Bridge Design

As one of the younger designers at Bridge, and a person who remembers very little prior to the mid
1980’s, I have come to take certain things for granted. As a member of contemporary society, the
internet, e-mail, and advanced computing have become so ingrained in the fabric of everyday life
that I often forget to take a step back to appreciate and even stand in awe of the modern
conveniences that make life, and more specifically, work, so efficient and, in some cases, much
more painless than they would be otherwise.

Once in a while I stumble across a reminder of how daily life would be without many of the
technological advances that have become so ubiquitous in my work day.  The short film
“Design story: The Decanter” created as a promotional video for the design firm Landor & Assoc. in
1960 is one such reminder.  As I watched this film I was amazed at the amount of effort and the
laborious steps that went into the design of a simple whiskey decanter.  Even as a student, with
limited resources and finances, I was afforded many more luxuries than the professional designers
of that era.  As each scene played out I could list in my head numerous modern tools at my
fingertips that the designers at Landor had no difficulty doing without.  Looking at the totally
analog, manual design process in this video, I can appreciate the great skill and craftsmanship that
was a standard part of industrial design 50 years ago.

I do recognize that some legs of the design process have changed very little since the time of this
film, but with the introduction of such technological advances as e-mail, 3-D CAD, and rapid
prototyping these processes have become less cumbersome and much more streamlined.  My hat is
definitely off to the designers of the 1950s and 1960s.

Enjoy the video.




-Chris, Senior Industrial Designer