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An industrial design project using no computers, start to finish

By Rain Noe - August 3, 2010

in design.edu

A friend who works as a toy designer recently told me her new intern--an ID grad--had never used a glue gun! And I wonder if today's ID grads know what graphite smells like. I believe my graduating class was one of the last to learn drafting the old-fashioned way, with an assortment of mechanical pencils. Nowadays most ID curriculums revolve around the computer, whether for modeling or drafting. I don't mean this to be another "When I was your age" type of post; but I just came across "The Decanter," a promo video from design consultancy Walter Landor and Associates, which details the design process of the titular product way back in the 1960s, before I was even born. If someone dropped a project on you today to design a decanter, you'd probably look at pictures of other decanters on the web, and do your drafting and modeling on the computer, which you'd also use to e-mail the client for updates and feedback. What the heck would you do in the 1960s when, needless to say, they didn't have any computers to run the design through? Many of you may be curious as to how they got projects like this done back then. Here's to hoping you're fifteen-and-a-half minutes worth of curious, as this video was edited in the 1960s (the project doesn't even really start until 1:23 into the video). Check it out:

Design story: The Decanter from Landor Associates on Vimeo.

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Nate D

14 years ago

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Still using the same techniques at AAU. Still fueled by coffee and cigarettes too!
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D B

14 years ago

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Great video both in a technical sense as well as a window into 1960's culture.
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jared thompson

14 years ago

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Interesting, you are all too often encouraged the opposite during education, I wonder if today's designers all too often revert to going straight to digital instead of picking up there pens and sketching.
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Heath Stephenson

14 years ago

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What a great video. We use much the same process in university and it works extremely well. Admittedly we have some upgraded techniques, different vacuum former for example, but on the whole the process is identical. I think it is essential to create models and test rigs other wise you don't get a proper feel for a product and I am particularly glad that I am still learning it at university.
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Earthman

14 years ago

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Cool little video! Where did you dig that up?
I still use that plaster model making technique on the lathe, works well for molds and jigger and jolly setups. The crusty old guys taught me how ;) It's just satisfing working with your hands, that will never change.
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Adam Sturm

14 years ago

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Wow, things sure have changed over the last fifty years. I can't imagine having to design everything I do everything by hand. I wouldn't be able to get half as much done. This is an interesting look back, though. People say times were simpler back then, but in this case, it's not.
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