 1992 he helped found the music magazine Ray
Gun. He took a non-academic approach to page design challenging its conventions in a markedly similar way. By
following his intuition, expressing himself and simply having fun, Carson gave voice and character to typography in a
way few have matched.
SUPERSTAR DESIGNERS
(P.464)
The 1990s saw designers become superstars, for example Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Karim Rashid, Christian Liaigre,
Tom Dixon, Marc Newson. Consumers associated these superstar designers with individualism. The concept of the
‘design icon’ also grew during this time. As public taste for design grew, flamboyance became a useful tool for
designers who needed to present themselves in ever more memorable ways in a competitive market.
Juicy Salif Lemon Squeezer- Philippe Starck, 1990 (p. 466)
Ranked among the greats of contemporary design. Well known for striking beauty not for purpose. Starck always
says: It is not meant to squeeze lemons, but to start conversations. Created for Alessi.
Quaglino’s Ashtray - Terence Conran, 1993. ( p. 468)
The ashtray seemed to endorse the pleasures of sophisticated smoking. Black versions were created for use as
cruets; identical in form, they were powder-coated in polyester. Conran used the strong calligraphic image of the
letter ‘Q’ everywhere and in many different occasions.
FOUND OBJECTS AND READY-MADES
(p.470)
Origin in the art world. Initially was an expression of paradox, irony and surprise but then environmental concerns
about waste and consumption had been added to the equation. First ever to embrace this movement were the
Castiglioni brothers. In the 90s the creative recycling field grew to incorporate designers such as Tejo Remy and
other designers and design fields over the years.
85 Lamps Chandelier 1992 - Rody Graumans (p.472)
Materials used are a minimalist’s idea of what might be needed to construct a chandelier. wires, connectors, bulb.
One detail that contributes a lot to the success is the ball of wire connectors at the top. New definition of luxury and
contemporary sensibilities.
Chapter 6: THE DIGITAL AGE (1955-present)
THE ONLINE REVOLUTION
(pag. 476):
The arrival of Internet and of the digital era modified a lot of design disciplines and created new ones (web design,
game design), all changes that are based on the requirements of the online communication. Machines and systems
that allows the internet network to work are invisible for us but exist and are fundamental: the millions of servers that
are located in bunkers or underground, the satellites that allows several services like geolocation or google maps, the
thousands of kilometers long wires tubes under the sea and the high antennas that allows the signal to be
transmitted are all huge facilities that let internet work and that are in a continuous evolution and diffusion. In
contrast, all the devices that we use to get in contact with internet and its services are extremely small and compact,
even if incredibly powerful. These devices are always simpler and allow users to do incredible actions with just a
touch, the process behind it is complicated and long, but for the user is invisible. The Birth of Internet: transferring
data between two locations via wires is not an internet invention but it’s what telegraphs have been doing since the
19th century. This kind of connection was only direct, meaning that a user could only connect with another user in
one channel at a time and the same happened for the first local area networks (LANs). In 1969 internet has burned:
the US Department of Defense developed the so called ARPANET, a system that allows a user to be connected at the
same time with multiple channels and machines. For the first years internet were mainly used for military purposes
but in 1989 Tim Burners-Lee a researcher at the European Organization for Nuclear Research created the structure
for what was called World Wide Web (that is technically what today we call as Internet), which is a digital portal that
allows users to move around different websites, pictures, video, texts, graphics and audio using hyperlinks that are
globally identifiable thanks to the URL system. He also developed a language that is able to build these websites
called HTML and a system that allows browsers to communicate with servers. However internet had its real success
in the 2000s in particular with the diffusion of the mobile-cellular technology. Internet changed society’s habits and
it is a technology in constant evolution.
Verdana (1996): designed by the English Matthew Carter who also worked for Wired, The Washington Post and for
the redesign of the New York Time Magazine logo. Verdana is a font that has been developed for the Windows
browser Internet Explorer 3. Before that time for writing in the digital format were used anagogic typefaces adapted
for the digital use. Verdana first and Georgia then has been the first fonts to be developed for the digital use and
readability which requires different characteristics in comparison with classic typefaces. X-height is bigger, letters are
larger and there are no serifs since older screens’ low quality was not able to show small details.
Microsoft Xbox (2001): a game console designed by Microsoft which had to include inside itself a small and powerful
computer which was based on the already existing Windows 2000 operating system. That could allow users used to
windows computers to learn quickly how to use Xbox too. The very revolution for this console was the ethernet port
that with an internet cable allows players to play online with other players, a thing that before was possible only with
a PC. It was also possible to download data via internet and to have a good amount of memory space so as to avoid
the use of disks. The design of controllers had been studied for having a maximum grip and a quick use of the
buttons.
