Monday 5 April 2010

Christopher Dresser

"Among the first independent industrial designers, Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) championed design reform in 19th century Britain while embracing modern manufacturing in the development of wallpaper, textiles, ceramics, glass, furniture and metalware." The Design Museum has more details here.

 As a designer Christopher Dresser, "reduced his forms; his stringently geometric 1870s and 1880s designs - especially for metalware - are entirely devoid of the luxuriantly decorative spirit of the Victorian age period. An unconventional thinker, Dresser broke new ground in design. From the outset Dresser designed forms suitable for mass production. Unlike William Morris, for instance, Christopher Dresser could very easily imagine the potential of linking industrial mass production and high-quality designs. In this sense Christopher Dresser might be termed the father of industrial design; he submitted designs for objects of metal, glass and ceramics to more than fifty firms. Not only were Christopher Dresser's far ahead of their time; the underlying aesthetic was also boldly forward-looking. Many of the metalware Dresser designed between the 1860s and 1880s anticipates 1920s functionalism in many respects." Here

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the video, I've not seen this before. No textiles or wallpaper, but then why break the habit of a lifetime or two.

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  2. An aspect that is indeed overlooked so it is good to see you had shown at least some of his wallpapers and textiles in your blog. Thank you.

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