*It\u2019s been suggested that the Starliner of the late 1940\u2019s achieved approximately 40% of Studebaker sales. For many it was considered in period as the quintessential American 2 door coupe with its European style and flair.<\/p>\n

** Lowey was involved with Studebaker Design Division and worked with engineer\/ designers Hoffman, Hardig, Bourke on the Avanti.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeight is the Enemy\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

We particularly identify weight reduction with Chapman. However through his published works and on the net there are many useful quotations pertaining to Loewy and automobile design. His general observation was that American cars were too heavy, bulky he identified them as:-<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir chrome barges and juke boxes on wheels\u201d<\/p>\n

And therefore necessitated large engines.<\/p>\n

\u00a0He possible understood the potential for the oil crisis.<\/p>\n

The editors have considerable respect for Loewy and his concern for consumers but in the case of the automobile he either had a very different aesthetic or possibly overlooked the public wanted larger cars with all the accessories including higher prices.<\/p>\n

However it ought to be noted that he possibly also had concerns that American car production would suffer sales volumes if it did not address world markets and a general trend towards smaller cars.<\/p>\n

The editors readily recognise the considerable design achievements of Loewy but his automobile aesthetics do not really gel or come close to the Italian aesthetic excellence of the late 1950\u2019s and 60\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Logos, Graphics, Corporate and National Identity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Loewy was involved in corporate design and image presentation. Some of his clients included:-<\/p>\n

Logos for Exxon, Shell, BP, International Harvester, TWA, Nabisco, Quaker, New Man, LU ,U.S. Postal Service, New Man, elna,Quaker,corona, SPAR, Rank Hovis McDougall Ltd, NABISCO,CANADA DRY, FORMICA ,ALCAN,TWA etc. Loewy consultants also designed corporate uniforms .Possibly the most famous of these logos is:-<\/p>\n

Lucky Strike package<\/em><\/p>\n

This was another particular success of Loewy and his colleagues. Lucky Strike was brand name that appears to have its roots in the late 19C. Some suggest it was coined to coincide with America\u2019s Gold Rush and was possibly a chewing tobacco. Its logo is associated with a bull\u2019s-eye target. It is a product of British American Tobacco. [BAT]<\/p>\n

During the 1930 cigarette smoking was possible made more female friendly and positively marketed toward women. Lowey redesign probably made the packet less dowdy and the adoption of white packaging\u00a0 redefined the packs distinctive logo in fact making it bolder by virtue of stronger contrast , this had significant symbolism whilst modernizing the brand and appeal to women. In addition the printing of the logo on both packet sides increased visibility and direct\/indirect promotion. The changeover reduced printing costs .Other explanations have been offered but the editors believe that fundamentals are the more significant motive and generator. Sales increased but this too must be analyzed against other events and cultural trends in society. Some pundits suggest that the redesign resulted in an almost 17% increase in consumption.<\/p>\n

Briefly it\u2019s interesting to note that BAR FI racing team was born out of BAT c 1999-2005 to essentially promote their cigarette brands Lucky Strike and 555. With the introduction of legislation they withdrew. [cf Chapman, Lotus and JPS \u2013 see various A&R articles]<\/p>\n

Loewy also undertook commission from Shell 1967-1971 .It\u2019s interesting to track the reductionism, simplification that evolves possibly set against the corporation\u2019s identity\/reputation needing so little articulation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note there was a collective or accumulative impact to Loewy\u2019s designs.<\/p>\n

It is not unreasonable to state:-<\/p>\n

\u201cLoewy\u2019s streamlined packaging for the bar top Coca-Cola dispenser became a symbol of American culture across the world\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Architecture and Interior Design<\/strong><\/p>\n

Architecture and interior design sits very comfortable with Industrial Design and perhaps there is tendency for one commission to grow out of another especially when multinationals seek by every means to enhance and reinforce their corporate identity.<\/p>\n

Possibly one example is the International Harvester\u2019s Stores and Service centers planned and designed by Raymond Loewy Associates.<\/p>\n

