Industrial Design: “American Look” 1958 General Motors Populuxe Classic Film


HT/ Iowahawk




The first use of the term “industrial design” is often attributed to the designer Joseph Claude Sinel in 1919 (although he himself denied this in interviews), but the discipline predates 1919 by at least a decade. Its origins lie in the industrialization of consumer products. For instance the Deutscher Werkbund, founded in 1907 and a precursor to the Bauhaus, was a state-sponsored effort to integrate traditional crafts and industrial mass-production techniques, to put Germany on a competitive footing with England and the United States…

Notable industrial designers

A number of industrial designers have made such a significant impact on culture and daily life that they have attained a level of notability beyond that of an average designer. Alvar Aalto, renowned as an architect, also designed a significant number of household items, such as chairs, stools, lamps, a tea-cart, and vases. Raymond Loewy was a prolific American designer who is responsible for the Royal Dutch Shell corporate logo, the original BP logo (in use until 2000), the PRR S1 steam locomotive, the Studebaker Starlight (including the later iconic bulletnose), as well as Schick electric razors, Electrolux refrigerators, short-wave radios, Le Creuset French ovens, and a complete line of modern furniture, among many other items. Richard A. Teague, who spent most of his career with the American Motor Company, originated the concept of using interchangeable body panels so as to create a wide array of different vehicles using the same stampings. He was responsible for such unique automotive designs as the Pacer, Gremlin, Matador coupe, Jeep Cherokee, and the complete interior of the Eagle Premier. Viktor Schreckengost designed bicycles manufactured by Murray bicycles for Murray and Sears, Roebuck and Company. With engineer Ray Spiller, he designed the first truck with a cab-over-engine configuration, a design in use to this day. Schreckengost also founded The Cleveland Institute of Art’s school of industrial design. Charles and Ray Eames were most famous for their unique furniture design, such as the Eames Lounge Chair Wood and Eames Lounge Chair.

Another example is German industrial designer Dieter Rams, who is closely associated with the consumer products company Braun (where he worked until 1995) and the Functionalist school of industrial design. He is famous for his “ten principles to good design”, in addition to designing many iconic products at Braun. More recently, Jonathan Ive, the Senior Vice President of Design at Apple Inc., is credited for designing products for the company, which has a strong philosophy in aesthetics. His designs include the iPod and iPhone…”