Google Doodle Celebrates the “Father of Industrial Design”
Google Doodle on November 5, 2013 (photo from google.com)
For those of you who may never have heard the name Raymond Loewy, we have no doubt you have come in contact with his work – which includes designs of refrigerators and cars to logos and the famous Coke bottle.
Today, Google honors the “Father of Industrial Design”, and what would have been his 120th birthday, through a sepia-toned image that pays homage to his partnership with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Loewy worked in a time before the term “industrial designer” had even entered the public vocabulary. His first big break in the industrial design world came when he designed the Sears Coldspot refrigerator in the ‘30s, which quickly became the icebox that everyone wanted.
People often talk about Loewy as the designer of the modern world due to his designs of the Coke bottle and Lucky Strike packaging. His reach extended far beyond that – from the Greyhound Bus logo/cabin design and the IBM Cardpunch, to the sewing machine, logos for Exxon and Shell, and even JFK postage stamps (which he worked with JFK to design).
Coke bottle design (photo from gizmodo.com)
Lucky Strike Packaging (photo from gizmodo.com)
1946: The Greyhound Scenicruiser (photo from theguardian.com)
Shell logo (photo from gizmodo.com)
1936: Loewy with his design for the Pennsylvania Railroad's S1 Steam Locomotive (photo from theguardian.com)
“The main goal is not to complicate the already difficult life of the consumer,” Loewy once said.
Loewy is considered to have revolutionized the industry, and, today, Industrial Design is now an entire profession and one in which we are proud to be a part of. For more about Loewy and his work, visit here.
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