Minecraft (2009): An unusual game with an unusual look and design: the Minecraft world is based on cubes and
everything in the game looks cuby or made by cubes like figures and tools. The game is based on the surviving
mode where the player can construct buildings for living or facilities for making food or growing animals. The
materials needed for the building have to be taken from the surrounding environment and then using the crafting
table is possible to use them. The game algorithm does not allow two players to live in the same world, except they
connect with the same code, so it is able to create infinite possible layouts for players to explore. Minecraft has sold
more than 70 million copies.
TECHNOLOGY ON THE MOVE
(pag. 484)
designing cellular phones has always been an incredible challenge: every hardware has to be inserted in a small
body in a thought scheme, the battery has to last and the keyboard needs to be ergonomic, the body has to resist to
climate conditions and the screen has to be readable. The first idea of portable telephones arrived in WW1 by the
germans that used huge handbags where put inside the phone. In 1973 the first cellular phone was invented by
Motorola, it was huge and had a small screen. These kinds of cellular phones were mainly used by businessmen but
with the arrival of the Nokia 5110 in 1998 their diffusion in the population has started. The innovations arrived soon
with the 3G release and the first cameras and e-mailing services in the phones. This huge, quick, and continuous
innovation had subsequently as a result the invention of the smartphone in the mid 2000s. In 2007 Apple launched
iPhone, an incredible object that introduced the digital keyboard and that was able to offer different services in only
one product that before were made using different devices (listening to music, e-mailing, surfing in internet,
downloading and sharing data, messaging, softwares installing). It was not a new concept but Apple developed it
and put everything into a thin and intuitive device which was also for the first time a piece of design: good looking,
ergonomic, made by high quality materials. Also the operative system was made for being simple, easy to
understand and nice. With the launch of iPhone a revolution in the industry started: Apple has indicated the road for
the future and all the competitors followed the same direction designing smartphones that were innovative
regarding the technological field but also good looking. This revolution also involved other devices such as laptops,
tablets and e-watches. This revolution gave space also to another field: app design.
Nokia 5110 (1998)
the Nokia company was incredibly able to incase all the technology hardwares into a small end ergonomic case.
Their cellular-phones were well designed: the distance between the microphone and the earpiece was comfortable,
the screen was big for the period and easy to read; the keyboard was made with translucent buttons with a good
grip, easy to be seen and used in any condition. In the 5110 Nokia introduced the possibility to customize the case
whose cover could be easily removed and substituted by another one colored with another color.
Amazon Kindle (2007)
designed by a company commissioned by Amazon, a website born as a bookseller. The kindle is a digital device that
allows users to read books on a huge screen that is able to be seen even in low light conditions. The power demand is
very low and the storage allowed to collect several books that could be downloaded via internet thanks to the 3G
connection, every in a thin and handy body. After the launch of the first Kindle, Amazon has continuously released
new designs and in 2010 for the first time e-books had sold more copies than paper ones.
Uber (2010)
With the arrival of smartphones another high tech field has burned: app design and developing. Apps are able to
combine the hardware of the smartphone and the network connectivity, and when this connection is successful and
the idea behind the app is useful, applications can transform an entire industry, Uber is a good example. Uber is an
app that offers a taxi service in a really personal way. With Uber you know at what exact time your taxi will arrive in
your position and how long the ride will take, you also know which model of car will be your taxi. The Uber drivers are
self-employed and do their job thanks to a separate application (UberPartner) which also allows the whole algorithm
to work. Uber prices for a ride are extremely low.
DEVELOPMENTS IN PLASTIC
(pag. 494)
Also in 21th century plastic is probably the most used material in design and we can find it everywhere. It can be
used to experiment and to easily reach the desired functionality. It is extremely versatile: it can be hard or soft,
colored, opaque or translucent. Its cheap costs also produce big scales. Recently designers also started to work not
only on the design of plastic but on its chemistry composition too, finding the perfect material for the project.
However plastic is also a huge problem regarding pollution and recycled plastic is not often used since its quality is
lower than the original plastic material. Unfortunately the only solution is using less plastic in the projects and an
example is the Air Chair by Jasper Morrison: using gas injection, such an expansive technique, has been possible to
push plastic on the edges. In that way it was possible to have thicker parts where the chair needs to support more
weight and thinner parts (so less plastic) in the other parts.
Air Chair (2000)
designed by Jasper Morrison for italian firm Magis. Made by polypropylene distributed in the modus thanks to gas
injection technique that distributed plastic in an efficient way. It allows to have more material only In the parts where
the chair needs to support weight and less in the other parts, a fact that reduced the production costs for the
material by 30%. The chair is robust and durable, it sold in different color options so it is possible to create an
assortment. The chair has a simple design and smooth shapes and material at the touch, it is an icon of
contemporary design.
Myto Chair (2007)
designed by Kostantin Grcic is a chair made by one single plastic element with a material PBT that allows the chair
to be really strong. In fact it is a cantilever chair that means a chair that has no back legs to support weight.
Designing a cantilever chair is an incredible challenge but the Myto chair succeeded: it is a comfortable and strong
piece of design and has a performed seat and back that reminds animal skin. The shapes are smooth and the
passage between the thicker and thinner parts is elegant. The chair is also light and flexible.
