6. War Propaganda

The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was created to get women involved in the 1940s during World War II. The women were given noncombat jobs that were formerly held by men such as, driving military vehicles, serving as translators, cooks, and weather forecasters. The main object of the poster was to get women involved in the war with the statement, "This is my war too!". I found the poster interesting because the woman is dressed very masculine but she maintained her femininity by wearing curling her hair and wearing make-up. It could have been a strategy used to draw in more women by ensuring them that although they are participating in the war efforts, they can maintain their feminine looks and habits.

5. Incomplete Manifesto for Growth

Bruce Mau's "Incomplete Manifesto for Growth" is a series of statements that are used by designers for strategies on how to begin the design process. A point that I think would be helpful in the future is statement #17 ____________. Statement #17 is, "Intentionally left blank. Allow spaces for the ideas you haven't had yet, and for the ideas of others". I find this statement a good reminder of being open to new ideas and concepts that will come to you during the design process. It is sometimes easy to be closed minded during the design process when you have a set idea as to how you want to approach a project, but it's important to be open to new ideas from your own constant brainstorming or from peers. Some of the best ideas could come from the unplanned and spontaneous.

Reseach Paper: Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy can be known as “the man who designed America” due to his contribution to industrial design during the 20^th century. He designed logos, locomotives and appliances, which in turn influenced present – day designs.

Loewy was born on November 5, 1893 in Paris, France to Maximillian Loewy and Marie Labalme. He originally wanted to study engineering, but when World War I began, he served in the French Army with distinction as an officer of engineers. In 1919, after his parents died because of the influenza outbreak, Loewy boarded a ship to America to join his two brothers. Upon his arrival, he worked as a window designer in New York for large department stores like Macy’s, Wanamaker’s and Saks. He was also a fashion illustrator for the high couture magazines, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar. Loewy also designed a trademark for Neiman – Marcus and an advertisement for Bonwit Teller and earned the reputation of having a “flamboyant lifestyle” (Moore).

Like several stylists during the 20^th century, Loewy began with “repackaging or ‘face-lifting’ products, but as they gained experience and understanding of manufacturing processes they became effective designers by contributing valuable innovations that improved products” (Bush 311). This situation is true of Loewy’s start as an industrial designer and his redesign of the Gestetner duplicator. In 1929, Loewy ventured into his career as an industrial designer when the opportunity to redesign the appearance of a mimeograph machine was presented by Sigmund Gestetner. Loewy accepted the offer and designed, in three days, the shell that would encase Gestetner duplicators for the next forty years. The Gestetner duplicator was the first of many items that was transformed by streamlining, a technique that Loewy is credited with originating.

Streamlining is the design of an object that has the least amount of resistance to natural elements (wind, water, etc). Loewy called the concept “beauty through function and simplification”, and streamlined everything he designed. Another early project of Loewy’s that had a tremendous impact on American design and jump started his career, was the tall – case clock radio for Westinghouse in 1930 (Kulik 567). The cabinet design was reported as increasing the sale of radios at the time by 700% (Bush 311).

Loewy expanded his repertoire and began working with locomotives when he designed for the International Harvester Company in the 1930s. Tractor builders became interested in making their products more attractive by adding streamlined sheet metal (Moore). Loewy designed a new line of Farmall tractors that were being developed by the company at the time. He perfected the design in a couple of years and the new Farmall H and M models were revealed August 9, 1939 at the Farmall Day celebration in Rock Island, Illinois (Moore). Loewy’s design helped make the International Harvester Company the leader in row crop tractor sales until the 1950s (Moore).

In 1937, Loewy won awards for his designs of the Coldspot refrigerator and the streamlined GG-1 electric locomotives, which have been used by the Pennsylvania Railroad for many years. He is also responsible for the 1934 Hupmobile that had streamlined headlights and made part of the fenders. After finishing the Hupmobile, Loewy continued his work with automobiles through the 1939 Studebaker Champion, the 1947 Studebaker Starlight Coupe, and the 1961 Studebaker Avanti. His designs introduced slanted windshields, built – in headlights and wheel covers and tried to promote more fuel – efficiency.

Another automobile design of Loewy’s is still in use today. The BMW 507 coupe has remained one of the most popular models sold over the decades. It also influenced and played a major role in the Studebaker Avanti development, which Loewy also designed. The comparison between the two models goes beyond the overall silhouette, but also includes the front fenders with turn signals, the grille below the front bumper, the asymmetric hood ornament, and the crease in the lower part of the doors and the bubble style of the rear window (Heitz 26).

Raymond Loewy contributed immensely to industrial design during the 20^th century and didn’t limit himself to strictly electronics or locomotives. Loewy is accredited with designing the International Harvester Company logo and packaging for Lucky Strike cigarette. The International Harvester Company logo was a simplistic but innovative design. A block letter of the lower case “i” was superimposed on an upper case “H”. The letters resembled the front view of a man driving a Farmall tricycle tractor, a tractor with square tires. The logo was used in 1946 and became the international symbol for the company and is still used today.

The Lucky Strike cigarette package design began as a wager between the president of the American Tobacco Company, George Washington Hill, and Loewy. Hill wagered $50,000 that Loewy could not improve the signature red and green packaging. Loewy accepted and changed the green background to white, which in turn reduced printing costs. He placed the Lucky Strike target on either side of the package to increase product sales. The design was used for 40 years.

Raymond Loewy has contributed immensely to design in the 20^th century from influencing cars to logos for companies we are familiar with. He has been granted the title as “the man who designed for America” and was honored in 1975 with the Smithsonian Institution opening the exhibit, “The Designs of Raymond Loewy”. The four – month exhibit displayed his works and was dedicated to “the man who changed the face of industrial design”. Loewy’s designs were innovative and at times radical for his time period, but are continuously used today because of their effective and sleek designs.

Works Cited:

Bush, Donald J. "Streamlining & American Industrial Design". Leonardo. Autumn 1974: 309-317.

Heitz, Felix. "Avanti - Garde". Motor Trend March 2010: 26.

Kulik, Gary. "Raymond Loewy: Designs for a Consumer Culture". Technology & Culture. July 2003: 566-573.

Moore, Sam. "By design: American industrial designer leaves lasting influence on tractor lines." Farm Collector. July 2008: 12-14.