Decor - Pourer

Decor pourer designed by Richard Carlson.

Decor pourer designed by Richard Carlson.

Decor pourer designed by Richard Carlson.

Decor pourer designed by Richard Carlson.

Decor - Quick Whipper

Decor Quick Whipper and Egg Separator designed for Brian Davis Plastics.

Decor Quick Whipper and Egg Separator

Decor Quick Whipper and Egg Separator

Decor Quick Whipper and Egg Separator

Decor Quick Whipper and Egg Separator

Decor - Colander

Travelling in regional Victoria during the Summer break has always been very productive for my collection of Australian industrial design products and this year is no exception. The only issue is keeping the vintage plastic items safe from the 40+ degrees in the car.

Decor colander designed by Richard Carlson.

Decor colander designed by award winning Australian industrial designer Richard Carlson.

Orange colander by Decor.

Decor 1970s colander designed by Richard Carlson

Australian Design Icon - Regis Glassware

A world first with production and export totalling more than 170 million units the Regis glassware range truly is an Australian industrial design icon.

Regis glassware range logo - Australian design icon.

Australian design icon the Regis glassware range designed by industrial designer Edward Kayser for Crown ACI.

Tony Wolfenden - Decor stacking cups

Brian Davis commissioned Tony Wolfenden to design products after working initially with Tony on architectural and interior design projects. These stacking cups are one of the first products Tony designed for Decor.

Decor stacking cups designed by Tony Wolfenden.

Lionel Suttie - Quartic canisters

My collection of products designed in Victoria continues to grow and this week it is the Quartic canisters designed by Lionel Suttie. The addition of a polypropelene lid extend the Quartic range and this is the first example I have seen of the canister range. It is also the first example of the use of the classic letraset font eurostyle Q as a tampo printed graphic.

Australian Capri Quartic canisters designed by industrial designer Lionel Suttie.

Classic 1970s Quartic cup and saucer designed by industrial designer Lionel Suttie.

Classic 1970s cups designed by industrial designer Lionel Suttie.

see previous posts on the Quartic range here

ICSID - Kyoto 1974

Design Australia has long been an important reference journal for my research. My recent visit to the shelves of Monash University library provided another opportunity to scan the issues and I was delighted to recognise for the first time a young John Westwood on the cover of the January 1974 issue. John was my lecturer at RMIT University industrial design and gave me my first job at John Westwood Design Associates.

Victorian industrial designer John Westwood in Kyoto, Japan, 1974.

The article in Design Australia Issue 23 features the experiences of sponsored industrial design students from Victoria, John Westwood - Gordon Institute, Ross Whitehead - RMIT, and others during their visit to Kyoto for the ICSID conference.

Design Australia journal, Issue 23 January 1974.
ICSID Kyoto

This extract below from the ICSID website outlines the significance of Kyoto and also explains why John is pictured in the streets of Kyoto on a bicycle.

In 1973, international collaboration reached a new high for Icsid with the Kyoto Congress and General Assembly, hosted by the Japan Industrial Designers’ Association. The event, based on the theme ‘Soul and Material Things’, was revolutionary for Icsid as it brought the western and Asian design worlds together for the first time on Asian soil. One of the more innovative elements of the congress was the involvement of the city and community of Kyoto. The organisers implemented a programme where 1000 bicycles were provided for use by participants to commute from the hotels to the congress Hall and to discover for themselves the way of life of the Japanese people. From this time onwards, Icsid’s place as a worldwide voice for industrial design was solidified.


http://www.icsid.org/about/about/articles33.htm

Dolphin Torch - Australian Design Classic

The Dolphin Torch is an Australian classic design. Growing up in the country where outside was always "dark" the trusty dolphin would come in handy for locking up the chooks or even a game or torchlight 'tiggie'. The rugged durability of the design made it as popular as vegemite and the trusty blue healer. Designed primarily as a floating torch for boating and marine applications the Eveready Dolphin was for many years the largest selling torch in Australia.

Sydney industrial designer Paul Cockburn through his studio Design Field received the commission in the seventies to redesign this classic product. This project was critical in establishing Design Field as one of Austrialia's foremost industrial design consultancies. Born in Australia, Paul studied in London in the late 1960s returning to Sydney in 1970.

The yellow Dolphin version 2 has been in my family for at least thirty years and whilst we once had a pale blue version 1 this 70's orange one was acquired at an op shop recently for my collection.

Classic Australian design - the Eveready Dophin torch.

Iconic Australian design the Dolphin Torch.

Original Eveready Dolphin torch.

Orange original Eveready Doplhin torch (above) with yellow 1970s redesigned version 2 by Design Field.

Plan view of two versions of the classic Australian design the Dolphin torch by Eveready.

Mario Matkovich - Where is Mario?

Driving along Beach Road around 3pm today listening to the cricket on the ABC I noticed the wind was up and a huge number of Kite flyers were out and about. My mind turned back to 1987 and to just one amazing designer....Mario Matkovich.

I was fortunate to work with some great designers at John Westwood Design Associates; John Westwood, Jack Magree, Phillip Slattery, and Ross Williams, ...... but the most unique and amazing was Mario.

Mario taught myself and Jack heaps as we watched his incredible productivity and creativity honed from years working for Philips Clayton CID. It was not however the skills and capability that Mario possessed that brought him to my mind today, but his love of the bay.

