Impact Conference: Berto Pandolfo's featured session

Dr. Ruth McDermott (UNSW) and Berto Pandolfo present Marianne Brandt: designer of icons or real industrial designer? on the 2nd of October at Impact! From Bauhaus to IKEA, hosted by UTS Design.

In 1923, under the slogan ‘Art into industry: a new unity’, the Bauhaus adopted a new direction. Previously, the emphasis was on engaging with craft as a way to liberate the imagination of the designer, whereas now the teaching of craft was to prepare design for mass production (Marcus, 2008, 346). As a result of this change, the Bauhaus produced an array of what have become design classics which continue to resonate with people a century later. By focusing on light fittings, a prolific and high-profile area of the Bauhaus, our paper will argue that many of the lighting designs had an emphasis on expressing ideas about form and material in accordance with Bauhaus ideology. Yet, very few could be considered genuine pieces of industrial design which aimed to meet user expectations and match manufacturer’s needs. In our view, the Bedside Table Lamp designed by Marianne Brandt in collaboration with Hin Bredendiek is one of few complete industrial design projects to emerge out of the Bauhaus. An analysis of this object reveals an attention to detail, sound technical understanding, an emphasis on user needs and a complexity of form that went beyond the symmetrical and basic geometries of many of the Bauhaus works. At a time when industrial design was emerging as a discipline, this is an example of actual engagement with industry and manufacturing processes. These factors combined to create an innovative light fitting, free of older forms and approaches, which enjoyed both commercial and critical success. This study contributes another layer of understanding to the beginning of the industrial design discipline, it positions Marianne Brandt alongside pioneer industrial designers who designed for manufactures such as Peter Behrens and Christopher Dresser and it elevates the Bedside Table Lamp from just another Bauhaus light to a unique and important exemplar.

The conference will be held at:
Aerial UTS Function Centre
UTS Building 10 on Level 7, 235 Jones Street, Ultimo.
University of Technology Sydney - UTS
Sydney, AUSTRALIA

For more information, see: ikeaxuts.org
and register to attend at: bit.ly/ikeaxuts