Industrial Design A-Z<\/strong><\/p>\n

The editors bring to students\/ subscribers attention that an extensive list of Loewy clients on an A-Z basis is provided in \u201cIndustrial Design\u201d. The editors deliberately mention this as objectivity is important. This list can be used with discretion to cross reference clients, products and socio-economic contexts.<\/p>\n

Awards and Exhibitions<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the net we can summarize that:<\/p>\n

among his numerous honours and awards
\n– from the gold medal, in transportation (for GG-1 locomotive
\ndesign), international exposition, Paris 1937;
\nroyal designer for industry, royal society of arts, London, 1937;
\nto the award from the president of France, 1980 \/
\nbecame honorary citizen of France –
\nhe was named one of the 100 ‘most influential Americans
\nof the 20th century’ by life magazine and
\none of the ‘thousand makers of the 20th century’ by the
\nSunday times.<\/p>\n

He was founding member and fellow of the
\nAmerican society of industrial designs (president 1946).<\/p>\n

Exhibitions, Education and Economics<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the museum context the editors believe that commercial considerations are both necessary and complementary with its educational objectives.<\/p>\n

For these reasons our suggested outline Business Plan includes provision for promoting products and services which share Chapman\u2019s ideals of mechanical efficiency and sustainability. In addition we propose merchandising that explain and interprets the social and cultural context of Chapman\u2019s designs in period. It\u2019s suggested there will be catalogue for on line purchasing.<\/p>\n

An exhibition of Loewy\u2019s and Chapman would make for a fascinating Interactive and interpretative exhibition. This could be structured with many education and market research opportunities. As our lists suggest there are considerable communality of design projects but enormous difference in outcomes and aesthetics to compare contrast and explain.<\/p>\n

Conclusion and Direct comparison with Colin Chapman<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our introduction we referred to Giorgio Giugiaro and we recommend subscribers make a comparison of both as Industrial Design consultants as this is instructive and overlaps with Chapman and Lotus.<\/p>\n

A comparison between Chapman and Loewy reveals these communalities, both:-<\/p>\n

\n
• were Industrial Designers and owned and operated Consultancy<\/li>\n
• were engineers by academic training\/ qualification<\/li>\n
• held , appreciated and presented aesthetic solutions to design issues<\/li>\n
• conducted business through economic up turns but also decline and energy crisis<\/li>\n
• held patents<\/li>\n
• acknowledged the weight issue in motorcar design<\/li>\n
• designed with slightly differing focus but an essential methodology to quality product , simplified and at lower cost<\/li>\n
• acted as consultants to motoring manufacturers<\/li>\n
• undertook design in various transport modes<\/li>\n
• held an international perspective<\/li>\n
• designed goods that were exported<\/li>\n
• their design skills formally acknowledged<\/li>\n
• made significant contributions to their respective national economies<\/li>\n
• produced iconic designs recognized as all-time classics<\/li>\n
• adopted cross pollination and mutated technologies \/materials into new applications<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  However for all these factors in common, the significant difference was that Chapman was in various degrees of involvement: owner, strategist, designer and manufacturer. He took greater risks with products and bore directly the consequences.<\/p>\n

  Whereas Loewy was possibly paid to undertake market research Chapman could less afford this particularly in the early days. He possibly relied on a strategy of multiple outcome supported by an intention to create a superior product to his competitors<\/p>\n

  It\u2019s important to draw some conclusions from the evidence and factor in socio-economic determinants that impinged on their respective designs and careers. These help clarify the comparisons drawn. When evaluating a designer and his success it\u2019s beneficial and objective to:-<\/p>\n

