Design Classic Number 42: Twister Game

Image by Steven Snodgrass

Twister Continues to Turn Heads and More

 

Creator:  Charles Foley
Created: 1966
Origin: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

I decided to write this in honor of Charles Foley, whose death at the age of 82, on July 1st 2013, was announced today. Twister is a game, which involves having to place a specified hand or foot, on a particular color of dot, on a large mat, printed with large colored dots laid out on the floor. The specified hand or foot and color of dot, is determined by spinning a pointer on a printed board.

The Twister game fulfilled a need for Charles Foley’s company to diversify into the games industry. The creation of Twister happened in 1966 and became instantly popular after the game was featured in an episode of the Tonight show with Johnny Carson and Eva Gabor in the same year, where they played the game together on the show.

Design and production originated in St. Paul, Minnesota where Charles Foley had moved to, to take the job, that led to the creation of ‘Twister’. Charles Foley was an avid inventor who designed from a young age and after that for many years to come. Charles Foley’s will be remembered most for his classic design and it’s enduring popularity over many years and it’s appeal to all ages.

Design Classic Number 41: Brighton Beach Deck Chair

Image by spjwebster

Deck Chair Doubles Up as a Dutiful Design Classic

 

Creator:  John Thomas Moore
Created: 1886
Origin: Macclesfield, UK

The origin of the humble deck chair, in it’s most common form, of hinged, interlocking, rectangular, wooden frames with brightly colored, striped canvas seat  is prolific where ever  sun and sea are in abundance. It can be carried flat and with a little practice can be assembled in a few simple steps and the level of inclination, adjusted to individual preference.

The deck chair became increasingly popular, as the working classes flocked to beaches such as Brighton where deck chairs were rented by the day. Although folding wooden chairs in various forms have been known since Egyptian times, it wasn’t until 1886 that the current form was patented and manufactured in quantity for customers such as Brighton Beach and even the Titanic.

First production, of the classic deck chair, took place in Macclesfield, near Manchester in the UK in line with it’s significance as a centre of the industrial revolution. The creator of the deck chair John Thomas Moore deserves credit, through his patent for standardizing the design and bring it to the masses in such a practical and enduring form.

Design Classic Number 40: Airstream Trailer

Image by mwichary

Could This Be The Grand Daddy of All Design Classics?

 

Creator: Wally Byam
Created: 1929
Origin: Jackson, Ohio, USA

I’m not sure why I waited this long to write about the Airstream since it could very well be the grand-daddy of all design classics. The airstream is an aluminum clad camping trailer with characteristic streamlined form. The Airstream was born out of a need for an inexpensive means of living autonomously on the open road.

The Airstream is fabricated from aluminium panels riveted over a hooped aluminum framework. Whilst Wally created his first prototype Airstreams in his garden in the late 1920s and sold self-build plans in great quantities shortly afterwards it wasn’t until 1936 that he started large scale production based on increasing consumer demand.

Although Wally Byam started putting together prototype Airstreams in his backyard in Masonite, Los Angeles, it wasn’t until he acquired an ailing aircraft factory in Jackson, Ohio that he was able to supply Airstreams in larger quantities. Wally Byam was an offbeat inventor, a natural showman and a successful businessman but above all, he had the vision for a design which has brought happiness to many and become an icon of American culture.

Design Classic Number 39: Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses

Image by twentymindsomething

Wayfarers Win Favor Since the Fifties

 

Creator: Raymond Stegeman
Created: 1956
Origin: Rochester, New York, USA

Well, I’ve seen enough Rayban Wayfarers this Summer alone to merit a few lines in their honor. Rayban Wayfarers are slightly angular, dark lensed sunglasses with similarly dark, often tortoise-shell effect moulded frames. They were originally designed as a more fashionable alternative to the more functional driving and pilot models available previously. The angled, teardrop shape almost certainly takes it’s style cues from the increasingly streamlined trends in industrial of the era.

The frames of Wayfarers are injection moulded, an always prestigious material at the time, which gives rise to a more solid weighty look than the wire frames that preceded. After enjoying modest initial success in the late 1950s, Wayfarers become progressively more popular as they were worn by celebrities and appeared in movies, throughout the 80s, 90s and beyond.

Rayban Wayfarers, after being made for many years in the USA are now made by hand in Italy, in line with their prestigious and charismatic Ray-ban Wayfarer image. Whilst entrepreneurs Bausch and Lomb were behind the production of these truly iconic sunglasses optical designer Raymond Stegeman still takes credit for the bold form and use of materials and processes which has proved so successful throughout the years.

Design Classic Number 38: Emeco 1006 Navy Chair

Image by Allesok

Everlasting Emeco in More Ways Than One

 

Creator: Wilton Carlyle Dinges
Created: 1944
Origin: Hanover, Pennsylvania

I couldn’t help but notice a shining example of the Emeco 1006 Aluminum Navy Chair on the popular Dr. House TV series. This heavy duty, multi purpose, hand fabricated, aluminum chair was born out of the US Navy’s need for a robust yet lightweight chair appropriate for standard issue on aircraft carriers and submarines.

The Emeco 1006 Navy Chair is still made in the USA, by hand, through a 77 step process which includes, among others, folding, forming, welding, heat treating, anodizing and grinding. Design and production started in 1944 and was ramped up massively after a successful demonstration to the US navy where by a sample chair was thrown from an eighth floor window without damage except for some superficial scratches.

Emeco is still based in Hanover, Pennsylvania in the North Eastern United States and serves as a testament to the work of Wilton Carlyle Dinges, master tool and die maker, who created the 1006 with such strength and beauty that it can be guaranteed for 150 years and is set to become an enduring American design classic. As well as a technical background Dinges apparently had an appreciation for the work of sculptor Rodin which may account for the successful marriage of strength and beauty in the Emeco 1006 Aluminium Navy Chair.