Podcast Podcast Podcast!

Our podcast group was assigned the 1930-40 era. After doing a quick bit of research we decided to go with Raymond Lowerys life during the streamline moderne time period and how he gained the title of one of the fathers of industrial design. I personally had never heard of Raymond Lowery previously and it was quite interesting to see how much he changed the world of design. From redesigning logos to cars to the coca cola refrigerator and much much more.

My job in the podcast was to give a first draft of the introduction to Emily before she compiled all our work. For me this meant looking for things that caused the streamline moderne era to breakthrough and become a big thing. The great depression was a major factor in the rise of streamline due to the need to use cheaper materials and in turn mass produce products making production and retail price drop considerably.

My next job for the podcast was being the voice that read the script alongside Shane we had to show what knowledge we had gained and read the script out clearly and effectively to deliver our work. I found this a bit of a struggle as talking for ten minutes straight is never an easy task especially when you want to have as little speech errors as possible. It took three or four rounds of reading the script before we were both happy with the result, so we went with that one.

Here is a little snippet of our script that we wrote up:

Moving on from when plastic came onto the design scene myself Adam Flanagan and Shane O’Connell will take a few moments to explore a time where Streamline Moderne originated from. The beginnings of the industrial design profession & how design transformed the society of the 1930's.

So without further a dooo, let us take you back to a time!

A time of simple design and functionality. A time where design truly flourished, At this time several outstanding industrial designers were at work in the United States, among them Donald Deskey, Henry Dreyfuss, Walter Dorwin Teague, Raymond Loewy, and Norman Bel Geddes, who are often considered to be the founders of the industrial design profession. Which is, I guess the reason we are all here today…

The 1930’s proved to be a difficult time in American history. The stock market crash of 1929 signified the end of the carefree “Roaring Twenties” and propelled the nation into the Great Depression and a decade of nationwide despair. Society was looking bleak, with not much hope in sight.

But with the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. There came a few glimpses of light which came in the form of design and progress. Society started to up-lift and move forward.

The streamline era is a late type of art deco that emerged in the 1930's. Art Deco is a decorative, elegant style that is essentially an extension of the French Art Nouveau is characterized its use of long, sinuous, feminine organic lines and often features gold and is greatly inspired by nature.

The Art Deco movement influenced everything from gas stations and hotels to posters, furniture, films, toys, appliances, and fashion. It can be tricky to nail down exactly when one art period ends and another begins, but scholars generally agree that Art Deco emerged around 1925 and when the French government hosted the 1925 Paris World fair. This event showcased the newest developments in art, architecture, and design and with 15,000 exhibitors and 16 million visitors came from more than 20 countries to attend the exposition. The ideas and trends of art deco spread quickly all over the world.

What has this got to do with streamline Moderne? You may ask?????

Well, the worldwide economic depression that hit in the late 1920's led to a serious re-examination of art and design. The elaborate ornamentation of Art Deco did not make sense during this period of economic uncertainty. “Streamlining”, a concept first conceived by industrial designers who stripped Art Deco design of its ornament in favor of the aerodynamic pure-line concept of motion and speed developed from scientific thinking. Designs were contoured to minimize resistance to motion through a fluid by having smoother shapes and rounded edges.