ID [PNW]

Teague: will be a sixty-minute documentary about the life and work of the founding father of American industrial design, Walter Dorwin Teague (1883-1960) Walter Dorwin Teague is considered one of the founding fathers of industrial design as well as one of the most prolific American designers in history. His most notable design work includes the beloved Kodak cameras, the distinctive Marmon 16 automobile, Texaco’s art deco gas stations, the luxurious Boeing Stratocruiser aircraft interior, classic Steinway pianos, elegant Corning glassware, and the futuristic 1939 World's Fair in New York. Although his amazing career is known among designers, very little is known about who he was and how he became “the Dean of Design.” How did a poor pastor’s son from a rural Quaker town in Indiana transform into a celebrity designer in New York? How did he go from checking hats at the Manhattan YMCA to being a successful advertising illustrator? What led him to create a new modern profes...

This is an industrial design concept using Pranav Mistry's SixthSense technology. It is designed specifically for truck drivers by Mike Oldani. It is mounted on the side of the seats head rest and can be flipped around to project into the sleeper cab. Western Washington University Industrial Design Program, 2010. This is one of 13 projects done in the Junior ID studio.

1959 Cadillac Tailfin - photo by Christer Johansson I've been digging through the archives at the Teague Design office in Seattle, hoping to find the story of his life for a biography and documentary.  Once in  awhile I find some gems that are worth sharing.  This quote is from Teague's "The Responsibilities of the Industrial Designer," An Address by WDT to the Detroit Chapter, Industrial Designers Institute. Published in Road & Track, January 1960. In regards to american car styling of the late 1950's when the tail fins grew to extreme heights: "[I am] definitely and unreservedly hostile to recent trends in American automobile design... I agree heartily with millions of others that our characteristic car design has in recent years become lousy, ugly, vulgar, ostentatious, impractical, and excessively costly..."   "In my opinion, Detroit got into trouble because it got out of step with the rest of American industry and the taste of the ...