Streamliner

Raymond Loewy and Image-making in the Age of American Industrial Design

Business & Finance, Economics, Economic History, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Streamliner by John Wall, Johns Hopkins University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Wall ISBN: 9781421425757
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Publication: August 15, 2018
Imprint: Language: English
Author: John Wall
ISBN: 9781421425757
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication: August 15, 2018
Imprint:
Language: English

Born in Paris in 1893 and trained as an engineer, Raymond Loewy revolutionized twentieth-century American industrial design. Combining salesmanship and media savvy, he created bright, smooth, and colorful logos for major corporations that included Greyhound, Exxon, and Nabisco. His designs for Studebaker automobiles, Sears Coldspot refrigerators, Lucky Strike cigarette packs, and Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives are iconic. Beyond his timeless designs, Loewy carefully built an international reputation through the assiduous courting of journalists and tastemakers to become the face of both a new profession and a consumer-driven vision of the American dream.

In Streamliner, John Wall traces the evolution of an industry through the lens of Loewy’s eclectic life, distinctive work, and invented persona. How, he asks, did Loewy build a business while transforming himself into a national brand a half century before "branding" became relevant? Placing Loewy in context with the emerging consumer culture of the latter half of the twentieth century, Wall explores how his approach to business complemented—or differed from—that of his well-known contemporaries, including industrial designers Henry Dreyfuss, Walter Teague, and Norman Bel Geddes. Wall also reveals how Loewy tailored his lifestyle to cement the image of "designer" in the public imagination, and why the self-promotion that drove Loewy to the top of his profession began to work against him at the end of his career. Streamliner is an important and engaging work on one of the longest-lived careers in industrial design.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Born in Paris in 1893 and trained as an engineer, Raymond Loewy revolutionized twentieth-century American industrial design. Combining salesmanship and media savvy, he created bright, smooth, and colorful logos for major corporations that included Greyhound, Exxon, and Nabisco. His designs for Studebaker automobiles, Sears Coldspot refrigerators, Lucky Strike cigarette packs, and Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives are iconic. Beyond his timeless designs, Loewy carefully built an international reputation through the assiduous courting of journalists and tastemakers to become the face of both a new profession and a consumer-driven vision of the American dream.

In Streamliner, John Wall traces the evolution of an industry through the lens of Loewy’s eclectic life, distinctive work, and invented persona. How, he asks, did Loewy build a business while transforming himself into a national brand a half century before "branding" became relevant? Placing Loewy in context with the emerging consumer culture of the latter half of the twentieth century, Wall explores how his approach to business complemented—or differed from—that of his well-known contemporaries, including industrial designers Henry Dreyfuss, Walter Teague, and Norman Bel Geddes. Wall also reveals how Loewy tailored his lifestyle to cement the image of "designer" in the public imagination, and why the self-promotion that drove Loewy to the top of his profession began to work against him at the end of his career. Streamliner is an important and engaging work on one of the longest-lived careers in industrial design.

More books from Johns Hopkins University Press

Cover of the book Writing History, Writing Trauma by John Wall
Cover of the book Coxsackie by John Wall
Cover of the book Maryland Geography by John Wall
Cover of the book From Little London to Little Bengal by John Wall
Cover of the book Green Alternatives and National Energy Strategy by John Wall
Cover of the book Poverty and the Myths of Health Care Reform by John Wall
Cover of the book Postsecondary Play by John Wall
Cover of the book The Siddhāntasundara of Jñānarāja by John Wall
Cover of the book Plague, Fear, and Politics in San Francisco's Chinatown by John Wall
Cover of the book The Night Guard at the Wilberforce Hotel by John Wall
Cover of the book Genealogical Fictions by John Wall
Cover of the book Remixing the Civil War by John Wall
Cover of the book From Madman to Crime Fighter by John Wall
Cover of the book Latino Mennonites by John Wall
Cover of the book A Tour of the Senses by John Wall
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy