Author: Leigh Wishner In celebration of the third annual New York Textile Month, members of the Textile Society of America will author Object of the Day for the month of September. A non-profit professional organization of scholars, educators, and artists in the field of textiles, TSA provides an international forum for the exchange and dissemination...
Thought it was time to write about another children’s wallpaper. This is a post-war wallpaper, probably one of the first to be produced following the moratorium on new designs during the war. It took manufacturers about a year to get up to speed and introduce their first collections. This design shows a variety of different...
Dieter Rams, the co-designer of this alarm clock, said that good design should “omit the unimportant in order to emphasize the important.” This travel alarm clock embodies his philosophy and design aesthetic—one which became iconic for Braun in the 1970s. The clock features an economic use of color and Akzidenz Grotesk, an easy-to-read sans serif...
On July 9, 1947, Look magazine ran a feature article on the fastest growing form of transportation in America: intercity buses. “Bus travel, according to the sworn word of many highway fans,” the author wrote, “is the best way to make a sightseeing holiday trip.”[1] The post-war boom in bus travel was indebted, in part,...
This jewelry parure, or suite, is indicative of a custom that was unique to its time and class. The Grand Tour was a traditional trip taken by upper class young men and women, with the goal of exposing them to the artistic riches of France and Italy, thereby completing their education. These long sojourns became...
With the July 4th weekend upon us, the first thing that comes to mind is travel, and fireworks! Heading out to the beach, taking a road trip, finding a nice quiet place to relax. I felt the Souvenir wallpaper was a perfect way to explore this idea. Consisting of a series of snapshots, almost post...
This modernist velour furnishing fabric designed in 1934 was produced in an area of northern France where weaving centers like Lille, Roubaix, and Tourcoing manufactured fabrics for use on airplanes, trains, and boats. During this era, escalating industrialization facilitated mass transportation, which led to an increased emphasis on travel. This cultural shift not only introduced...
London Transport posters played an indispensable role in the field of graphic design, particularly in the 1920s and 30s. In 1908, Frank Pick assumed responsibility for London Transport’s publicity and commissioned designs from internationally known artists as well as promising newcomers. Among them, a talented American poster artist and graphic designer, Edward McKnight Kauffer (1890-1954), helped...
This table clock, designed by Swedish goldsmith, Baron Erik Fleming, truly captures the spirit and wonder of travel in its depiction of a globe. Spinning on its axis hour by hour, this clock lets the viewer explore the many vast places in the world, from the massive continents of the Americas, to the tiny islands...
