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6. The Tartar table, by Ettore Sottassas, couldn't be any more different than the Work Cabinet by Gustav Stickley. It's almost as the entire reason that they were built is completely different, even though they are both technically tables, in a way. The Tartar Table is meant to be looked at with an open mind, taking in all the beauty and gorgeous, bright colors of the perfect shapes sprawling out. Whereas the Work Cabinet is meant to be a functional piece that can fit in any normal persons house and not look out of place at the time, although still very modern for this section of time, just less ornate and showy. The two pieces completely contradict each other, neither share any resemblance beside their function of being a table.


The Tartar table, by Ettore Sottassas

Work Cabinet by Gustav Stickley


14-15. Rapid prototyping, small batch production, miniaturization, and digital technology has absolutely changed the game in the modern world of design and development. Like never before, we can see things visually before they even "exist" to a degree never seen before. Designers can save endless amounts of clients time because they can show digital mockups to them from across the planet if needed, all from an email, all while cutting costs for traveling and physical mockups. All of these things have changed how the whole world works, speed, efficiency, and overall levels of production, and its never going to stop, and will only ever get better and MORE efficient as time goes on and technology gets faster.

5. The national park brochures at the time in the 1960's were a thing of vintage beauty. I wish I could have a stack of them because the design is just so unique and cool. With a focus on the majority of the cover being geared towards photography and scenery, the simplistic words normally at the top of the page can really show an evolving of the use of typography. Everything was very clean and organized, very nice earthly colors, and flowing text that seemed to fit the scene so perfectly.

9. It's the future. Things that, probably, ten years ago nobody could have even imagined looking like this, this is the start of the insane exponential growth in technology that we know (and definitely love) today. It's like when your favorite thing you've been using for years and years gets a refresh and you can finally throw that old thing out and it's a fresh start, that's what this is, and it looks so good. They want you to look at your lifestyle now, the one that probably isn't so bright and cheerful and new, and then see what it could be if they updated. They're putting this reality of fresh and futuristic design out of the things people already know and love, just better.


1. Planned obsolescence and an extreme turnover rate was such a bizarre thing, I still think it is. I think it's crazy, stupid, and really kind of disrespectful to their buyers, but I get it, I totally understand why it's done. To get returning customers, it makes all of the sense in the world to create a product that people like, can use a lot, and will buy again when theirs doesn't work anymore. This comes with negative consequences unfortunately, people may not be able to afford to constantly be repairing or buying new versions of things that they need on a daily basis, so it really effects the lower class citizens.

5. For each item listed, what promise or promises does it symbolically fulfill about the postwar world of affluence? Some examples of these promises are: expendability, social status, technological progress, convenience, luxury, reward, individual fulfillment, social acceptance, beauty, progressive material improvement, independence, planned obsolescence, and comfort.

  1. Levittown Cape Cod: Individual fulfillment

  2. 1948 Cadillac: Luxury, personal fulfillment

  3. Barcalounger: Technological advancements, comfort

  4. The New Look: Beauty, luxury

  5. Phonograph: Convenience, Technological advancements

  6. Kelvinator appliances: Technological advancements,

  7. Heller Hostess ware: Expendability, convenience

  8. Betty Crocker baking mixes: Convenience, individual fulfillment


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