Iconic Designs ─ 50 Stories About 50 Things

Grace Lees-Maffei is Reader in Design History in the School of Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire, UK and is co-editor of The Design History Reader (Bloomsbury 2010) and Made in Italy (Bloomsbury 2013). She is also the editor of Writing Design (Bloomsbury 2011), Iconic Designs (Bloomsbury 2014) and Design at Home (2013).

“This book demonstrates the vast and all-encompassing remit of design from Post-It-Notes to the classic Chanel suit. Within its pages acknowledged design classics jostle with other designs that have such a ubiquity we often forget just how iconic they really are.” – Charlotte Fiell, Design Historian & Author, UK,

“Do you enjoy riding tuk-tuks in South Asia (Italian design, in fact), secretly enjoy visiting Macdonalds, or spend most of your time on Facebook? What got you hooked? In this book fifty icons of modern design are unpacked for you in a thoroughly imaginative manner, cutting across class, age, regional and temporal boundaries. A must for all students and lovers of design alike.” – Peter McNeil, University of Technology Sydney, Australia,

“a lavishly illustrated, treasurable guide” – Choice Magazine
 

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Interrogating Iconic Design, Grace Lees-Maffei

PART ONE: HOT IN THE CITY
Part Introduction
1. Eiffel Tower, France (Gustave Eiffel, 1889), Claire Jones, post doctoral research fellow on the AHRC-funded project Displaying Victorian Sculpture, UK
2. Ford Model T, USA (Henry Ford, 1908), Paul Hazell, University of Worcester, UK
3. London Underground Diagram, UK (1931), Christoph Lueder, ETH Zürich, Canterbury School of Architecture and Kingston University, UK
4. Tuk-Tuk, Italy/Thailand (Corradino D'Ascanio, 1948-), Thomas Brandt, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
5. Sydney Opera House, Australia (Jørn Utzon, Denmark, 1957-73), D.J. Huppatz, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
6. McDonald's Golden Arches Logo, USA (Jim Schindler, 1962), D.J. Huppatz, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
7. Mobility Scooter, USA (Allen R. Thieme, 1968), Nicolas P. Maffei, Norwich University College of the Arts, UK
8. Concorde, France/UK (Pierre Satre/Sir Archibald Russell, Aerospatiale/BAe, 1969), Amy Foster, University of Central Florida, USA
9. The London Eye, UK (Marks Barfield Architects, 1999), Jilly Traganou, Parsons The New School for Design, USA and Grace Vetrocq Tuttle, communication design specialist, USA
10. The Palm Islands, Dubai, UAE (Nakheel Properties, 2001-), Dolly Jørgensen, Umeå University, Sweden

PART TWO: PAGE TURNERS AND SCREEN SIRENS
Part Introduction
11. Isotype, Austria (Marie Reidemeister, Otto Neurath, Gerd Arntz, 1925-1934), Ellen Lupton, Maryland Institute College of Art, USA
12. Metropolis, Germany (Fritz Lang, 1927), Nathaniel Robert Walker, Ph.D. student at Brown University, USA
13. Penguin Books, UK (Allen Lane, 1935 and Jan Tschichold, 1947-9), Paul Shaw, Parsons School of Design, USA
14. Helvetica, Switzerland (Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman, 1957), Kerry William Purcel, lThe University of Hertfordshire, UK
15. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band cover, UK (Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, 1967), Alice Twemlow, School of Visual Arts, USA
16. Graphical User Interface (GUI), USA (Apple, 1984), Paul Atkinson, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
17. Benetton Advertising Campaigns, Italy (Oliviero Toscani, 1986-), Celia Lury, University of Warwick, UK
18. Ray Gun, USA (David Carson, 1992-1995), Julia Moszkowicz, Southampton Solent University, UK
19. Ebay.com, USA (Pierre Omidyar, 1995), Ida Engholm, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Denmark
20. Facebook, USA (Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, 2003), Alison Gazzard, University of Hertfordshire, UK

