Raymond Rowe, the father of American industrial design

Do you still remember the first time you drank Coke? The subtle and soft shape of the bottle left a mark in your heart for a long time? From the logo of President Kennedy's plane to the familiar Greyhound coach, Raymond Lowe is flourishing in the field of industrial design. Infinite imagination, endless creation, the crown of the father of industrial design, who else can give it to him? He is Raymond Rowe, the father of American industrial design.

Raymond Loewy - the most famous industrial designer in the 20th century and a pioneer in the design industry - combined streamlined style with European modernism to establish a unique artistic language. He pioneered industrial design, promoted the marriage of design and business, and injected fresh life elements into the development of industry with his keen business sense, unlimited imagination and outstanding design talent. His life was full of ups and downs, and his career was grand and colorful. The number and scope of his designs are staggering: from cars and space stations to stamps, lipsticks, and company icons. Whether Americans in the mid-20th century were aware of it or not, they actually lived in Raymond Lowe's world.

Design is everywhere

Raymond Loewy was born in Paris in 1893. He had a strong interest in trains and automobiles since he was a child, and determined to engage in design. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in engineering, he enlisted in the Army. After the end of World War I, he immigrated to the United States in 1919. He was nearly 30 years old at the time and had almost nothing, but he took this as an opportunity to sincerely pursue his childhood dream.

Initially, Rowe designed fashion display windows for the famous Macy's on Fifth Avenue in New York. He also served as illustration designer for fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper's, occupying a place in the fashion industry with his unique artistic style. . In 1929, he undertook his first design order to improve the Gestetner copier, and then entered the field of industrial design. This order not only had a tight time limit, but was also quite difficult. It required the designer to redesign the company's copier within five days, so that its appearance and performance would be combined in both directions. Rowe immediately started to design a removable shell to enclose the internal machine, and changed the shape of the machine's crank and copy table, replacing the previous protruding and thick brackets with "four slim, yet solid brackets." Thanks to Rowe's inspiration, the "ugly, clumsy" machine was transformed into "charming office furniture" that has been passed down for many years. In the design, Luo Wei applied ergonomics and aesthetic concepts to make the copier stand out from the competition and sales continued to rise. Rowe's talent and inspiration inspired the creation of a new profession - industrial designer. As the first example of the perfect combination of design and marketing, Rowe's first business opened a new era of American industrial design.

Luo Wei pursues the concept of "streamline and simplicity", that is, "utility and simplicity highlight beauty", and drives the streamline movement in design. He "streamlined and simplified" everything - from spaceships to postage stamps. Notable works include Lucky Strike cigarette boxes, GG1 and S1 engines, Coca-Cola bottles, John F. Kennedy commemorative stamps, space stations, Greyhound cars and logos; Shell and Exxon trademarks; and the U.S. Post Office service badge ; Arctic refrigerator (Frigidaire) and Studebaker Avanti car, etc.

By 1951, his industrial design company was so prolific that he could proudly announce to the world: "An ordinary person living a normal life, whether in the city or in the countryside, does more or less work every day." You may rarely come into contact with items, service signs and buildings designed by R.L.A (Raymond Loewy & Associates) or partially involved in it.”

The most beautiful curve is the curve of rising sales

<. p>As a professional designer, Luo Wei has become famous in the industry and has established himself as a standard-bearer. He promotes the new concept of design promoting marketing and believes that functional design is of great benefit to marketing. He emphasized that design is not for the purpose of being new and different, but to serve the operation of the market, and promoted the new concept that only "good design" can occupy the market. He said: "The most beautiful curve is the curve of rising sales."

During the Great Depression in the United States, good design and business began to marry, and Rowe's career also flourished. With his design, he endowed the products with irresistible charm and made customers who had little desire to buy spend generously.

In 1934, Lowe designed a new image for the Cold Point refrigerator. The appearance of the refrigerator adopts large arcs and arcs, and the integrated box makes it look simple and bright; the interior of the refrigerator has also been partially adjusted, laying the foundation for modern refrigerators. After Freezing Point landed on the market, annual sales soared from 60,000 units to 275,000 units, and the eyes of the entire business world lit up. For a time, streamlined design became a purchasing target for consumers, and its impact is still lingering today. And Luo Wei was its originator and performed it to its peak.

The GG-1 locomotive designed by Rowe for the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1936 is another testament to the functionality of industrial design. He abandoned countless rivets and used welding technology to manufacture the locomotive head shell, which not only made its appearance complete and smooth, but also simplified the maintenance process, thereby reducing production costs.