SHOCK TACTICS
(pag. 500)
like always happened also in the 2000s upcoming designers questioned about the work of their predecessors. The
1980s has been a period of materialism and triumph of style over substance. In 1993 a Dutch collective of design
called Droog with the objective of promoting conceptual design. They wanted to concentrate on the head of design
on the ideas and concepts rather than stile and final perfect products. They created objects that could look
unfinished, rough and crude for the design mainstream standards and that could look more as art pieces. Their
works also use materials and techniques that are not perfect for example recycled materials that have however a
good meaning for the fight against pollution and of extreme consumerism. Their works often shock and provocation
in who is seeing them. Works by Droog have been exposed in several art exhibitions and galleries.
Airborne Snotty Vase: Influenza (2001)
This vase is part of a series of five designs, each of them has a name of a disease of the nasal cavity. Its shape is from
enlarged images of a 3D scan of a human sneeze. The fluid irregular form is made thanks to 3D printing with a
technique called rapid prototyping that usually is used for building models and not the final object like in this case.
The material used is plastic.
Kalashnikov AK47 Table Light (2005)
designed by Philippe Starck. This table lamp’s base is in the form of a Kalashnikov AK47 assault fire made of
aluminum and covered by 18-carat gold. The top part, where the gun points, is black and symbolizes death. This
design piece provocated people but it is a symbol of the relationship between war and money (since wars are
massively expensive). Philippe Starck said that since he is a designer, design is his only weapon so he uses it to speak
about what's important for him. Stark together with the company that distributed this lamp, the Italian brand Flos,
decided to devolve part of the money arrived with the selling of the collection to charity organizations.
NEW BRITISH DECOR
(pag. 506)
Until the 19th century patterns were diffused for house decoration but in the 20th century the advent of minimalism
and simplicity reduced a lot the use of patterns. In the 21th century this trend came back and with the arrival of
digital printing and digital softwares new road on wallpaper was opened. Designers started again to think about
wallpapers and they experimented a lot playing with computer softwares, digital printings and materials. A big trend
was using wallpapers as modified images of objects such as chairs or clothes. The digital technology allowed us to
print on new materials like laminates and tiles. This new trend opened the road also to decorative design.
Garland Light (2002)
This lamp is part of a collection of decorative design with references to leaves, animals and flowers. This lamp is made
by pieces of cute with a laser by an extremely thin sheet of metal and the design took inspiration from the birth of
the designer's daughter. The floral and romantic ornament around the light creates a unique ambience different to
conventional light.
Glasgow Toile (2002) by Paul Simmons and Alistar Mcauley
designed by the design collective Timorous Beasties that gave a breath of fresh air into British wallpapers which at
the time were predictable and not creative. This toile uses composition and colors of the 18th century to represent
21th century social problems. At a first look it can appear as a classic toil but a closer look will explain everything and
show the contrast. With this work Timorous Beasties wanted to use wallpapering not only as a decoration but also as
a way to communicate and to grab people’s attention.
HAND-ON DESIGN
(pag. 512)
Together with decorative design another field of design that came back popular in the 2000s is craft. With the
evolution of the automation of machines and production in the 70s craftsmen broke with industrial design which
became more and more automatized. With the beginning of the 21th century the level of automation and
digitization were higher than ever and so objects made by hand have begun to be considered as authentic and
unique. A lot of designers started to experiment in craft and then implemented the results and the knowledge
reached in the industrial production too. Globalization has also helped in the come-back of craft: in the past some
skills were located in some areas of the world of Europe only and could not be diffused in the whole planet.
Smoke Series (2002-2004)
This series by Maarten Baas is composed by products where some components are the result of burned objects. For
example the wood of the structure of the chair is burned and his roughness goes in contrast with the old gothic style
of the seat. This series can be seen as a critique of the society's wastefulness.
Favela Chair (2003)
designed by Campana brothers. He took inspiration from the favelas neighborhoods of Brazil where inhabitants use
whatever they find to build their houses putting all the elements in a chaotic way but that makes everything stable.
In fact this chair can look chaotic but every piece is positioned with a certain order. The original prototype was made
by recycled wood but now in production it is made by strips of untreated wood. The complexity of the design and of
the material make the production of this chair a massive process.
100 chair in 100 days (2005-2007)
a work by Martino Gamber, a designer that combined design, craft and art and that wanted to create things out of
other things. In this work he collected hundreds of pieces of old furniture mainly chairs and built 100 new prototypes
combining these elements. It is interesting and unique the use of apparently incompatible elements together. He
created strange ideas and hybrids but gave with this work the idea of trying and experimenting through craft.
