Five Industrial Designers That Changed Our World
How incredible to think that industrial design surrounds our everyday life. It may not have crossed your mind that a person drew up the plans for an escalator that you ride in the mall or edited the plans of the computer from which you work each day. The truth is, industrial design’s influence is profound. Designers have moved and shaped the world we are a part of, from the most complicated design to allow communication with friends, to the simplest design to solve world problems. How amazing that each man-made object that has become a part of the world was planned, edited and created by someone.
We put together a list of some of the world’s most influential industrial designers. From design creators to “hands-on” design doers, we selected five that have shaped the world around us.
1. Jesse W. Reno (George A. Wheeler, and Charles Seeberger) | New York, USA
Reno, Wheeler and Seeberger were the men that brought you the “endless conveyor”. Today, the escalator is a typical part of our trip the mall. Initially, it was considered a leisurely activity and people would wait in lines to ride this new invention. These men made it to the list not only because their prolific invention changed the public’s view of stairs in the late 1800s, but because escalators are still a part of our lives today.
2. Philippe Starck | Paris, France
Starck established an international design company that mass-produced consumer products. This innovation reduced the cost and improved the quality of the product. Starck expanded the practice into multiple genres. Today, we see his design and influence in furniture, appliances, toothbrushes, staplers and tableware.
3. Dieter Rams | Hessen, Germany
Industrial designer Dieter Rams served as the head of the consumer products company Braun. Rams described his design method with the phrase “Weniger, aber besser,” which translates to “Less, but better.” Rams designed many products for Braun, including the famous SK-4 record player and the high-quality ‘D’-series (D45, D46) of 35mm film slide projectors. His influence has encouraged Apple designers to produce simple, user friendly products.
4. David Mellor | Sheffield, England
Mellor changed the way cutlery was used when he designed and produced his first set, “Pride.” The design led Mellor to be commissioned by the government to redesign a traditional 11-piece cutlery set to one of five pieces, “slicing” production costs drastically. He not only changed the way we use silverware, he also helped design street lighting, public seating, trash bins and traffic lights! This man’s designs continue to influence our lives today.
5. Jonathan Ive | London, England
Jonathan Ive is the Senior Vice President of Design at Apple Inc. He manages the Industrial Design for many products that most people come into contact with in their daily lives. He is responsible for the designs of MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air, iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini and iOS 7. This man is single-handedly influencing the industrial design world one Apple product at a time.
At Impulse Product Development, we celebrate these top industrial designers. These people give us inspiration to continue to create new designs that will impact the way we live in the future. If you have consulting needs for any product development you are working on, we want to hear from you. Let’s push innovation together. Connect with us-give us a call or fill out our contact form online.
