Main entry:

Pulos, Arthur J., author.

Title & Author:

The American design adventure, 1940-1975 / Arthur J. Pulos.

Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, ©1988.

Description:

vii, 446 pages : illustrations ; 29 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 419-429) and index.
Dreams and realities. America at peace -- Preparing for war -- The war effort -- The housing front -- Postwar promises -- The search for modern living. The modern house -- Show and tell -- Contemporary and exotic furniture -- Design and domestic elegance. The "good design" syndrome -- Better design for better living -- Training and education. Setting the course -- Seeking consensus -- Finding common cause -- The design profession. National convergence -- A global network -- Altruism and diplomacy. The open door -- Foreign service -- The design olympics -- The marketplace. Design and the consumer -- Trademarks and corporate images -- The package and the public -- The challenge of plenty. Sound and image -- Recreation and travel -- School and work.
Cont.): Transportation, private and public. Chariots of chrome -- Titanium skies -- Epilogue: the form of tomorrow.

Summary:

The American Design Adventure continues the fascinating and detailed examination of industrial design begun by Arthur Pulos in American Design Ethic. The first volume discussed and illustrated the objects and artifacts, the major designers and schools of design from Colonial times to the 1940s. This second splendidly illustrated volume carries the story into the heroic era of American industrial design, from the 1940s to the 1970s. These were the decades of American industrial design's dominance, when special exhibitions and world fairs made design a subject of national pride. Big business realized the influence that trademarks, packaging, and corporate identity programs could have on their bottom line, and the world of fashion created a consumer demand for name brands and well designed products. Industrial design flourished under the capable hands of Raymond Loewy and Charles Eames, while corporations like IBM, RCA, Herman Miller, and Knoll were sponsors of the great American design adventure. The extraordinary collection of illustrations that Pulos has assembled documents all of these important design trends while evoking the nostalgia of the 50s and 60s when Pop and Rock held sway. Pulos probes all aspects of industrial designers and their work - in education and private corporations, in professional organizations and governmental agencies. He also covers prefabricated housing, graphics, manufactured products from the exotic to the pragmatic, and public systems from the sociopolitical to the economic.

ISBN:

0262161060
9780262161060
0262660687
9780262660686

Subject:

Industrial design United States History 20th century.
Design États-Unis Histoire 20e siècle.
Industrial design
United States
United States Industrial design, history

Form/genre:

History
Books.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 26386
Call No.: ID:88-B12421
Status: Available