  \n
  • Study the socio-economic conditions prevailing at the time and relate this to disposable income , its influence on taste and culture, availability of credit and whether society is subsisting or investing , purchasing luxury goods etc. and if government is supporting industry or indeed implementing Keynesian theory<\/li>\n
  • Examine the impact of gender ,its priorities and purchasing power and demographics can be included<\/li>\n
  • Consider whether the designer aims for mass production necessities \/ disposable or long life capital goods and the degrees of complexity and legislation impacting on their manufacturer<\/li>\n
  • The brief that is handed to the designer; subscribers might like to see A&R article on Lotus and SUV\u2019s where we look at Chapman, Lotus and market research<\/li>\n
  • If the designer is the owner or consultant as we have noted plant \/capital investment may impinge on product development<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Raymond Loewy and the American Industrial Designers that emerged in the 1920\u2019s were a group of men, in the right place and right time.<\/p>\n

    Raymond Loewy did America a great service at time when world economic depression cast doubts on free market economics to meet societies most basic needs. Loewy believed in choice, consumer freedom and good design .Assisted by societal change and an improving economic conditions prompted by the New Deal, he bought an acceptable modernism to product design. His slogan and design methodology MAYA was tolerant and essential component of free choice. He did not denigrate customers who did not share aesthetic extremes .The editors consider that Loewy was progressive, meet needs and in his own way educated and evolved aesthetic appreciation with a deference to consumer sovereignty .Its possibly because he was an essential democrat that his work is not always appreciated and he was not understood.<\/p>\n

    Loewy\u2019s achievement was to identify American consumer sovereignty with personal liberty and free minded people of the world aspired to this basic human right that seem to underpin and integrate with other civil liberties.<\/p>\n

    Evidence suggests that Chapman on occasions was over ambitious but this contains powerful ingredients of over idealism as to what he could deliver organizationally and at cost. Chapman took risks and bore the consequences. Products of mass consumption, necessity and rapid replacement lend themselves to mass production. In these cases R&D and market research are more easily absorbed. The converse is true of limited production luxury\/larger capital items .It is possible that for this reason Chapman relied on his knowledge of the market [competition & production] and considered this cost effective and decisive. Many of his motorcar designs are considered iconic but were not necessarily commercially successful. However it\u2019s self-evident that for every less successful model Chapman returned with vigour having learnt lessons and provided a viable piece. Under these conditions there was the beneficial spiral we have noted between volume and competition results.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s notoriously difficult to compare \/contrast two so different designers operating on two different continents at different times and in differing socio-economic climates.<\/p>\n

    Loewy designed products that entered a nation\u2019s culture and contributed to how American consumer sovereignty was respected and aspired to and represented liberty.<\/p>\n

    His graphic corporation logos are seen and recognized around the world.<\/p>\n

    On occasions there was beneficial spiral of product, time and place all embracing in an appropriate design or packaging by Loewy. A gift of Loewy was possibly his ability to comprehend needs and translate these into a viable product and as such MAYA will remain a universal. He found a progressive mass common denominator<\/p>\n

    Chapman and Lotus did not reach perhaps the same mass global audience but approached it through his impact\/presence on motor racing and indeed Lotus cars appearance in TV and film. Chapman was an owner designer of complex machinery and produced some designs that are regonised as some of the greatest ever created; Loewy\u2019s automobile aesthetic rather let him down.<\/p>\n

    Both men have left a considerable Industrial Design legacy. Chapman through Lotus continues today and his design methodology essentially lives on.<\/p>\n

    Appendix 1. Henry Ford<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Directly relevant to our study of Loewy and Industrial design is an appreciation of Henry Ford and Taylorism and other mass production techniques that were present in the USA prior to the economic downturn of the 1920\u2019s and 30\u2019s.<\/p>\n

    One quotation from Henry Ford is particularly instructive [see Bachelor, reference below]<\/p>\n

    \u201cI want to build a motor car for the great multitude .It will be large enough for the family, small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials by the best men to be hired after the simplest design and modern engineering can devise. But it will also so low in price that no man making good a good salary will be unable to own one \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.great open spaces\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s important to note how this manifesto and programme influenced the Modernist designers of Europe in the early 20c notably Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus [see A&R dedicated article].The importance of precision manufacturer interchangeability, mass production and affordability were paramount factors in design. The Bauhaus designers sought to reconcile mass production with quality design made affordable and readily available to all.<\/p>\n

