Transferring Products Into Streamlining

Streamlining:

Using the concept to redesign a chair, camper, lamp, and radio

In contrast to artistic images from eras such as the rococo and baroque, the 20th century design movement known as 'streamlining' attempted to reduce everything from homes to ordinary household objects down to their most essential, sparest forms. The popularity of this movement is embodied today in such iconic structures as Apple's iPad and iPod, where function and form are seamlessly integrated: the simplicity of the design mirrors the simplicity of using the device. Streamlining originally became popular in the 1930s, an era with many parallels to our own in terms of the political and economic unrest and fears of rapid technological change. All of this was fused into a desire for simplicity and clarity.

"America in the 1920s and early 1930s was an increasingly machine-driven culture…. The result of streamlining was not only the appearance of speed in every kind of item (ironically, often in thoroughly grounded objects, such as homes), but also a diversion from the attention of that item's actual inner workings. Like the Moderne, and opposed to the principles of machine purity, streamlining concealed" the object's innate functions.[footnoteRef:1] Rather than focusing on the inner complexities of the device, streamlining made even the most manufactured objects look basic. [1: Ben Lisle, "Modern design and the machine aesthetic," http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/lisle/30home/modern/modern.html]

I first decided to adapt a chair to a 'streamlined' conception of design. The chair's original incarnation was a fairly standard, four-legged form with plush cushions at the back and seat. However, my first thought was: what is the real purpose of a chair having four legs? Why not directly rest the bottom of the chair almost on the floor? With my streamlined chair, the chair seems to organically rise up from the floor. Instead of plush cushions (which are often not really comfortable, but merely cause the sitter to sink in his or her lower back) firm and spare cushions support the body without causing the sitter to collapse. Rather than two unnecessary armrests only one is provided, given that people seldom sit in their chairs with one arm on each 'rest,' sitting squarely in the middle of the seat. My streamline chair employs smooth curves, to fit nicely with the flow of the human body rather than subject it to unnatural edges. Its 'naturalness' resists the harsh, angular edges of mechanized production and thus conveys the spirit of streamlining.

Streamlining is also made apparent in my redesign of a camper. Instead of multiple attached parts, as with the original, in which a component is fitted on to an existing truck, my streamlined camper takes the form of a podlike structure, forming a curving shape with wheels that requires no attachments. Nothing is hanging off of the camper; there are no rough edges. Everything is stored within, rather than attached. Although the camper may seem to hold less, the curving bubble top actually holds more. The fact that it is one vehicle also means that the two components of the vehicle and the transportation section are less likely to come apart on the roadway, thus making the design superior. Streamlining's focus on speed is manifested in my integrated camper's greater resistance to wind. Also, nothing about the construction of the camper is immediately apparent from the streamlined design -- there are no seams suggesting attachment and the windows are too small to suggest what the camper is concealing. This shows how streamlining was designed to convey forward progress. "Speed was the essence of the modern age and the shape which was most conducive to speed was the ovoid, or tear-drop."[footnoteRef:2] [2: Lisle]

A lamp is a relatively simple device, usually mainly consisting of a bulb, a shade, and something to hold both, but designs for lamps have grown increasingly ornate through the years. The bottom of the original lamp is almost rococo in design, with swirls of fake gold. The shade is so large and heavy it obscures the full illumination of the bulb. In seeking to add more, the designer actually adds less to the overall design, and makes the appearance of the furniture fairly pedestrian in nature. The streamlined lamp in contrast, has a relatively minimalist shade, extending out just enough to shade rather than obscure the light from the bulb. This allows considerably more illumination to extend from the lamp, fulfilling its overall function far better. Even the on and off switch is easier to reach on the streamlined lamp.