Human beings started to design the day—or perhaps night—that they realized they had a problem and decided to solve it. At that moment, invention began: weapons for hunting, tools for cultivating crops, and containers for transporting water. At first, design had the simple goal of making everyday tasks easier. And then art arrived.
Art expressed ideas but at the same time was used to decorate people and spaces. And once basic needs were met, other needs appeared, relating to individuality—personal aesthetic expression. Human beings are not indifferent to sensory qualities; even the youngest children have individual preferences regarding colors, shapes, and textures. Design blends the functionality of objects with beauty and artistic expression. That is why we find vases with reliefs and balanced forms, jewelry, ornaments, and treated and dyed skins among archaeological remains.
The capacity to produce the same object an infinite number of times came with the Industrial Revolution. Henry Cole, the English designer who organized the Great Exhibition, which took place in 1851 in London, firmly believed in blending art and manufacture, promoting good taste among consumers. Industrial design is now defined as the process of creation and production targeted at mass consumption. This has brought about great social change because, more than ever, it prioritizes usefulness over aesthetics. Its main objective is to produce inexpensive consumer goods.
In the twentieth century, the Bauhaus movement was known for absence of ornamentation and for harmony between function and the artistic and technical means of production: the form of a product must be consistent with its intended use. And in the 1930s, at the beginning of the Great Depression, designer Raymond Loewy proposed simplifying products and hiding their innards, adding a final touch to this emerging concept of design.
Today’s consumers are not just looking for bargains; they are looking for products that are modern, sustainable, environmentally friendly, innovative, high-tech, and mobile. And these are just some of the many characteristics that lead consumers to buy. Industrial designers are increasingly focused on fulfilling these requirements, trying to satisfy more than one need with a single object. The results include phones with music players, music players with Wi-Fi and Internet, computers with their own video game graphics cards, and video game consoles that are used for playing sports. In the furniture market, we find tables that function as chairs, chairs that function as sofas, sofas that function as beds, and wardrobes hiding chairs, tables, beds, and sofas.
Industrial design is directly related to mass consumption. And mass consumption, somewhat paradoxically, is directly related to individuality. Increasingly, the entire world wears the same clothes, owns the same phone, and decorates with the same Swedish furniture, so now more than ever human beings need to express their uniqueness. In a world where everyone has the same things, we want to feel that nobody is like us. In a world where everyone’s designs are the same, it is natural to want to underline that each individual is unique. And in order for designers to stand out from their competitors, they have to show that their creative processes are different.
How do we define an object? There are so many variables involved in the first sketch of an idea. What will it be? What will it be used for? How will it work? Who is it intended for? How long should it last? What materials will be used? How will it be made cost-effective? Will it be difficult to produce?
Each designer decides how to go about answering these questions. Some can convey an entire idea with four strokes of a pencil, while others strive to specify every detail, texture, and connection. Some work on computers, using digital design programs. In their sketches, all designers convey their style, their methodology, and their particular way of approaching the creative process, which is why we have chosen details from sketches to begin each presentation in this volume.
This is a compilation of various designers and their sketches. Our aim in bringing together these examples of functional art is to provide a wide view of the landscape of industrial design. This collection surveys production processes, the technological features displayed, cohesion between form and function that has been attempted, and the sustainable materials used. Modern design focuses on improving products and solving problems, while being conscious of environmental issues and trying to reduce production costs as much as possible.
The designers introduced here work in their own styles, following their own creative processes and developing their own dreams and ideas. They pay attention to the context of each thing to find a formula for efficiency without having to abandon their preference for moderation and simplicity. Above all, a design should be honest, clear, and sincere—transparent, not so much in the technology hidden inside but rather in the way that it is used. A good product communicates with the user without the need for an instruction manual. An object that speaks for itself is synonymous with success.
