Pop Design

In the mid-1960s designers were beginning to question functionalism. They thought that less was a bore and wanted to bring back the so called 'useless' aesthetic and ornamentation which the modern movements had decided to do away with.

In Britain and America artists such as Richard Hamilton, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol were looking at mass media and new
aspects of everyday life such as advertising, packaging, comics and television for inspiration and naturally design followed. It wasn't long before everyday items such as coat hangers and television sets were being design in this all new colourful design style. 

Designers such as De Pas, D'Urbino & Lomazzi, and Peter Murdoch were creating designs which were easily disposable such as the PVC blow-up chair and the polka-dotted cardboard children's chair. This gave way to a new throw-away culture which I suppose we are still suffering from today.

Plastics were being used in everything and that meant that new types of plastics were being created. Everything became about fun, coat hangers were made to look like a cactus and television were designed like an astronaut's space helmet. This style drew inspiration from a wide range of sources such as Art Noveau, Art Deco, Futurism and Surrealism not to mention Psychedelia which was popular at the same time due to the use of drugs, and the low art culture as well as the space age which was continuously in the news due to the so called 'cold war' happening between Russia and America.

Here are some landmark designs which were created during this time:

Arne Jacobsen's Egg Chair is still very much in demand today

Here, Verner Panton was inspired from Mies Van der Rohe's Bauhaus style cantilever chair 

The consumerist culture grew rapidly overflowing into every aspect of everyday life
as can be seen from Andy Warhol's Paper Souper Dress

REFERENCES:

Charlotte & Peter Fiell, 2012. Design of the 20th Century (25). Edition. Taschen.

Thomas Hauffe, 2001. Design: From the Industrial Revolution to the 21st Century (Flipguides). Edition. Dumont Monte.

Unknown , (2013), Roy Lichtenstein [ONLINE]. Available at: https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-prn1/t5/50273_208462054615_2004963_n.jpg [Accessed 12 December 13].

Unknown , (2013), Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe [ONLINE]. Available at:http://artobserved.com/artimages/2008/10/andy-warhol-marilyn.jpg [Accessed 12 December 13].

Unknown , (2013), De Pas, D'Urbino & Lomazzi PVC Blow Up Chair [ONLINE]. Available at:http://image.architonic.com/imgTre/09_11/plastik-plastik-270_1G_br.jpg [Accessed 12 December 13].

Unknown , (2013), Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.mochatini.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/jacobsen_egg_chair_lp.jpg [Accessed 12 December 13].

Unknown , (2013), Verner Panton Cantilever Chair [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.design-museum.de/fileadmin/_processed_/csm_PantonChair_Panton_01_8b1bdb4dd9.jpg [Accessed 12 December 13].

Unknown , (2013), Andy Warhol Souper Dress [ONLINE]. Available at:http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ci/web-large/DT420.jpg [Accessed 12 December 13].