Böcker av Carroll Gantz

As the Great Depression started in 1929, several dozen creative individuals from a variety of artistic fields, including theatre, advertising, graphics, fashion and furniture design, pioneered a new profession. Responding to unprecedented public and industry demand for new styles, these artists entered the industrial world during what was called the "Machine Age," to introduce "modern design" to the external appearance and form of mass-produced, functional, mechanical consumer products formerly not considered art. The popular designs by these "machine designers" increased sales and profits dramatically for manufacturers, which helped the economy to recover; established a new profession, industrial design; and within a decade, changed American products from mechanical monstrosities into sleek, modern forms expressive of the future. This book is about those industrial designers and how they founded, developed, educated and organized today's profession of more than 50,000 practitioners.

House cleaning has been an innate human activity forever but only since the early 19th century have mechanical devices replaced the physical labor (performed mostly by women). Mechanical carpet sweepers were replaced by manual suction cleaners, which in turn were replaced by electric vacuum cleaners in the early 20th century. Innovative inventors, who improved vacuum cleaners as electricity became commonly available, made these advances possible. Many early manufacturers failed, but some, such as Bissell, Hoover, Eureka and others, became household names as they competed for global dominance with improved features, performance and appearance. This book describes the fascinating people who made this possible, as well as the economic, cultural and technological contexts of their times. From obscure beginnings 200 years ago, vacuum cleaners have become an integral part of modern household culture.

Industrial design is a fundamental component of the consumer experience. Almost every commercial product encountered in our day-to-day lives, from toasters to toothbrushes, has been designed with our taste, our desires and our lifestyles in mind. This book traces the history of industrial design, beginning with the eighteenth-century. It identifies the major figures, organizations, styles and events of the profession, looking particularly at the refinement of industrial design by twentieth-century European artists and the congruence of American design and industry during and immediately after the Great Depression.