Essay- George Nelson and Ray and Charles Eames

George Nelson-Modernism

George Nelson was an architect, author, an all round designer (furniture, graphic, exhibition) and photographer, to name a few of his many talents. George Nelson changed American design constantly over 40 years. He is well known as the designer of the Coconut Chair, Marshmallow Sofa and the Ball Clock. He was an expert on Modernism and a great defender of Modernist principles. During Nelson's working period, he developed modern office furniture, which is still beautiful, functional and popular till this day. Nelson had a sense of fun and colour which is reflected in many of his designs, his most notorious being the Marshmallow Sofa.

The Marshmallow Sofa

The Marshmallow Sofa was produced in 1956 at a time when, after the second world war, the world was branching into a new modern era. Society in America at the time was turning into a motorised society. Recovering from after the second world war, society was scrapping the old and looking for the new and modern equivalent. The public had more leisure and material comforts so the design of the Marshmallow sofa fitted in perfectly with what the new modern, American society was looking for.  Even though the cost of manufacturing the sofa was higher than expected and sales were below expectations, it still achieved the status of being a modern classic.

Nelson completely changed the way many designers approach their work as he believed that one should design an object, not by looking at the importance, but the way in which it has been emotionally explored and expressed.

Charles and Ray Eames- Organic Design

Charles and Ray Eames also left their mark as being in the list of America's most important designers. They have produced designs in architecture, furniture, industrial and photographic. They were part of the International style during the Organic Design period.

Their first commission was during the second world war when the navy had asked them to design a splint for wounded soldiers. This is where they worked on the technique of molding and bending plywood to create a one piece wooden design. This early technique was refined over the next ten years to allow the Eameses to create wooden molded pieces.

Society at the time had an open market for quality mass produced office furniture. The Eamses were capable of producing a single piece chair that would fit the natural contour of the body and could be mass produced. This chair (The Eames chair) was later developed in the 50s as the Eames Lounge chair. It was one of the most comfortable chairs for the office and is still produced till this day.

The Eames Chair

When producing the Eames Lounge chair, they tried to keep as much as the hand-craftmanship as possible, but still be able to mass produce it and all throughout their era,they came closer than anybody else to producing that.

The Eames Lounge Chair

Bibliography:

Blogger. 2009. The Modern Designs of George Nelson!. [ONLINE] Available at: http://swanklighting.blogspot.com/2009/08/modern-designs-of-george-nelson.html. [Accessed 26 January 14].

bonluxat. no date. George Nelson Marshmallow Sofa. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bonluxat.com/a/George_Nelson_Marshmallow_Sofa.html. [Accessed 26 January 14].

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justcreative. 2012. 4 Lessons to Learn from Charles and Ray Eames. [ONLINE] Available at: http://justcreative.com/2012/11/27/charles-ray-eames-lessons/. [Accessed 26 January 14].

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WANKEN. 2010. APPROACHING DESIGN: EAMES LOUNGE CHAIR. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.wanken.com/6516/approaching-design-eames-lounge-chair/. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Philippe Starck, a French Interior and Product designer

Subversive, ethical, ecological, political, fun: this is how I see my duty as a creator.” Philippe Starck.

As a designer, Phillippe Starck has a mission and vision. Whatever he creates, no matter what shape, must accommodate the largest number of people possible. His designs are often streamlined, stylized and organic. Starck designs use a range of different materials such as glass, plastic aluminium, plush fabric amongst others.

In the late 1900s he founded his own company, Starck Product which was later renamed to Ubik. Here he initiated his collaborations with the biggest design manufacturers in Italy and the world.

Philippe Starck could best be described as a post modernist designer in the New Design style. As we are in the Post-Modernism era, competition in the design industry is getting tougher and for this reason Starck strives to create imaginative, out of this world designs.

Inflatable House by Starck in 1969

 The Inflatable house by Starck was created as a tribute to the designer Quasar who he had worked with on various inflatable projects.

This house was based on the idea of materiality and was the starting point of his career.

Miss Less

His work is characterised by his unconventional, abstract designs. Much of his work produced in the 1980's and 1990's was influenced by fashion and novelty. His style is sleek and daring, taking everyday objects and giving them a twist. His projects are meant to surprise people and he does not conform to any rule in particular. He works according to his emotions. Basically you either adore his work or hate it. There is no in between.

Juicy Salif by Philippe Starck

This lemon squeezer was designed by Philippe Starck for the company Alessi. It is made from mirror-polished aluminium casting. This lemon squeezer is not only a symbol of Starck but also a symbol of the brand Alessi. Starck came up with the idea for this juicer while he was on holiday by the sea in Italy, and sketched it on a pizzeria napkin.

