BAUHAUS CENTENARY | DESIGN
innovate its functional performance and the aesthetic qualities of its products. As a result of this ongoing research, all-new properties have been introduced to plastic, such as satin- finish, transparency, flexibility, resistance to atmospheric agents, softness and touch, and surprising and special colours. In addition to being practical and functional, Kartell plastic is also sensual and precious, and radically transforms the perception of a plastic product from a merely functional object to a veritable luxury item.” A winning attribute of plastics, lightness, was
exploited by other corporations that became known for their desirable and functional designs in the 1950s and 1960s. Philips first established itself in the Netherlands as a manufacturer of lighting and other electrical products, but it was also the owner of the country’s largest plastics factory. These two areas of expertise came together when the company began producing the Philishave electric shaver. This was the starting point for Philips to design and manu- facture all sorts of hand-held consumer electronic devices that benefited from housings and compo- nents made of lightweight plastics. Robert Bosch also has a long history that
started in electrical engineering and continues today with multinational businesses involved in the automotive and industrial equipment sectors. But it is the group’s power tools business that is perhaps most prominent in the minds of consumers, associating the Bosch brand with green drills (blue for professional users) whose lightness, easy usabil- ity and great designs are made possible by plastics. The continuity of design in Bosch power tools is partly due to the company having worked for six decades with one industrial design group, Teams Design. Its founder, Hans Erich Slany, set up his design agency in 1956 near Bosch’s headquar- ters in Stuttgart, Germany. Slany had previously gained expertise in power tools and household appliances, so he went to Bosch with his own ideas. Teams Design explains: “Understanding the role
of metal in the 1950s provides crucial historical context to Slany’s story; during that time, metal was an essential building block for countless consumer products. Bosch produced the majority of their products with metal – including cooking utensils, umbrella frames, and power tools. Slany had the breakthrough idea to instead use a plastic casing for power tools – making them lighter, easier-to- use, and less likely to cause repetitive strain injuries. When Slany found that plastics could be engineered to be just as durable and heat-resistant
www.injectionworld.com April 2019 | INJECTION WORLD 29
as metal, he approached Bosch with the game-changing idea. The new partnership led to the first generation of plastic power tools in the world.” Teams continues to design Bosch power tools that maintain the same identity through their design and easy functionality. In March, Bosch unveiled the new version of its top selling Ixo cordless power screwdriver. True to the Bosch design lineage, the new Ixo
retains its distinctive silhouette, but with a sleek- ness and lightness that embodies the Bauhaus ideal of harmony between form and function. Modernism has been the subject of criticism
from artists and social commentators since the 1960s. The Radical Design movement was formed in the late 1960s around a group of Italian artists, designers and architects who broke away from the dominant aesthetics of the time. And, again in Italy, arising in the early 1980s, the Memphis group was formed by Ettore Sottsass, previously a leading designer at Olivetti. Memphis designed furniture with a playful and colourful originality that was a clear break from modernism. By the 1980s, concepts were gaining ground
that are often grouped under the broad and unspecific term “Post-Modernism”. Many people working in the visual and performance arts have embraced Post-Modernism. But in product design, the functionalist approach at the centre of modern- ism has been maintained. The notion of Good Design that was formulated in the 1950s continues to inform the work of leading designers. Individual- ism is also important, but the “signature” elements of a design (such as the design language of a brand) are still secondary to the functionalism evident in most successful products.
Below: Kartell’s website has a video of the Mr. Impossible chair, designed by Philippe Starck, being injection
moulded on a KraussMaffei machine
Left: The latest Bosch Ixo powered screwdriver was launched in April with a minimal and functional design
PHOTO: BOSCH
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