DESIGN WITH A CONSCIENCE
(pag. 520)
this concept definition is: design with the objective of solving problems and needs for people who don’t constitute
an economic market. As an example of this kind of needs there are several issues in Africa such as medical cares,
instruction or poverty. The main aim of this design field is extreme functionality instead of beauty and perfect shapes
or materials, and also to maintain the costs low. This design has also to consider that often some conditions in the
areas where it works are different such as the lack of electricity or water. Other users of design with a conscience are
people with a disability. This kind of design is not only focussed on objects only but also in systems and
infrastructures like the ones that for example allow to produce green electricity.
One Laptop per Child (2006)
this project has the objective of producing a low cost laptop for African schools. It is extremely simple and robust to
accidents, its battery is designed to have a long life and a solar panel powers it. The screen is made by low power
requires LEDs, the antennas are double and the ports are USB only. The project has been a huge success and
allowed children to have access to internet, such a fundamental source nowadays.
SUSTAINABILITY
(pag. 524)
sustainability is a current word listened everywhere and even in the field of design which in particular represents the
concept of Sustainable Development: a development that matches the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. We live in a world where problems such as air
pollution, water waste, and plastic pollution are important and urgent and design is somehow trying to consider
them when creating products acting in its materials or production or even putting sustainability at the center of the
project and creating. Despite this fact in the past design has always been unconcerned about sustainability creating
objects made for being wasted after a use or packaging full of plastic and paper.
Solar Tree Street Lamp (2007)
This street lamp uses a solar panel to power itself. It is not the first to introduce this concept but it's the first that was
also aesthetically appealing. Its color and curves on the tubes remind the Art Nouveau style. The lights are made by
LEDs which require low power. The lamp has also a battery that is able to store energy and to allow light even in
certain times of day and year. The lamp is also able to regulate the intensity of the light depending on the lighting
condition and it has got a sensor for switching on and off. The problem of these kinds of objects is that they usually
are awful and so never used in an urban environment.
Cabbage Chair (2008)
this chair is made of pleated fabric one near the other and that are held together by a big tape ring under the seat.
The born of this shape was quite random, the Japanese designer Nendo just started to unroll a paper roll after having
done a cut and the result was something incredible. The final product is made by fabric sheets cutter and putted
one above the other creating a cabbage-like effect. The concept behind it was to represent the waste of paper and
the chair has been produced in several variants with several tonalities of the fabric sheets.
MODERN RETRO’
(pag. 530)
In design history always happened that the first new generation regretted previous trends but then these trends
came back to be used again. It usually starts with the conservation of older objects in museums and public spaces or
in the families as well. In particular in the 1980s revival of Art Deco and Art Nouveau were trendy and in the 1990s
came back trends referred to mid-century modern styles, these trends continued for the whole new millennium, till
our days. This trend is called modern retro and can be described as an historic moment in which cultural and artistic
vanguards started to look backwards instead of forwards. After the turn of the millennium what was identified as
“modern” was then called “retro”. Retro is not a sudden stop during the evolution process of art and design, but it is a
new way of seeing and understanding the world. The modern retro trend can also be seen as a way of going against
what’s new and virtual or a way to create contrast by putting retro objects into a super new and high tech world. It
can also be a way of showing how older-style objects can last in the time instead of the newer ones which are often
fragile and have a shorter life, or showing how older objects work actually equally or even better than the newest
ones on the market.
Fiat 500 (2007)
this project is a new design car model of the italian icon Fiat 500 from 1957 which was a small four seat car. The new
500 is bigger than the original one and uses the few spaces inside the car in a better way. The shapes of the new 500
are gentile and rounded, remanding to the ionic shape of the original 500. The headlights of the new model are
rounded reminding the 50/60s trends of making car lights round (the old 500 did it as well). Also the chromed
handles, mirrors and other details remind to the trend of having chromed parts in cars in 50/60s. The revival of the
Fiat 500 is part of a trend that has been popular in the 21th century, the trend of redesigning icon cars that originally
were from the mid 20th century.
Roberts RD60 Revival DAB Radio (2008)
Roberts is an English company established in 1932 that designed icon objects in the field of radio. In particular in
England the demand has been high and its success blew up abroad too after being part of a famous Martini
advertising. However the success stopped with the arrival of new technologies and mediums in the late 20th
century. But in 2008 the company that bought Roberts decided to revive an icon, the RD60 Radio reproducing it
faithfully in all the components: the iconic carrying handle, buttons control, casing color and materials and the gold
plating in the grid, in the company name and other details.
Penguin Clothbound Classic (2008)
It is a series of books published since 2008 the most iconic novels of literature. For the cover of these books the
designer Caroline Bickford-Smith decided to use an old style graphics that reminds of Victorian trends. The print of
the cover is on fabric and the layout of the covers of all the books of the series is the same and the grid works well to
create a sort of continuity and union between all the cover designs. The graphics and the color used both refer to
important moments or topics of the novel in the book. The font used is from 1722 and works perfectly with the whole
style.
