Socio-economic Influences Flashcards
Socio-economics
How society and the economy interact to create particular circumstances
Post WW1
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
WW2
1939-1945 bombing raids resulted in severe shortage to many goods
Rationing was introduced
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 purpose
Employed traditional, vernacular manufacturing methods and materials
Approved items displayed an official CC41 logo
Council of Industrial Design (COID)
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
Contemporary times
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
Rationing
The limitation of the availability of certain goods, usually in response to a shortage created by a war or other crisis
Utility products
Post-Second World War basic products that were often rationed
Design council
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
Gillis Lundgren
A scandanavian designer
Formed plywood furniture
KD Lovet table designed for IKEA 1956
60-million selling ‘Billy’ bookcase for ikea 1979
