Design and Industry

New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 513, 22 April 1949, Page 10

Design and Industry

(continued from previous page) creative ability, a man has no chance of being elected." * * "| HE Council of Industrial Designthat was set up by the Board of Trade, you say? Will you tell me more about it?" I asked. "For instance, what does it do for industrial designersbesides exhorting manufacturers to employ them?" "It helps industries to set up Design Centres that operate on a co-operative basis. These Centres are supported by contributions from the manufacturers in each industry, and also by a grant from the Exchequer." "What else?" "It organises exhibitions too. And that reminds me-the big festival should do a lot to push things forward in our field." "What festival?" I asked, feeling ignorant. "The Festival of Britain, in 1951. It’s being held in 1951 to celebrate the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851, when the Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park. The main exhibition will be sited on a big area on the south bank of. the Thames — it was badly blitzed during the war, and is to be developed as a new permanent civic centre as part of the centenary scheme." , "Things certainly do seem to be moving in Britain," I said. "Tell me-what are your general impressions of the period since the first war? I mean, the developments in industrial design and so forth." "Looking back on the last 25 years I can pick out more than one change in the outlook of those who've been in- ‘| volved in the development. In the early °20’s the emphasis was on taste, and Faesthetics. Those who were interested in the problem wanted the mass of the people to be able to enjoy the use of common things that were pleasing to look at and handle, There was a lot of stress on the ‘fitness for purpose’ aspect. Very healthy as far as it went, of course. This trend influenced artists and individual designers a good deal, but it didn't have much effect on industry. Then in the second half of the period between the wars there was a change in attitude. The slogan became ‘Design for Selling.’ This was due mostly to the influence of the big advertising agencies -and also to American influence. The object of industrial design, according to this theory, was simply to secure maximum sales. So we saw new models come out every year-motor-cars, for instance -often without any real justification. There’s been a reaction against this sort of thing. It’s come to be realised , that skill in designing can be brought from the fringe of industry, where it has been used for the superficial ‘styling’ of goods, to the more important tasks of improving quality and simplifying productive processes, ‘Design for selling’ has now, on the whole, given way to ‘design for making.’ And so, from the cosy gatherings. of the converted, and the high ideals of the highbrows of the 1920’s, industrial design has come down to earth."