George Nelson: The Design of Modern Design

by Stanley Abercrombie, Ettore Sottsass (Foreword by)

Nelson (1908-1986), a central figure in the early period of modern design, lives on in the continuing influence of his innovations and contributions (among them, the bubble lamp, the sling sofa, the storage wall, the shopping mall, the open-plan office system). Abercrombie had access to Nelson's office archives and personal papers, and he interviewed more than 70 of Nelson's friends and colleagues to prepare this biography, which includes photos representing the range of his work and extended quotations from his published and unpublished writings. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Genres: Design

375 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Umi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like someone’s term paper, but the photos are nice

[KaSaBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of us will connect the name "George Nelson" with "mid-century" modern furniture design: here the coconut chair, the marshmallow sofa or the highly popular slat bench may come to mind. But George Nelson was much more than "just" a creative furniture designer. Abercrombie's "George Nelson: The Design of Modern Design" shows us in a highly readable way the many ways in which Nelson contributed to the world of design. First of all, he was a prolific and talented writer penning articles for Pencil Points, Fortune, Interiors Magazine, Architectural Forum, among others. It is very fortunate (since very entertaining!) that Abercrombie made ample use of Nelson's own prose to get across interesting (and sometimes highly controversial) points on the designer's views about design, art and architecture. Further, Nelson served as design director for Herman Miller, dabbled in architecture (e.g. the Spaeth House or J.T. Kirkpatrick House), was an important contributor to the fairly new discipline of Industrial Design, dazzled people with his exhibition designs (e.g. the Chrysler Pavilion in 1963) , designed fancy decor such as the ball clock, 'invented" the bubble lamps and rethought (in collaboration with Charles Eames) how design should be taught at school. The book also describes how Nelson established fruitful working relationships and friendships with other well-known designers and architects, many of which lasted for decades: Frank Lloyd Wright, Bucky Fuller, Irving Harper, Ray and Charles Eames, Alexander Girard, etc. In sum, this is a highly readable, yet comprehensive account on the life and work of George Nelson. The fact that it does not show too many color pictures of Nelson's designs does not take away any of its appeal.