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"We never show them sketches and never present alternatives."   Walter D. Teague Walter Dorwin Teague -photo courtesy Teague archives Be the Authority        Teague used a bold strategy with his clients, one which most consultants do not dare to do today.  When it came time to present the design deliverables, he only presented one.  It was presented with panache and great authority, usually as a beautiful and perfect full scale model, with dramatic lighting and within a contextual environment.  Teague’s perspective was that he was the designer, and he had the experience and expertise to make the final design decision.  His office had explored all possible options and alternatives, and this was the best solution.  “We work very closely with our clients, their engineers and executives, so that we thoroughly understand the conditions of success in their business.  But we consider that design is our business, not theirs. ...

Part 1 of 5 Walter Dorwin Teague on Madison Avenue (Teague archives)     Walter Dorwin Teague (1883 - 1960) is considered one of the founding fathers of industrial design as well as one of the most prolific American industrial designers in history.  Among his contemporaries, Henry Dreyfuss, Norman Bel Geddes, and Raymond Loewy, he stands out as a professional leader and influential businessman.  His clients were the largest and most prominent corporations in the United States.  From the start of his industrial design business in 1928 the office grew from a staff of two to fifty-five by 1938, which included architects, engineers, accountants, model makers, and industrial designers. (Teague, W. D. Jr. 52)  At this time his client list included: Ford, Texaco, US Steel, DuPont, National Cash Register, Eastman-Kodak, Steinway and Sons, A.B. Dick, Consolidated Edison, and New Haven Railroad among others.   Teague maintained long relation...