The Juicy Salif was produced in 1990. It is iconic to Industrial Design and has been displayed in The Museum of Modern Art in New York.  Stark took inspiration from the squid which he had ordered while sprinkling lemon juice all over it.

Raygun gothic rocket ship

Sean Orlando, David Shulman, Nathanial Taylor

The 'Raygun gothic rocket ship' is a large-scale 40′ tall rocket ship installation. Participants can interactively explore the rocket’s three interior chambers accessible through the bottom of the rocket and the top of the rocket via the gantry. It was directly inspired from Philippe Starck's 'Juicy Salif'.

Louis Ghost Chair by Philippe Stark  

This specific chair was introduced in 2002. It is made

out of the durable polycarbonate and is a remake of a Louis the 15th chair, only made using new materials.  Louis Ghost is the most daring example in the world of injected polycarbonate in one single mold. It is one of Starck's classical signature designs, which till this day is still popular.

Holy Ghost chair by Lionel Theodore Dean

This chair was directly inspired from Starck's Louis Ghost chair
This design was digitally modified from the Louis Ghost chair. It explores a post-industrial age in which 3D artifacts can be "printed" directly from computer data. Even though these chairs are digitally manufactured, they are still one off pieces. The design was influenced by the natural growth of nature.

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Salhi, S. (2013). Inflatable House by Starck in 1969 tribute to Quasar Khanh Amazing designer at this time.. Available: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/508906826613094919/. Last accessed 19th January 2014.

Starck, P. (2012). Miss Less. Available: http://www.starck.com/en/design/categories/furniture/chairs.html#miss_less. Last accessed 19th January 2014.

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Watson-Smyth, K . (2010). The Secret History Of: Philippe Starck's lemon squeezer. Available: http://www.independent.co.uk/property/interiors/the-secret-history-of-philippe-starcks-lemon-squeezer-1972849.html. Last accessed 19th January 2014.

Paquette, J. (2011). Raygun Gothic Rocket Ship. Available: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/54280266. Last accessed 19th January 2014.

Marshall, J. (2006). FutureFactories- Holy Ghost 2. Available: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rootoftwo/267284228/. Last accessed 19th January 2014.

Visual Chart outcome

The image above shows the final outcome of the visual chart I created. The 5 columns represent the 5 different movements; Art Nouveau, Art Deco, De Stijl, Bauhaus and Pop Art. The rows show different characteristics of the movements.

The row exactly below the eras shows a timeline of how the movements were created before, between and after the wars. The next row explains where the movement originated and spread. The third row shows visual examples of how each style changed and differed from one another. In the next row I wanted to explain how the value in cost of products decreased while the eras progressed.

The 5th row shows the 5 designers chosen from the 5 different movements; Joseph Olbrich, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gerrit Rietveld, Marcel Breuer and Verner Panton. Right below them are their chair designs; An Oak Armchair, 601 Robie 1, Red and Blue Chair, Wassily Chair and the Panton Chair.

The next row explains the different logics each designer had when designing their products and the one after that shows the achievements each designer was awarded. Lastly, I tried to explain the reason for the change of movement as visually as possible. Also, scattered all round the chart are 5 different personal observations I have made which are shown below the flaps I created.

Visual Chart: 5 different movements, 5 different designers

Art Nouveau

Started mid- 19th century, did not survive WWI 

                   Joseph Olbrich                         

      

An Oak Armchair,

1899

Art Deco

Started in the 20's after WWI and continued after WWII

Frank Lloyd Wright

601 Robie 1,

1908  

De Stijl

emerged after the horrors of WWI

Gerrit Rietveld

Red and Blue Chair,

1917

Bauhaus

between wars

Marcel Breuer

Wassily Chair,

1925-1926

Pop Design

In the middle of the Post- WWII revolution

Verner Panton

Panton Chair,

1960

These are the chosen 5 designers from 5 different movements and their designs.

Futuristic Design

Futuristic products inspire the imagination; it’s as if we extend the design to its surroundings and then wonder what else we can possibly do. This collection of designs below is the next generation of amazing gadgets. From the folding screen Nintendo DS to 3D desktop monitors, these designs let the imagination go wild.

Mobile Music Concept

This incredible design is for a “wrist iPod” which you wear around your wrist, you can choose from a downloaded playlist or even live Internet radio. You can even wear it as a watch. The idea is to also be able to customise the screen with photographs or graphics as seen in the image above. The screen can be folded down, so as to enable it to fit inside your pocket and the headphones give you a completely stereo concert hall sound. Another feature is the music search while you sing or hum a song and finally it even sets the music to your heartbeat.

3D Desktop

When the desk top is not in use, the white frame acts as a desk lamp. When you need a 3D or hologram monitor, all you do is pull down the black hologram screen. Tiny projectors are installed that produce the3D hologram. The browser window can be pinched and dragged to resize it.