THE PUBLIC REALM
(pag. 538)
This term refers to the public areas, which are a common good symbol of freedom and socialization. Since the 1970s
a lot of cities started to implement more public areas, in particular walking paths, in the streets stopping the
previous trend of building roads and encouraging cars to move through them. In the following decades public
spaces dedicated only to pedestrians became more and more diffused and designers have been playing a crucial
role in this transition. Transport design allows pedestrians to move in a better and efficient way, urban design creates
urban areas where cars, houses and people can cohabit and industrial designers design street furnitures such as
street lamps, benches or bins where simplicity is the key to success. These facilities can also often have multiple
functions and be mixed together. Public art is also a trend nowadays and allows public spaces to become culturally
appealing and original and as well; in addition a well designed and beautiful public space is more used to be full of
people and to work in a right way. These spaces also encourage inner city living and walking and cycling rather than
driving which is always a positive fact for the planet and for the air quality of the city.
Dash Fence (2007)
It is a fence designed for the Design and Architect School of Miami (DASH). This dance is not regular and the 400
bars of metal of different shapes create an effect of ocean ripples which are an icon of Miami’s landscape. These bars
are also able to play with light and allow you to see through the fence only if walking near it and if positioning the
view parallel in respect of some of the metal frames. Usually fences are minimalistic and badly designed, but in this
case we have an amazing result that is good looking and that also talks about the mission of the building that is
surrounding. The production has been difficult since the prices of metal are different from each other and high
precision was required.
Routemaster (2012)
The routemaster bus in the iconic double floors bus from London. The original, designed by London Transport In
1954, remained in use since 2005 when because of safety reasons it has been decided to end its long career.
However, in 2012 the city transport company decided to introduce a revival of the model that was faithful to the icon.
The design is by Heatherwick Studio and the result is a 3 meter longer bus than the original one with an hybrid
engine and remarkable design: shapes are curvier and softer in respect of the original model, but give a sense of
continuity and the color chosen is red. Security is now ensured and the rear opened platform can be closed in case of
need. Windows are huge and offer plenty of light and in particular the front window of the top floor is continuous
through the edges and is inclined in order to allow a better visibility to the pilot. The central door can be ramped too,
to allow wheelchairs and children buggies to get on.
3D Printing (pag. 544)
The advent of plastic had freed designers from material limitation, but the arrival of 3D printing has opened wider
horizons: with this technique it was possible to create forms and shapes that before no existing method could do. It
became also possible to build inner parts of objects and to build really small models or components. The
mind-blowing fact was that everything could be done just with a clic: after having created the project on the
computer and had communicated it to the 3D printer, work for the designer was finished and the machine did the
rest. The diffusion of 3D printing has been a revolution for the design manufacturing because the quick and no craft
abilities requiring process could allow to reach incredible results and to reproduce easily any kind of shape. On the
other hand, this new technique also brought changing in the copyright fields since it was now more simple to
reproduce already existing designs. First the technique was able to work only with plastic but now also with other
materials like wood, metal and glass. 3D printing is used in design for doing models but also proper products, but it
is also used in other fields such as in medical sciences for the production of pacemakers or prosthesis that fix the
body perfectly. The arrival of 3D printing has been described also as the way of democratization of design since it was
easy for everyone to produce objects; however the knowledge behind design and correct use of 3D printing
techniques and machines are still huge. There are several techniques of 3D printing and new ones will be discovered
in the following years since this technique is in constant development and it was just born.
Portland Vase (2012)
It is 3D printed in nylon that has as a source the Portland Vase which is the famous masterpiece cameo glass vessel
dated back to the Roman Empire. Historians estimate that the original Portland Vase has been built in two years of
time. It is iconic and has been copied and sold several times during history. The Portland Vase has simpler color
(black and white) in respect of the original one (violet, blue and white). The decoration is also simplified and
sometimes missing too. The shape of the vase is made by several flat and simple polygons put all together one near
the other: this is the result that computers reach when attempting to reproduce ellipsoids in 3D.
Steampunk 3D-Printed Guitar (2013)
this project was to take a classic top-quality guitar and redesign its body using 3D printing. The design is made by
nylon and its unique: it is composed by a grid on the surface and under that a pattern of gears that are able to rotate
as well. There has been a lot of attempts to reach the perfect results for the dimension of each gear since 3D printing
is not always that precise. Despite skepticisms by musicians, this guitar is able to play and sound an original one, due
to the fact that all the components that influence the sound remain the authentic ones. This guitar’s body is finished
with an airbrushed treatment made by hand that gives a sense of roughness, burn and rusty.
3D-Printed Vertebra (2014)
this project has been done for a 12-years old boy that, due to a malignant tumor, had to remove the second neck
vertebra which is quite important and delicate since it allows our head to rotate and move. Usually the conventional
substitution of this vertebra requires a log period where the patient is not able to move his head and eventually the
complete reacquisition of the original movement is not guaranteed. This 3D titanium printed vertebra is first of all
customized for the patio end and offers a perfect fit in place and requires less infrastructure to remain stable.