    After the success of the Ford Model T, other manufacturers competed by offering more choices and personalization and helped found product design.<\/p>\n

    Reference:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    By Raymond Loewy:-<\/p>\n

    \n
    • The Locomotive: Its Aesthetics<\/em> (1937) ISBN 978-0876636763<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Never Leave Well Enough Alone<\/em> (1951, autobiography) ISBN 0-8018-7211-1<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Industrial Design<\/em> (1979) ISBN 0-87951-260-1<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      American Modern: 1925-1940.Design for a New Age.Johnson.Abrams.2000.<\/em><\/p>\n

      ISBN: 0810942089<\/em><\/p>\n

      Design in America.Meikle.Oxford University Press.2005.<\/em><\/p>\n

      ISBN: 0192842196<\/em><\/p>\n

      Industrial Design.Heskett.Thames and Hudson.1997.<\/em><\/p>\n

      ISBN: 0500201811<\/em><\/p>\n

      Industrial Design A-Z.C&P Fiell.Taschen.2003.<\/p>\n

      ISBN: 3822824267<\/p>\n

      Design.Bonny.Larousse Chambers.2005.<\/p>\n

      ISBN: 0550101942<\/p>\n

      Design Source Book.Sparke, Hodges, Coad, Stone.Macdonald.1986.<\/p>\n

      ISBN: 0356120058<\/p>\n

      The Conran Directory of Design. Edited Bayley.Octupus Conran.1985.<\/p>\n

      ISBN: 1850290059<\/p>\n

      Design: Intelligence made Visible. Bayley & Conran.Firefly.2007.<\/p>\n

      ISBN: 9781554073108<\/p>\n

      Henry Ford: Mass Production, Modernism and Design.Batchelor.Manchester Uni.Press.1994.<\/em><\/p>\n

      ISBN: 0719041732<\/em><\/p>\n

      Consumer Engineering: A New Approach to Prosperity. Sheldon & Arnes.Harper Bros.1932.<\/em><\/p>\n

      Horizons.Bel Geddes. Little Brown.1932<\/em><\/p>\n

      Inventions.Ed.Wilkinson.Observer .2008.<\/p>\n

      ISBN:<\/p>\n

      From the Net:<\/p>\n

      \n
      • Bayley, Stephen. The Lucky Strike Packet (Design Classics Series), Art Books International Ltd (1998) ISBN 3-931317-72-2<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n
      • Byars, Mel. “Loewy, Raymond” in American National Biography, American Council of Learned Societies (2000)<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Porter, Glenn. Raymond Loewy Designs for the Consumer Culture, Hagley Museum and Library (2002) ISBN 0-914650-34-3<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n
      • Schoenberger, Angela. Raymond Loewy: Pioneer of American Industrial Design, Prestel Publishing (1991) ISBN 3-7913-1449-1<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n
      • Tr\u00e9tiack, Phillippe. Raymond Loewy and Streamlined Design, New York: Universe (1999) ISBN 0-7893-0328-0<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Please note the editors of the A&R attempt to give the broadest spectrum of references but not all are available for consultation in an article. However by noting their existence it may assist students in their research.<\/em><\/p>\n

        *Items in italics non A&R library book<\/em><\/p>\n

        Thank you as ever<\/em><\/p>\n

        John Scott Davies Co- Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

        Neil Duncan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Co=Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

        Jamie Duncan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Webmaster<\/em><\/p>\n

        \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Colin Chapman Archive and Resource July 2015 Newsletter \u2013 Number 53 Lotus Parade Hornsey 5th July 2015 (Chris Arnold) John Ross Motor Racing Archive Emails from our readers The Lotus Mk.VI: Six of the Best Raymond Loewy 1893-1986: The Consummate All Consuming Designer All previous articles relating to these are held on the website. 1.0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1971,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2048"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2048"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2062,"href":"http:\/\/www.colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2048\/revisions\/2062"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.colinchapmanmuseum.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}