Universal Remote

This universal remote control concept would use touch-screen technology for operation; this same company also has some interesting concepts for 3D touch-screens for air conditioner programmers and light switches.

Formar

I’m not sure how this concept for a floating video camera could be approved in light of privacy laws. The idea is for this sealed video camera to “float” around recording life on earth, for the sole purpose of future generations viewing in 100 years to study.

All.Round SLR

This new design is for a much more portable, lightweight SLR camera, as current SLR cameras are very bulky and heavy. Even taking angled photos is difficult, let alone handling the camera when changing lens. So, the best part of this design is that you can bend it in any direction for easier shooting. Its lens can be angled in many ways and it is expandable and collapsible, thus allowing even 360˚ shots.

designer daily. 2012. 30 awesome futuristic product concepts. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.designer-daily.com/30-awesome-futuristic-product-concepts-26509. [Accessed 27 January 14].

Alessandro Mendini- Postmodernism

Mendini was one of the founders of new design. As well as being an architect, he was also a designer, artist, theorist and poet. He was sure that people no longer wanted to see mass produced products. He used to say, ''Every person is different, so why shouldn't an object also be different?''. His starting point when designing an object was beauty. Mendini believed that everything had already been invented and used and all that remained was to use it again and re-design it. Mendini loved to work with others, so his artistic career mingled with various artists, architects and designers, thus producing a large creation of furniture, objects, clothes, decorations, paintings, ceramics, jewellery and even buildings such as the famous Groninger Museum.

Proust Chair by Alessandro Mendini

One of Mendini's 'redesigned furniture' was the Proust Chair. This was a link between the classic and the modern. As Mendini believed that modern design was at an end and no one could create any new designs, he took it upon himself to redesign a classic Louis XV style chair. He was inspired by the work of Marcel Proust, thus calling it the Proust chair. Mendini created this chair in pointillism style, which is a technique where a picture is formed by painting a series of tiny dots. Each dot was painted to represent a fragment of memory. The whole series was hand painted by Mendini himself.

Lots of Dots by Swatch

This Swatch watch was called Lots of Dots. It was inspired by the pointillism style of the Proust chair. The watch case, as well as the buckle have been produced in transparent plastic, to not take away from the style of the dots.  The coloured dots have been reproduced to harmonise the colours of the Proust chair. On the watch's face they have inserted Mendini's signature as authentication of the design.

Groninger Museum. 2014. Alessandro Mendini. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.groningermuseum.nl/en/alessandro-mendini. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Design Time. 2010. Design with historical influence. [ONLINE] Available at: http://gem101.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/design-with-historical-influence/. [Accessed 26 January 14].

SirWATCH. 1992. SWATCH GENT LOTS OF DOTS. [ONLINE] Available at: http://shop.sirwatch.com/SWATCH-LOTS-OF-DOTS. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Postmodernism

Postmodernism appeared in the late 20th century. It affected the arts and architecture, and even influenced literature and philosophical thinking. It took a main role in the so called ''plastic arts''. In architecture it was a response to the blandness of the Modern movement. It focused on the harmony of form and function and used all methods, materials and colours. Architectural designs used the more modern building materials and were decorated to create unique effects. Postmodernism is a rejection of Modernism, even the new young graphic designers that are appearing are questioning the ''form follows function'' philosophy.

BelleAire by Peter Shire

Peter Shire. no date. BelleAire Seating. [ONLINE] Available at: http://petershirestudio.com/sculpture/furniture/seating. [Accessed 26 January 14].

In the 1980s post-modern architects began creating home accessories for well known international companies, they took part in international exhibitions and displayed their eccentric creations to the public as well as professionals. This creativeness reached its climax in the late 1980s, being immediately followed by the 1990s recession. Designs then took on a more subtle profile and were more focused on production costs and product costs. Since then Industrial design has been split in two: one produces artistic creations of a star designer and the other produces creations that rely on teamwork to create the final product.

The first is generally used in architecture, although designers like Philippe Starck, in the early 21st century has still managed to remain a star designer in product design. He is an exception because his design for dramatic interiors, as well as his consumer products have a wide appeal to the public as well as professionals.

Faena, El Porteno Hotel, Buenos Aires, 2006 by Philippe Starck

s+arck. no date. Architecture. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.starck.com/en/architecture/categories/hotels/. [Accessed 26 January 14].

The second has more of a tendency to the designer being a part of a larger team. One of the first firms to use this approach was 'Frog Design'. They initially began in 1969, following the idea that ''form follows emotion'', contrary to the modernist ''form follows function''. They have followed through creating designs for huge companies such as Sony, Apple and more recently Lufthansa and Microsoft.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2013. industrial design. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/286993/industrial-design/259568/Postmodern-design-and-its-aftermath#ref9208. [Accessed 26 January 14].