New Materials, New Products 1960's onwards

After all these movements in design when they come to want to produce something, designers look back to see how they would come up with a new design inspired from the past.

New materials and new products were being introduced from the 1960's onwards. Technology and design in the period of the post war has brought in a challenge, regarding socialism, morally, economic and political tensions that all this has made a change for a new beginning to a new century and millennium.

Such food processors, microwaves ovens, cellular phones, compact disks and personal computers are among the most obvious examples of technologies, these are affecting the contemporary world of products and the power that defines the relationship between work and leisure in the industrially developed nations of the world.

Computers and internet have stimulated the marketing and merchandising,as it also accelerated the emphasis upon the design of information and communication technology.

One could tell that design implies to what's going on in society and its culture, according to news, protests and other highlights. One in many other design examples of that time is of the space age, where here the fashion designer used textile for hats as material, represented with spots and moon prints on them to link more the concept of what was going on at that time.  

Space age look by Paco Rabanne, 1964

Such as the retro Nivico 3240 TV of the 1970's, it was made out of plastic, coloured in red and has a rounded shape that links to the concept of that time being, since there was the space age emphasized.
The contemporary design has distributed many designs that I link to the back days when they were emphasizing so much on such soft round shaped designs.

JVC Nivico 3240 TV, 1970's

This is an advert of the table lamps by Michael Lax which is called the 'Lytegem', it was popularised in the 1960's. It was a development of high-intensity bulbs, a generation of minimal design for table lamps. This had such features that could make the lamp 6 inch tall, with an antenna-like arm adjustment and could be used as a paper weight when not in use, this was made out of metal, zinc, brass and aluminium.

Lytegem table lamp by Michael Lax, 1965

Another design from the 1966 is the ball chair by Eero Aarnio, where the design aspect has an isolation and intimacy feeling when sitting in it.

Ball chair by Eero Aarnio, 1966

I compare the ball chair with the Wicher Egg chair design. This design is quite known, as we see it in many different markets. It is made out of aluminium, which the tubular steel stand is hanging the chair furniture. The concept of the design itself is very close to the one of the ball chair and very possible that this design have been inspired from the design of Eero Aarnio.

Wicker outdoor round egg chair 2014 -hanging swing rattan pod

In addition to plastics, plywood and plastic laminates were also common materials for industrially designed furniture.

Advertisement of Masonite wall paneling. Better Homes and Gardens, January 1962

The plastic laminated surfaces gives a smooth and durable work surface that could be easily cleaned. The appeal of this material led to its popularity for tables and cabinet surfaces in kitchens, manufactured and widely marketed by the Formica company. This has been developed as a form of plastic insulation and a coating for machine gears, this application evolved after World War II.

It's function is of a stool or can also be used as a side table, as there is shown in the picture below. 

Murai Reiko Tanabe stool by Tendo Mokko, 1960

References:


Cripmotions, 2014. Luxury Wicker Outdoor Round Furniture Egg Chair Hanging Swing Rattan Pod. [online] Available at: <http://cripmotions.xyz/luxury-wicker-outdoor-round-furniture-egg-chair-hanging-swing-rattan-pod/> [Accessed 29 April 2016]

Casey, 2011. Element Timeless Design for Modern Business -Single post. [blog] Available at:<http://themes.simplethemes.com/element/video> [Accessed 29 April 2016]

Raizman, D., 2004. History of Modern Design.Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.