Streamlining

I suppose streamlining could be considered a sub-chapter in the organic design book, mostly because of the tear-drop shape. This shape was originally used to help allow the transportation inventions move at greater speeds - I suppose that in this aspect it was similar to Futurism which was all about looking towards the technological advancements of the future.

Streamlining is one of those styles which can only be understood if you understand exactly the context in which it was created (yes some design movements and styles make sense on their own.)

Trains and cars were being streamlined to aid speed.

Streamlining a product was already immensely popular when the Wall Street Crash happened in 1929 which led to the Great Depression of the 1930s in both America and Britain and the loss of many jobs and consequently profit for manufacturers. It was simple really, people didn't have as much money in their pockets and so were buying less... we went through something very similar a few years ago when the global recession hit in 2008. In order to avoid having to close and save money at the same time, rather than coming up with new designs, manufacturers were hiring designers to simply redesign already existing products.

Again, it was a question of supply and demand, there was more supply available than demand from the consumer which meant that there was greater competition and it meant that design became a very important defining factor in advertising the product. Think about it this way, if you have seven differently styled lamps on a shelf, six are white and one is black, which is the one most likely to stand out?

This chair which resembles Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona
chair also had its legs streamlined.

This is the idea which the manufacturers were looking to recreate through streamlining. By simply redesigning the look of a lamp which you already make, you can still use the same components (therefore the same amount of expenses) but people are buying it more than before because they think it's a completely different product. It got to a point where products were being marketed solely on their appearance rather than performance. I suppose you could consider this the birth of the consumerist culture which later took over in the 60s. Either way, many companies which existed during the 30s and made it out of the Great Depression alive probably owe it to the streamlining phenomenon.


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), Streamlined Chair [ONLINE]. Available at:http://www.curatedobject.us/photos/uncategorized/2008/01/06/black_chair.jpg [Accessed 04 December 13]

Unknown , (2013), Streamlined train [ONLINE]. Available at: http://cruiselinehistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/stream2.jpg [Accessed 04 December 13].