Moreover, it is made by a honeycomb-like structure that allows bone to grow through it. This 3D printed vertebra
offers a faster rehabilitation and the possibility to be able again to execute the natural movements of the head.
MY HORRIBLE BEAUTIFUL CLIENTS - MICHELE DE LUCCHI
Michele De Lucchi was born on the 8th November 1951 in Ferrara and he is an Italian designer,
architect and an academic. He graduated in Florence and then he became the assistant of the
designing course of Adolfo Natalini in the Architecture University of Florence where he came in touch
with the radical design and with those principals he founded the Cavart Group. The story talks about
the relationship between him and the concept of clients.
“IL CHIOSO”
After Florence he moved to Angera, in Lombardy where he owned a Studio, “Il Chioso”. The name comes from the
collocation of some ancient stone walls that were used to protect the population of Angera. Some years later after
being a hen house and a warehouse was forsaken and taken by De Lucchi that has transformed it in his studio. The
atmosphere here is very likely the same of a monastery. The main part of the studio is the big wooden table and
here he worked alone and he used this space as a refuge where he could think about his projects. Here he could
work free, without any business commitments, he could draw and paint, create models and sculptures, he could
photograph his objects and admire all his projects because inside the Chioso there is the archive of all his works.
THE VIA VARESE 15 STUDIO
Then In Milan he works in a calm Office that he likes to call a living organism that needs to be changed very
frequently. This type of behavior can be hard to maintain but it’s necessary to give enthusiasm at who works inside.
To improve the imagination he likes to enlarge the photos of their works because he thinks that imagination is the
best energy that we own.
FREE HAND DRAWING
A very important part of his work was the free hand drawing, and how passionate he was about it. He said that
almost certainly the choice of making this work was the hope to draw everyday. This passion surely comes from his
Architecture studies when at that time all was done by drawings and the mood of his first studio in Florence was so
personal and so arranged to give birth to new projects made by drawings. Now he says that all is replaced by
computers and that the technology is so fast that you’re not able to get closer to a machine that suddenly they take
it away from you. His 47 sketchbooks are the thread of logic that take together all his works and that makes possible
to understand his changes and evolutions. An important advice that he wants to give to the newborn designer is
that surely it’s important to give a virtual aspect of what we think but the emotions that gives to you watercolors and
pencil drawings are incomparable.
GEOMETRY AND FREE HEAD
In a world where concreteness and partiality takes off the freedom of the future, he tries to make an abstract
research to give freedom to new ideas. He does this with geometry that is a mathematical subject but also a mental
behavior that today we don’t use very much because of the use of the computers. He returns to think with easy
geometrical shapes in a whole summer and that gives to him the opportunity to identify a word that is not real but
that can exist, not knowing when and how.
THE CEREMONY
Talking about photography he thinks that the camera has the power to split two realities and times. In the field of
design the power is to split the time of ideation with the time of the effective existence. The end of the projectual
phase in the private sphere and the beginning of the realization process in the collective sphere where you’re not the
one who judges.
HOUSES
Sharpening the pencils he comes across the wood and how he likes to engrave it. So he starts to work with the
chainsaw but with the delicacy that he gives to his drawings, with casual effects but never mechanical ones. His tiny
houses made with wood of dead trees are made with chainsaw brushstrokes.
THE FIRST CLIENT, MISS PERSONALITY
The theme of personality grew up in De Lucchi because he is a twin and for all his life he tried to reach his personality
trying to be completely different from his brother. The first thing that he hadn’t in common with his twin was the
beard and the fact that he studied architecture and his brother chemistry. Growing up they meet each other more
frequently and in the end they find a lot of common arguments in both subjects, so they decided to make
conferences to compare their projects. Making a project is about creating differences, so when we search for our
personality we all become designers.
THE SECOND CLIENT, MISTER TIME
After 1968 there was a radical change in the society, in the culture and in the art. There were the first revolts and
strikes and the Venice University of Architecture was one of the first one where those events happened so his father
decided to take him to the University of Florence, hoping to take him away from those happenings. Here he was
surrounded by ancient monuments and the radical architecture and unfortunately in 1969, his first year of university
the revolutionary mood arrives also there and he came across the conceptual art, the type of art that brings the
social consciousness in a form of ‘’non-art’’, they doesn’t produce art pieces but they tried to investigate on the
sense of making art and on the social role of the artist. In architecture the radical movement wanted to awake the
consciousness of the architect for the new technological and social era that he was living. The new approach of the
architecture was interesting for him because it was made of an interdisciplinary conception that used images,
models, video and performances. To design is necessary to feel the time pass and feel clear the stoical moment that
belongs to you.
THE SPEECH OF DESIGNER IN GENERAL
September 20, 1973. In a performance in the triennial of Venice he took a speech on Designer in general and he
talked about how designers were paid to make people leave in the beauty, the comfort and in the functional. The
designer is occupied in finding the equilibrium between the artistic beauty and the natural beauty, trying to defend
nature and making this defending also the human itself. He also said that people have to leave technology to
designers that know how to use it properly to make the most out of it without making it become dangerous. This
type of speech was an impersonation of the terrifying image of the designer that all ‘’General Architect” that from
the above choses all and commands everybody and everything.