When redesigning the bottle shape for The Coca-Cola Company, he gave the bottle a subtler, more graceful curve. "It (Coke bottle) has a very feminine shape - a quality that sometimes transcends functionality in merchandise." Rowe's design was a huge success in business, bringing huge profits to the Coca-Cola Company. The classic bottle shape of Coke has quickly become a symbol of American culture.

He summarized his design philosophy into the principle of MAYA (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable) and spread it in all his creations. Throughout his long career, simple, functional and dynamic work has flowed from Lowe's office.

Dynamic Road

In 1930, Rowe was hired as a senior consultant for the Hupp Motor Company. He joked that this employment contract was "the beginning of industrial designers becoming a legitimate profession." and explained that "this is the first time that a large company has sought advice from outside the industry in product development." Since then, Rowe has The long and bumpy cooperation process with American automakers began.

Lowe introduced sloping windshields, recessed headlights and tire casings into automotive design. Long before the gasoline economy became the focus of the world's attention, Rowe advocated the production of fuel-saving cars with low bodies and slim shapes. “He has launched a protracted battle with the luxurious style of the Detroit design school.” Time magazine once commented: “He has the ability to transform the ugly beast on the production line after several small changes. Become a beautiful "unique" thing; but have no ability to change the stubborn concept of the automobile industry - a gas tiger (a car with a lot of gas consumption) is a gas tiger, and a person who designs fancy clothes (referring to Luo Wei) will never be allowed to change it ."

In 1961, when designing the Avanti car, Rowe put forward the slogan "Weight is the enemy." After his efforts, Avanti gave up the radiator grille. "Who needs grilles in this day and age of gas shortages? Grilles always remind me of sewers."

Although far removed from Detroit design style, many of his designs, such as the 1953 Studebaker Starliner The Coupe and the 1963 Avanti attracted attention as soon as they debuted; today, they are still classics among cars. In 1972, Rowe's design topped the list of the best cars jointly launched by the three major automobile companies. Automobile News announced: "The 1953 Studebaker, a long-nosed, barely decorated, but dynamic sedan, is known as a classic among cars."

Visual Impact

In addition to his outstanding achievements in the automotive industry, Rowe is undoubtedly one of the most talented commercial artists in the world.

In the 1940s, he began to undertake product packaging and corporate image design, which originated from a bet. For a long time, Lucky cigarette boxes have been designed with green and red packaging. In 1940, the CEO of the American Tobacco Company bet Lowe $50,000, believing that he could not change this familiar image. Luo Wei accepted the challenge and started changing the green background color to white to reduce printing costs; then he printed the Haocai logo on the front and back of the cigarette box, making the entire cigarette box more eye-catching. After the "renovation", Haocaiyan achieved great commercial success and its image has been maintained for more than 40 years.

When redesigning the company logo for Shell, Luo Wei made a brand transformation, which not only continued the shell concept of the original trademark, but also stylized it to make the visual effect more concise and powerful.

Lo Wei once explained his trademark design this way: "I seek a strong visual shock that can leave a deep impression on people even with a short glance."

< p>He did indeed do it, and his successful designs: Exxon Oil, Greyhound Coach, and Nabisco Biscuits attracted everyone's attention with their unique visual impact and are unforgettable.

Flying the Earth

A New York Times writer once commented: "It is no exaggeration that Mr. Lowe shaped the image of the modern world." But since NASA adopted him After his design inspiration, his influence flew beyond the earth.

From 1967 to 1973, Rowe was hired as a resident consultant by NASA and participated in the design of Saturn-Apollo and the space station. They need him to "ensure the psychological and physical safety and comfort of astronauts in extreme weightlessness." His bold design - simulating gravity space and opening a porthole that allows one to view the Earth - allowed three astronauts to live in the space station for up to 90 days. George Muller, a director of NASA, wrote in a letter of thanks to Rowe: "Astronauts live relatively comfortably, full of energy, and extremely efficient in the space station. It is incredible! All of this All thanks to your innovative design. This design is the perfect result of your deep understanding of human needs."

Muller predicted that Rowe's design laid the foundation for the next major leap forward for mankind. . Rowe was very pleased. When he later mentioned his work for NASA, he said that this was his most important and most satisfying design.

Lowe's design career lasted until he was over 80 years old. He later returned to France and enjoyed a leisurely travel life until the end of his extraordinary life in 1986. As the founder of American industrial design, his life was accompanied by the process of American industrial design from its beginning, development, peak and gradual decline. It is no exaggeration to say: Rowe's life is a brief history of the development of American industrial design. Luo Wei is well-deserved to be called the father of industrial design