2.4 Socio-Economic Influence

Question 1

Socio-economics

Answer 1

How society and the economy interact to create particular circumstances

Question 2

Post-First World War

Answer 2

• A major influence on the work of experimental Bauhaus design school - Marcel Breuer and large scale wartime adoption of metal tubing over wood
• Tubular steel didn’t suffer from the problem of inconsistent strength of wood due to grain
• Breuer’s B3 (Wassily) chair and other Bauhaus designs paved the way for industrial furniture-making techniques
• Machines could easily be set up to mass produce tubular steel furniture
• An example of this was the tubular steel frame construction of Fokker D.VII Triplane
• Entire chair or table frames could be made without any additional handcrafting skills

Question 3

The Second World War

Answer 3

• 1939 - 1945 bombing raids resulted in a severe shortage of many goods
• Rationing was introduced to limit wastage and to free up materials, which enabled products supporting war to be manufactured
• Utility schemes introduced:

          • Led by furniture designer Gordon Russell
          • Fulfilled basic furniture requirements
          • Prioritised helping newly married couples and those made 
          homeless
          • Designs were simple strong and fit for the purpose

Employed traditional, vernacular manufacturing methods and materials

Approved items displayed an official CC41 logo

Question 4

Council of Industrial Design (COID)

Answer 4

Set up in 1944 to improve:

• Standards of design through training, assessment, and information
• The country’s competitiveness in a post-utility environment

Held two exhibitions to promote British design:

• The Britain Can Make It exhibition in 1946
• The Festival of Britain in 1951

Question 5

Contemporary times

Answer 5

• Development of polymer manufacture -> improved product design-> range of decorative colours and shapes in moulded products e.g. Robin Day’s multi-million-selling 1963 PP chair
• Invention of transistor (1940s) growing demand in electronic products
• Attractive formed plywood furniture of Scandinavian designers such as Alvar Aalto led the way for Gillis Lundgren’s knock-down (KD) Lovet table designed for IKEA in 1956
• Lundgren also designed the 60-million-selling Billy bookcase - 1979
• Increasing influence of companies such as IKEA meant home furnishings could now be enjoyable, decorative items rather than relatively drab utility items

Question 6

Rationing

Answer 6

The limitation of the availability of certain goods, usually in response to a shortage created by a war or other crisis

Question 7

Utility products

Answer 7

Post-Second World War basic products that were often rationed

Question 8

Design council

Answer 8

In 1972, the COID gave way to the Design Council whose function is to:

Act as the government’s advisory body relating to design

Focus on products, service, user experience and design in the built environment

Question 9

Gillis Lundgren

Answer 9

A scandanavian designer

Formed plywood furniture

KD Lovet table designed for IKEA 1956

60-million selling ‘Billy’ bookcase for IKEA 1979