CAVART
It means “art of the caves”. It reminds of the verb “to dig” because in those areas of the Euganean hills some –trachite
was extrapolated and had left holes in the hills. With this project they want to defend the landscape, the caves and
transform the theme of economic speculation in cultural speculation.
HOMO TRABENS, international meeting of Cavart
The Figure of the “general Architect” was exceeded in this meeting, held on an old railway bridge. The new figure
was able to be more prepared to take in consideration thoughts and ways of doing things, thinking about how to
take life, and never forget about culture, because architecture is always pulled by arts. Architecture was really
complex and Cavart had the intention of making it more simple in a way by proposing a simplification. Some time
later he organized a seminar on a hill near Florence trying to stimulate creativity, and they saw an increase of people
participation and a less technological energy.
THE CARRIAGE
They created a carriage, and to make this they tried to synthesize all the house architectural spaces to arrive at the
concept of habitability. The new concept of this object was not to make it as its usual use (the carriage was used to
transport the rich people from the slaves) but was meant like a tiny house. The very aim of this project was to design
something without intimidation. He wanted to create an object that helps people understand that designing is
something simple and that we do it everyday without even knowing. It doesn’t matter why and where we have to do
a tiny house without foundation but the important thing is to create it making it clearly comprehensible that it’s a
tiny house, using the principal symbols of furnishings like doors and windows. In these types of events the energy
was extremely playful and new, with the awareness that something like that wasn’t ever seen in architecture before.
STILTS
This project hadn’t relationship with a real need. It was a stilts that were able to stand without the need of walking.
The idea behind was the hypothetical need of walking on the earth after a terrible happening that brings people to
be unable to walk in contact with the ground. He also put some house objects on there like some Photos, an
umbrella on the top and a jute bag as a seat.
DECADES OF DESIGN
After ten year of abstract projects all of them started to draw buildings and objects. The design is characterized by
decades, we don’t know why but it’s an effective way to divide it. The funny thing is that it seems that designers wait
the end of the decade to change style. He says that very frequently we lose the sense of dimension and we’re not
able to distinguish what is permanent and what is temporary.
ALCHEMY
When he moved to Milan in 1978 there was this type of studio, Alchimia, that instead of doing radical architecture
does objects. This studio was for him the studio of the turning point where from the abstracts of conceptualism you
could arrive at the concreteness of design. Here Alessandro Guerriero and his team took the projects of the radical
architects and transformed them into products. The studio suddenly became the perfect space for De Lucchi to
create something new, so here he starts his first project that needed to have the function but necessary also a story
behind. In the end, all these reasons led him to create a lamp that reminds a flower that goes around a pole. Without
knowing, this was the starting point to the creation of Memphis.
MISS A-VANGUARD
The word is becoming bigger but smaller at the same time and in this way we tend to lose ourselves in the big and
in the small. In a chaotic night of 1979 in the mini apartment of Ettore Scottsass was born Memphis. The aim was to
understand that communication is about capturing the contemporarily of tomorrow and knowing that architecture
and design are communication. With Memphis they designed seven collections from 1981 to 1987.
MISS INDUSTRY
In 1979 Ettore Scottsass wanted that they were linked together in the Olivetti. What makes the Italian Design good is
the ingeniousness, the intelligence, the tenacity and foresight of businessmen that in reality had economically
supported it. But designers and businessmen couldn’t reach success without craftsmanship. The skills of all the
artisans are very present in a lot of prototypes of high quality.
The industry is all the best and the worst that we have, and he knows that to project you have to love industry even if
it’s not that simple. In ancient times the role of the artist was the power to show the beauty of nature, in those
today's role of designer is to show the beauty of the industry.
LIGHT AND LIGHTS
The favorite product of De Lucchi is the lamp because of both technological innovation and research on lifestyles.
Light is made from a lot of pieces but the importance is given by the all. As in nature the sunlight gives us different
perceptions depending on where we are and when at the artificial lights is given the importance to help us to feel
well. For example we use it to recognize us in the places where we meet and use it in the best way during the night's
hour. Even the simplest lamps that we use are constantly combining the best of technology with the most recent
meanings that we give at life.
MISTER BUSINESS
What we built in hundred of years is what today we call industry. Until ancient times what humanity did was to
create solutions to live better in society, then he built a chain made up by design, production, communication, selling
and consuming. So Mister business is the freedom to choose in the industrial civility. Everyday we choose without
knowing. We choose what to buy, to do, to think and how to look like. What defines the final result of this process is
the effectiveness of the selling and choosing part. Our choice is the crucial point for the evolution, our consumerism
is constantly growing and what we choose to not choose could be highly dangerous for the planet. So the world
changes based on the quality of the behavior of the society. From here: the design, that is the thing we are all talking
about but no-one knows what it is in reality. Design is an intermediary of quality, is the subject that teaches to grow
knowledge and curiosity for good and beautiful things, and also the consciousness of the importance of industry in
the evolution of society.