If the wind was up on Port Phillip Bay like it was today Mario would not be at his drawing board, he would be on the water. John, Ian Edgar, and Robert Pataki all employed Mario and I am sure all would share my thoughts with a smile....where is Mario?

Kites off Brighton Beach before "knock off" time.

Swinburne University alumnus industrial designer Mario Matkovich.

Philips television concept design by Mario Matkovich. 1970s

Philips television concept design detail by Mario Matkovich. 1980s

VCR concept design by industrial designer Mario Matkovich. 1980s

Fresh Orange - Collection grows

The ORANGE exhibition has just closed but the collecting continues.

Award winning Wiltshire Staysharp Knife set designed by Bayly Design

The Decor Icicle insulated ice bowl designed by Tony Wolfenden. This ice bucket is one of the first products designed by Tony for Brian Davis.

Bessemer ash tray designed by Lionel Suttie.

Decor savory tray set including set with original packaging.

Crown Corning dish by Charles Furey.

Kambrook food and water heater in original packaging. This product is was of the first for Frank Bannigan.

ORANGE Exhibition - Extended to November 25th

ORANGE - Living in the 70s has been invited to remain at the Design Gallery for an extended period and will now close on November 25th.

Wiltshire Staysharp Knife designed by industrial designer Peter Bayly.

Mistral - Gyro TwinAire fans

Classic 1980s industrial design techniques of markers and pastel on grey canson were used to create concepts for these Mistral Gyro TwinAire fans. Color trends in the Australian market are also illustrated with the brown and beige model from the early eighties and the two tone grey from the late eighties. The concept of the Mistral Fan came from work by Peter Bayly and the first generation won the Dunhill Design Prize and Good Design selection. Models below featured in Issue No 1 of Colin Wood's Design World Magazine article on Robert Pataki.

Designed in Victoria by Robert Pataki and Associates the Mistral Gyro TwinAire Fan

Australian innovation the Mistral Fan designed by Peter Bayly.

Barry Crone - Philips CID Clayton

The Philips Centre for Industrial Design CID at Clayton in Victoria was a major employer of graduate industrial designers in Melbourne. RMIT alumnus Barry Crone worked in glass packaging before joining the studio in the mid 1970s.

The Philips KJ 658 and KJ 258 was one of the first color televisions in Australia and Barry recalls the challenge of "holding" design intent and creative features as the product was engineered for production. You had to fight for your details.  "I still remember all of the battles that had to be fought and won over the engineers to achieve this outcome." Barry recalls. The engineers would say "Can’t have the illuminated number off-centre to the actual switch" or  "can’t attach the slide controls from the top of the knob – must be on the centre". 

It is often said that design is in the detail and as you can see Barry achieved the details he desired in the production television.

Australian designed Philips KJ 658 and KJ258 push button color televisions by industrial designer Barry Crone.

Brochure for Australian designed Philips push button color televisions.

Phillip Zmood - Motorclassica

While taking many photos at Motorclassica I could not help caturing product images similar to Phillip Zmood archive images held by RMIT Design Archives and previously exhibited at Zmood - Designing Holdens exhibition at Melbourne Museum.

Holden HT Monaro at Motoclassica

Phillip Zmood concept sketch rear Holden HT Monaro.

IMAGE: RMIT DESIGN ARCHIVES COPYRIGHT PHILLIP ZMOOD

Brock Holden Torana XU-1 at Motorclassica

Phillip Zmood concept sketch for Holden Torana XU-1. 

Phillip was Head of the Torana Design Studio at GM Holden.

IMAGE: RMIT DESIGN ARCHIVES COPYRIGHT PHILLIP ZMOOD

Zmood - Designing Holdens exhibition at Melbourne Museum 2010.

Prince Philip Prize - STILL winners

The iconic status of the Safe n Sound baby capsule, the Cafe Bar, and the Decor BYO wine cooler as outstanding examples of Australian industrial design is without question. They were innovations, professionally designed and have been commercially successful with all three STILL in production today.

The current visit by Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh does remind us that these products were also awarded the prestigious Prince Phillip Prize for Australian Design. It is worth considering the benefit that this recognition and the significant support to industrial design in Australia provided by Prince Philip with the prize offered from 1968 to 1986. The profile provided by Prince Philip also saw the awards telecast nationally on the ABC on a number of occasions.

The GE K12 kettle designed by Barry Hudson was a winner of the prize in 1978. Finalists and Awards of Merit were also awarded to the Gold Phone (Paul Schremmer) 1986, Wiltshire Staysharp knife (Peter Bayly) 1972, Sebel Integra chair (Charles Furey) 1978, and the Caroma Dual Flush toilet cistern. 1982.

Decor BYO wine carrier designed by Richard Carlson

His Royal Highness Prince Phillip with the iconic Decor BYO wine cooler. Insets: Presenter Stuart Wagstaff, Decor CEO Brian Davis and industrial designer Richard Carlson.

Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design 1980

IMAGES: Decor Corporation publication with images from ABC TV.

Safe n Sound baby capsule designed by Robert Pataki and Phillip Slattery - Robert Pataki Design and PA Technology.

Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design 1986

Prince Charles and Lady Dianna inspect the Safe n Sound baby capsule. 1985

Cafe Bar designed Neilsen Design Associates

Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design 1974

GE KE12 electric kettle designed by Barry Hudson

Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design 1978 awarded to the GE K12 Kettle.