Eliot Noyes (1910-77) was a remarkable figure in twentieth-century design. An architect who began his career working in the office of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, he went on to become the first Director of the Industrial Design department at MoMA in the 1940s. From the late 1950s until his death in 1977, he was Consulting Director of Design for IBM, Mobil Oil, Westinghouse and Cummins Engine Company, and was responsible for bringing about a change in the way that these corporations, and others that followed, were to think about design and its impact on business. He enlisted pioneering designers, notably Charles Eames, Paul Rand, Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar, to help him bring about innovative architectural, graphic and industrial design. He was personally responsible for the design of some notable twentieth-century classics, such as IBM's Selectric typewriter and Mobil Oil's service stations and petrol pumps. His own work includes architectural projects, such as the award-winning Noyes family residence in Connecticut. This major monograph will trace the life of this unique architect, designer and businessman who devoted a great deal of his career to encouraging large American businesses to respect and develop policies that were rich in cultural expression. The author has had extended access to the Noyes' archive of personal as well as business projects, materials and letters, and he has carried out extended interviews with a great deal of Noyes' acquaintances and relations. His comprehensive and lively text is accompanied by archival and new colour photography, drawings, plans and a diverse range of documentary material, much of which is previously unpublished.
| |||||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Gordon Bruce is an industrial designer who worked for Eliot Noyes from the late sixties until Noyes' death in 1977. He lectures internationally on design and is a regular guest judge and critic for schools and competitions. He has served as advisor to the International Industrial Design Association and has been head of the Product Design Division of the Innovative Design laboratory of Samsung. His own designs and writings have appeared in numerous magazines including AXIS, Scientific American, Domus, ID and Time.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By J S D
Format:Hardcover
Eliot Noyes was a true pioneer, a man ahead of his time. Gordon Bruce tells the story of his amazing life in a nicely designed book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The cover art of this book bears close scrutiny as it clearly delineates the amazing web of relationships that defined Eliot Noyes, one of the great architects and industrial designers of the 20th century. The book itself is informative and very readable, but could have used a better proof reader as there are more errors of grammar and spelling than there should be. This might be the result of the impact of the computer on the editing process, as I have noted the same sort of errors in many books published in recent years that seem to reflect this.
In any case, Noyes led a fascinating life; this book helps the reader enter into some of the amazingly diverse relationships and ideas that colored that life. But Noyes was more than that. He had a wonderfully clean and rich understanding of design and how it effects human beings. A man of very definate ideas, he also understood that people cannot be forced into living a certain way, as some architects have tried to do. His understanding of people was similarly rich. Perhaps it is this quality that drew so many people to him and allowed for his enormous influence on American life and society in the last half of the 20th century.
If I have a criticism, it is that there could have been more drawings and illustrations, though there are plenty as there are. I would have particularly liked to have seen more of his drawings done for the archeological dig he went on in the 1930's and renderings done for projects that were never undertaken. I suspect there is a treasure trove of ideas there.
This is a wonderful book!
In any case, Noyes led a fascinating life; this book helps the reader enter into some of the amazingly diverse relationships and ideas that colored that life. But Noyes was more than that. He had a wonderfully clean and rich understanding of design and how it effects human beings. A man of very definate ideas, he also understood that people cannot be forced into living a certain way, as some architects have tried to do. His understanding of people was similarly rich. Perhaps it is this quality that drew so many people to him and allowed for his enormous influence on American life and society in the last half of the 20th century.
If I have a criticism, it is that there could have been more drawings and illustrations, though there are plenty as there are. I would have particularly liked to have seen more of his drawings done for the archeological dig he went on in the 1930's and renderings done for projects that were never undertaken. I suspect there is a treasure trove of ideas there.
This is a wonderful book!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By I. geva
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Eliot Noyes is an American original.
Yet no one talks about him...they do mention many other designers and architects, but not Eliot. Big Mistake, from now on, every time you pull into a gas station, think of him as the guy who designed it.
Get this book and see how much we have taken him for granted for too long!
Yet no one talks about him...they do mention many other designers and architects, but not Eliot. Big Mistake, from now on, every time you pull into a gas station, think of him as the guy who designed it.
Get this book and see how much we have taken him for granted for too long!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Tom S.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
For those interested in the history of industrial design and the architecture of Bauhaus-educated architects like Gropius, Breuer, etc., this is a very intersting book. There are plenty of excellent photos. I have only read a few chapters so far but look forward to the rest.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
