The Industrial Revolution

The wheel could have started as a toy and eventually its application created a new way to move goods and produce and further along the way it improved with the help of James Watt’s invention; the steam engine.  This invention marked the beginning of industrialisation because it revolutionised the meaning of industry and steel production.

Design style changes do not happen overnight but are the product of a complex mix of historical, political and social changes. In many cases styles co-exist for a time with the modern pushing the old out until forgotten through disuse.

Before the Industrial Revolution, goods were of low quality and produced by individual craftsmen from start to finish often at a high cost in labour and material. Eventually, when the idea of mass production took hold this brought the production costs down, production levels up and its retail price within reach of most of the population.

The time between 1914 and 1950 was a period of great upheaval, loss of life and world depression. However new technologies, sometimes developed during wartime, steadily improved and design went through different styles.

When talking about the Industrial Revolution, one cannot leave out the great Henry Ford! His revolutionary assembly line inventions for his automobiles created jobs and also reduced the price of autos down to a level that most consumers could afford. When Ford put in the assembly line method a Ford could be bought for $495.00. One could have it in “any colour you like as long as it is Black” which was his famous quote. During war times he adjusted his auto factories to military factories so that he could produce trucks for the army, scouting cars and even airplanes. During World War II his factories were producing Jeeps.

Therefore by the means of the assembly line more products could be completed more easily and more efficiently. For instance, Henry Ford managed to produce 15million cars in 20 years. What we need to understand is that by having mass production, products were standardized and therefore parts could be easily found. But apart from mechanics and cars, this was also happening to everyday and household designs. There started to be a loss of stylistic variety and designs were not made by artists or craftsmen. There was a drop in the quality of the product but on the other hand there were more affordable designs.

But to get into more detail about the quantity versus quality dilemma one has to talk about the Great Exhibition. But that is to be discussed in the next blog entry!

Late 19^th Century London, Sep 2010. Making it magazine. [online] Available at: http://www.makingitmagazine.net/?p=1605 [Accessed on: 11^th Oct 2013]

Jennifer Rosenberg. 20^th Century History: Henry Ford. [online] Available at: http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/p/henryford.htm [Accessed on: 11^th Oct 2013]

Ernesto Trejo & Cody Cortner. A Big Step Towards Fewer Steps – the assembly line and its importance.  [online] Available at: http://hfordassemblyl.weebly.com/the-assembly-line-and-its-importance.html  [Accessed on: 11^th Oct 2013]