THE PRIVATE COLLECTION
After Memphis Sybille and De Lucchi started to work for their private collection. In Memphis people didn’t
understand the research and experimental aspect of Memphis so De Lucchi was searching for those aspects in the
new design projects. He also thinks that the architect has the role of the intellectual, able to give value at the good
things that we have, for example craftsmanship. For this reason “collezione private” began. In this project he wants to
follow and make real his thoughts. The idea is to give importance to the craftsmanship that with his traditional
techniques is able to create human quality that the industry can not. This little company has seven laboratories each
one dedicated to one particular material or concept. Here they create unique objects in collaboration with artisans.
The original thing is that all the work of “collezione privata” are experiments, so a lot of products are made in tiny
series and they are sold for a not very long time .
MISTER HANDICRAFT
The difference between those two counties is in the power of the handicraft to develop in different ways due to
where and how it grows. What characterizes the handicraft word is that every mistake is a new skill, in the industry
instead, is really dangerous because the damage will affect all the society (for example a company that fails will
damage all the employers).
MISS EXPERIMENTATION
This phase is extremely important because it gives you the freedom of making mistakes and gives you also the
opportunity to find reasons to don’t do them anymore. Experimenting is the power to grow the expansion of the
universe that will never stop. Because even if we have 15thousand of chairs there will always be space for other
infinite numbers of chairs.
MISTER SPACE
Here he wants to go deeper in the concept of office. What makes an office different from a restaurant or our home?
An office must be a place where your imagination turns on that gives you curiosity and that stimulates the
relationship between others and ourselves. The office is the place where we can realize our ideals, so the studio is our
ideal. The space is an exigent client because he is always unsatisfied. What he likes the most is the atmosphere, like
what we see outside the windows, the cleanliness and the road you have to make to arrive.
The ideal of the office is an uncultivated space where you can let grow what is strong enough. What De Lucchi does
in his studio is to mix different experiences letting grow together architects, designers, photographers, artists,
illustrators, philosophers and model makers. All is linked together because space is air, and air is freedom.
THE INDUSTRY AS A SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Is necessary to think at the industry as a social structure because we don’t have alternatives to it. The main aim that
the industry has is the continuous improvement of human wellbeing. Believing in the industry is believing in the
positive humans that trust in word and humanity. Today our focus is on energy and organization. Energy is obviously
the rinsable energy for our machine but also the human energy to grow up and to find solutions. And organization is
to solve problems and it is possible only by working together.
INTERDISCIPLINARITY
Is a mental attitude that needs to be grown with constance to help to maintain an open mind. New media are very
important like cinema and photography, and they’re still using ancient disciplines that are in everyone and are the
ones responsible for consumerism but the positive thing is that those arts never pollute but always feed. Art has the
role of putting in front of us what we don’t see anymore even if we've always had it under our eyes.
MISS CULTURE
Memories are not something lifeless but are living matters that constantly changes. Reconstructing a memory is in a
way inventing a new one very personal and unique. So memorizing this invention you can always change it. Present,
past and future are the first things that we have to clarify, and in our life we do it with museums and in this way we
let grow miss culture. We’re made for social, cultural and scientific integration and to do that we have to use all our
memory and our creative capacity to be better in this field.
MISS NATURE
Architecture and design are made to collaborate with the planet because man is inextricably connected with nature
and at his conservation. The natural phenomena that the architecture has to take in consideration are a lot and they
condition the shape and the development. What is incredibly changed in the years is that now the architecture
doesn’t succumb under the pressure of climate changes but it develops to fit perfectly and taking advantage out of
it.
MISS TECHNOLOGY
Technology is a fundamental part of our life but it needs to be the final point of a research and not simply a way to
reach a meaning. We need to understand that we’re living in constant growth and that what we do now will be
ridiculous in 5 years. This type of thought helps us to think about the word as an interchangeable structure not
designed for the eternity. For these reasons the problem of pollution is hard to understand but if we start to work
with new materials that will be part of a closed circle we can save us.
MISTER FUTURE AND MISTER CONSCIOUSNESS
Time is the type of client that always runs away and when you think you have achieved it, it has already run ahead of
you. Consciousness instead is a man with a long beard, every decision needs a lot of work and fatigue. He wants to
analyze every single detail to achieve the essence of every theory. He wants to anticipate every contingency and
catalogue every flaw taking a lot of time, and when you think that it’s all perfectly done, in that moment, he comes
out with something wrong. it never let rest, and in the and, under the long beard he always smiles because he is you.
Summary made with love and patience by Sofia, Arianna, Anna, Alessia, Loris, Davide and Francesco
Please continue the docu and share it with the students in the upcoming years. Thank you!!!!!!!!