Industrial design is a fundamental component of the consumer experience. Almost every commercial product encountered in our day-to-day lives, from toasters to toothbrushes, has been designed with our taste, our desires and our lifestyles in mind. This book traces the history of industrial design, beginning with the eighteenth-century. It identifies the major figures, organizations, styles and events of the profession, looking particularly at the refinement of industrial design by twentieth-century European artists and the congruence of American design and industry during and immediately after the Great Depression.
As the Great Depression started in 1929, several dozen creative individuals from a variety of artistic fields, including theatre, advertising, graphics, fashion and furniture design, pioneered a new profession. Responding to unprecedented public and industry demand for new styles, these artists entered the industrial world during what was called the "Machine Age," to introduce "modern design" to the external appearance and form of mass-produced, functional, mechanical consumer products formerly not considered art. The popular designs by these "machine designers" increased sales and profits dramatically for manufacturers, which helped the economy to recover; established a new profession, industrial design; and within a decade, changed American products from mechanical monstrosities into sleek, modern forms expressive of the future. This book is about those industrial designers and how they founded, developed, educated and organized today's profession of more than 50,000 practitioners.
An ambitious new survey of industrial design from 1900 to the present day in the United States, Europe, and around the world, as told through selected objects from the George R. Kravis II Collection. Destined to become a new classic in the design genre, this major work summarizes an enormous topic—the creation of everyday objects for mass production and consumption from 1900 to the present—and shows how these products have become both symbols of the modern age and harbingers of our future. It covers the work of the heroes of modern and post-modern design, from the early pioneers—Dreyfuss, Bel Geddes, and Eames—to the leaders in the field today, including Starck, Newson, and Ive. More than 200 objects from the Kravis Design Center’s collection are highlighted as important exemplars of industrial design. A wide range of media is represented, including furniture, metalwork, ceramics, and plastics. New research by contributing scholars has uncovered illuminating details about each object that help tell a more complete story of design in the past 100 years. Among the more than 400 photographs, which include a wealth of historical images and ephemera, are those of the objects taken especially for this book and seen as never before, in vibrant color and precise detail. This concise new history introduces a whole new audience to the topic in a style that is at once educational and accessible.
Industrial Design: Materials and Manufacturing Guide, Second Edition provides the detailed coverage of materials and manufacturing processes that industrial designers need without the in-depth and overly technical discussions commonly directed toward engineers. Author Jim Lesko gives you the practical knowledge you need to develop a real-world understanding of materials and processes and make informed choices for industrial design projects. In this book, you will find everything from basic terminology to valuable insights on why certain shapes work best for particular applications. You'll learn how to extract the best performance from all of the most commonly used methods and materials.
To make designs that work and endure (and are also legal), designers need to know—or be able to find—an endless number of details. Whether it's what kind of glue needs to be used on a certain surface, metric equivalents, thread sizes, or how to apply for a patent, these details are essential and must be readily available so designers can create successful products efficiently. The Industrial Design Reference & Specification Book provides designers with a comprehensive handbook they can turn to over and over again. These pages are filled with information that is essential to successful product design, including information on measurement conversions, trademark and copyright standards, patents and product-related intellectual property rights/standards, setting up files for prototyping and production runs, and manufacturing and packaging options to optimize the design. It is an essential resource for any industrial or product designer.
An exploration of the parallel development of product and graphic design from the 18th century to the 21st. The effects of mass production and consumption, man-made industrial materials and extended lines of communication are also discussed.
This groundbreaking anthology is the first to focus exclusively on the history of industrial design. With essays written by some of the greatest designers, visionaries, policy makers, theorists, critics and historians of the past two centuries, this book traces the history of industrial design, industrialization, and mass production in the United States and throughout the world.
An exquisitely illustrated celebration of this influential style that is now at the forefront of interior design. Vintage Industrial covers the period from 1900 to 1950, which produced the raw, functional aesthetic that has become a cornerstone of modern design. The advent of the second industrial revolution created the need for a new kind of furniture to satisfy the demands of a rapidly growing workforce. Chairs, tables, lamps, and modular storage were designed from new materials to be mass-produced, stackable, and adjustable to the developing needs of brand-new industries that in turn were manufacturing the products that would define a changing society. These pieces, that inform a reclaimed style, are now highly popular among collectors and interior designers. This volume celebrates the engineers who shaped the industrial aesthetic as the unsung heroes of modern design and showcases their creations. By discovering ways to work iron and steel into functional forms, luminaries such as Bernard-Albin Gras, George Carwardine, Jean Prouvé, and Édouard-Wilfred Buquet sparked a revolution in the way we think about our built environment. Five chapters—on lighting, seating, tables, storage, and curiosities—describe the major innovations and designs from the period and include stunning photography depicting these objects in homes, workshops, factories, and warehouses. Meticulously curated, this elegant book is an informative style guide and source of inspiration for how to live with industrial design.
An indispensable reference for design professionals on selecting and using materials in new ways to make their designs ever more efficient and effective Today’s technological advancements have resulted in traditional materials being used in increasingly innovative ways; designers are able to push the materials they use to their limits. Understanding these materials helps designers make inspired, practical decisions with confidence. The Materials Sourcebook for Design Professionals provides comprehensive, accurate information about the basic materials with which designers work on a daily basis, as well as a complete breakdown of new and exciting developments in high-tech materials. This inspiring and useful book is organized into six main sections on all the major design material groups: Metal, Plastic, Wood, Plant, Animal, and Mineral. Each section is broken down into chapters examining individual types of material within each larger group. Nearly one hundred material types are featured, each one supported by examples of how it can be used in a variety of industries, an outline of its most desirable properties, and details about its form and texture. With 450 vibrant illustrations and a clear and accessible layout, this long-term reference tool covers everything designers need to know about the materials they use habitually so they can continue to use them better.
