History of Industrial Design

The art of enhancing the look and value of products, Industrial Design started developing in the 20th century. During the later half of the nineteenth century, the consumer goods industry grew rapidly which necessitated the creation of designer goods, owing to the competition in the market. Consumers were ready to spend more on luxury goods and lush interior decorations for homes. In those times, industrial design wasn't a well-defined professional activity. The craftsmen and artists were engaged in industrial designing activities by industrialists, who promoted the development of prototypes for their products.

Industrial Design History

The bulk of industrial designing during the 1920s was carried out in the field of automobiles, electrical appliances and the new inventions. The engineers though, invented useful items for the public, but lacked the creativity needed to enhance the look of these products. Trained artists from different art schools, were hired for the creation of commercial art, in order to facilitate the designing of industrial products.

The Great Depression of 1929, proved an opportunity in disguise for industrial designers to display their skills. Frederick W. Taylor, a mechanical engineer by profession, played an important role in improving industrial efficiency during this period.

Streamlining
It was an important principle applied in the production of various goods. Basically a concept derived from the science of aerodynamics, streamlining was extensively used in the designing of products such as automobiles, radio, washing machines, etc. The overall effect of streamlining the product designs was so much, that the demand of consumer products increased heavily.

The profession of industrial designing was institutionalized owing to the surge in demand for industrial designers. The institutions, like the American Designers Institute and the Society of Industrial Designers, were established in the years 1938 and 1944 respectively. The two institutions were merged in 1965 to form the Industrial Designers Society of America.

High Modernism
The idea of 'high modernism' governed the industrial design sector between the 1930s and 1960s. Three types of design 'frameworks' or ideas were brought to light by The Museum of Modern Art in America. These three ideas were the 'machine art', 'organic design' and 'good design'. The machine art signified abstract designing while good design was considered to be of reformist ideology. Organic design was the term used for eco-friendly designs.

Those refugees who had escaped Nazism and were associated with Bauhaus, a design school in Germany, which brought new ideas to industrial designing in America. The establishment of the Aspen Design Conference for policy makers and businessmen was the result of the changes in the industrial design sector. The concept of high modernism was also popularized by Mr. George Nelson through a journal called the 'Industrial Design'.

Mr. J. Gordon Lippincott brought forth an idea which promoted the use of designs only for the sake of profits. Harley Earl's styling techniques greatly influenced the appearance of products such as gas pumps, carports and even items such as coffee tables and sectional sofas. The scientific progress in the mid-19th century too had an influence on the designing techniques, which reflected in the form of amoeboid shapes in Georgian architecture.

The competitive markets of the 1980s and 1990s brought about a fundamental change in the field of industrial designing. Earlier, during the 1930s, the challenge before designers was to enhance the look of Machine Age products. However, in the '80s, the situation had changed a lot. The designers were expected to add value to the highly sophisticated hardware and software. The designers in this period, played an important role in deciding the corporate strategies for industries. Thus, from the inception of the concept of industrial designing in the 1900s till date, the field of Industrial Design has undergone a sea change.