PART THREE: GENIUS AT WORK
Part Introduction
21. Paper Clip, USA (Samuel B. Fay, 1867), Joe Moran, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
22. Wooton Desk, USA (William S. Wooton, 1874), Kenneth L. Ames, Bard Graduate Center, USA
23. Incandescent Light Bulb, USA (Thomas Edison, 1880), Carroll Pursell, Australian National University, Australia
24. Streamlined Pencil Sharpener, USA (Raymond Loewy, 1933), Nicolas P. Maffei, Norwich University College of the Arts, UK
25. Bic Cristal Pen, France (Société PPA, 1950), Susan Lambert, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK
26. Polypropylene Chair, UK (Robin Day, 1960-63), Susan Lambert, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK
27. Valentine Typewriter, Italy (Ettore Sottsass Jr. and Perry A. King for C. Olivetti S.p.A., 1969), Penny Sparke, Kingston University, UK
28. Rubik's Cube, Hungary (Erno Rubik, 1974), Kjetil Fallan, University of Oslo, Norway
29. Post-it Note, USA, 1980 (Spencer Silver and Arthur Fry for 3M), Alice Twemlow, School of Visual Arts, USA
30. Apple iMac G3, USA (Jonathan Ive for Apple, 1998), Paul Atkinson, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

PART FOUR: HOME RULES
Part Introduction
31. Portland Vase, UK (Josiah Wedgwood, 1789), Glenn Adamson, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK
32. Heinz 57 Varieties (Henry J. Heinz & L. Clarence Noble, 1869), Michael Golec, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA
33. 'Strawberry Thief', UK (William Morris, 1883), Emma Ferry, Nottingham Trent University, UK
34. Frankfurt Kitchen, Germany (Grete Lihotzky, 1926), Finn Arne Jørgensen, Umeå University, Sweden
35. Clubsessel 'B3' 'Wassily' Chair, Germany (Marcel Breuer, 1927), Clive Edwards, Loughborough University, UK
36. Princess Telephone, USA (Henry Dreyfuss for Bell Telephone, 1959), Lasse Brunnström, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
37. LEGO, Denmark (Ole Kirk Christiansen, 1958), Kjetil Fallan, University of Oslo, Norway
38. Barbie, USA (Ruth Handler/Mattel, 1959), Juliette Peers, RMIT University, Australia
39. Juicy Salif Lemon Squeezer, Italy/France (Philippe Starck, 1990), Grace Lees-Maffei, University of Hertfordshire, UK
40. Dyson DC01 Vacuum Cleaner, UK (James Dyson, 1993), Louise Crewe, University of Nottingham, UK

PART FIVE: PERSONAL EFFECTS
Part Introduction
41. Chopsticks, China (c. 3,000 BC), Yunah Lee, University of Brighton, UK
42. Zori and Flip-flop Sandal, Japan/World (n.d.), Martha Chaiklin, University of Pittsburgh, USA
43. Levi's Jeans, USA (Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss & Co., 1873), Christopher Breward, University of Edinburgh, UK
44. Swiss Army Knife, Switzerland (Karl Elsener, Victorinox, 1891), Catharine Rossi, Kingston University, UK
45. Brownie Camera, USA (Eastman Kodak, 1900), Marc Olivier, Brigham Young University, USA
46. Chanel Suit, France (Coco Chanel, c. 1913), Hazel Clark, Parsons the New School for Design, USA
47. Coca-Cola Bottle, USA (Earl R. Dean, 1915), Finn Arne Jørgensen, Umeå University, Sweden
48. Hello Kitty, Japan (Yuko Shimizu for Sanrio, 1974), Brian J. McVeigh, University of Arizona, USA
49. Sony Walkman, Japan (Nobutoshi Kihara, 1978), Juliette Kristensen, Kingston University, UK
50. Wind-Up Radio, UK/South Africa (Trevor Baylis, 1992), Gabriele Oropallo, University of Oslo, Norway

Notes
Contributors
Select Bibliography
Index