Design Classics

Synopsis: Using archive film, commercials and interviews with key figures, the series looks at the contribution to design of some of the most successful products to be marketed this century.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Video
Year of production: 1987
Notes: Each episode is also available to purchase separately, at £75.00 (University/College); £63.75 (School/TAFE/Community College) (+ P&P, + VAT)
Subjects: Design
Keywords: advertising; cars; clothing; glassware; household machines; maps and mapping; product design

Cast

Jancis Robinson

Title: Volkswagen beetle, The
Synopsis: 1: The Volkswagen car from its beginnings in the 1930, when Hitler instructed Dr Porsche to design a vehicle which would fulfil his dream that everyone should be able to afford a car. The Beetle became more than a means of transport, becoming eventually an icon.
Title: Aga cooker, The
Synopsis: 2: The Aga cooker, which was created by the blind Swedish designer Dalen in the 1920s and has become a symbol of English country life.
Title: Barcelona chair, The
Synopsis: 3: The Barcelona chair, designed by German architect Mies van der Rohe for the German pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona exhibition. Using chrome and leather, he refined the design to the purest form, creating a cult object.
Title: Levi jeans
Synopsis: 4: How Levi's 501 blue jeans, originally designed for California god miners in 1874, have become the fashion garment which today constitutes the acceptable uniform of non-conformity.
Title: Coke bottle
Synopsis: 5: How Alex Samuelson'd bottle design won a competition held by the Coca-Cola company in 1915, and how it has come to symbolise the American Dream.
Title: London Underground map, The
Synopsis: 6: The London Underground map, with Harry Beck's 1933 design still hanging on the walls of the London Underground and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The map has become a symbol of London all over the world.

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