Streamlining Flashcards
When was streamlining?
1935-1955
What was streamlining influenced by?
The modern aerodynamic designs derived from advancing technologies in aviation and high speed transportation.
What is Streamlining?
Streamlining is the shaping of an object to reduce the amount of drag or resistance to motion through a stream of air. A curved shape allows air to flow smoothly around it; therefore, the front of the object should be rounded and the body should gradually curve back from the midsection to a tapered rear section – a classic teardrop design.
Aerodynamics had been considered by automobile designers since the turn of the century but it wasn’t until the 1930’s that new materials and processes were available for cost-effective production.
Features of streamlining
Although aerodynamics are not a key feature of many products, the combination of streamline form and modern materials made them stand out from their competitors.
Teardrop shape – this new aerodynamic form became the new aesthetic direction and guided the design of modern products.
Futuristic Design – Science fiction provided optimism for a new and better future with sleek rocket shapes and atom designs.
Who was Raymond Loewy?
Loewy designed the shell that was to encase the duplicators for the next 40 years. He was the first designer to transform the look of a product by streamlining, which he referred to as ‘beauty through function and simplification’.
Loewy also designed for US car company Studebaker. He produced the iconic bullet-nosed cars as well as modernising their logo design. Loewy’s car designs incorporated new technological features; introducing slanted windscreens, built-in headlights and wheel covers in his designs. He also advocated more fuel-efficient cars, long before fuel economy became a concern. The ‘Avanti’ car in the 1960’s was the most successful car.
From 1967-1973 Loewy was commissioned by NASA where he helped design the interior living spaces for spaceships.
GG-1 locomotive
During the 1930s Loewy built a relationship with the Pennsylvania Railroad and he designed streamlined passenger locomotives. The GG-1 electric locomotive had a welded shell, which eliminated tens of thousands of rivets, resulting in improved appearance, simplified maintenance and reduced manufacturing costs. The GG-1 led to the universal adoption of the welding technique.
