Knowledge

Britain Can Make It

Source 📝

153:. Through Black's display, "The Birth of an Egg Cup" the role of the designer was presented as the crucial interchange between all the various aspects of design and production. Rather than merely show-casing goods on offer, the exhibition, and this display in particular, were a propagandist attempt to highlight the need to update British approaches to product design if manufacturing was to be successful in post-war competition. The audience was two-fold: the general public who were as yet unused to the notion of design as a distinct process, and also the existing manufacturers who clung to pre-war, if not Victorian, notions of how to run manufacturing industry. 212:'s, reactions were highly positive, congratulating the exhibition organisers both on the intellectual quality of their exhibition and also for the achievement of producing it during such a time of austerity. The public's reaction was less sophisticated, but still positive. Their view was generally that of simply wanting products in the shops that they could actually buy. The only real criticisms came from established manufacturers who largely failed to appreciate the exhibition's attempt to emphasise design and who still judged it as a simple shop-window display, of their same pre-war products. 22: 156:
Black's design for the display was deliberately eye-catching, from a 13 feet high plaster egg at its entrance, to the continually-operating plastics moulding press making three thousand egg cups per day during the exhibition. This use of a working model in particular was commented on in surveys of
108:, London. Part of the reason for choosing this venue was that many of the museum's main exhibits were still in their wartime evacuation storage, outside London. The venue was undamaged by bombing, empty and available, and itself in need of an attraction to restore its pre-war visitors. 95:
In September 1945, only a month after the end of the war, the Council announced a national exhibition of design "in all the main range of consumer goods" to be held the following year. This was the 1946
420:
Design and everyday life at the Britain can make it exhibition, 1946: 'stripes, spots, white wood and homespun versus chintzy armchairs and iron bedsteads with brass knobs
100:
exhibition, organized largely at the instigation of the Council's director, S.C. Leslie. The design of the exhibition itself was co-ordinated by Chief Display Designer,
519: 204:
measures and the goods on display were intended for export. Reactions of those attending the exhibition were varied between the general public, the design
69:, it was recognised that post-war reconstruction of manufacturing and international trade of exported goods would require the widespread acceptance of 470: 357: 335: 307: 408: 283: 249: 380: 524: 509: 448: 172:
third class sleeper. This represented two innovations for Britain, indicative of this egalitarian age: the first
459: 435: 419: 75: 47: 453:
Comprehensive collection of digitised photographs and digitised negatives from Britain Can Make It on the
353: 145:, in particular the display "What Industrial Design Means" which had been the first major commission for 454: 331: 105: 38: 101: 169: 529: 514: 443: 303: 180:
rather than first, and also the technical development of fitting two levels into the restricted
534: 181: 150: 173: 8: 221: 21: 177: 404: 376: 279: 245: 70: 158: 205: 80: 53: 503: 485: 472: 165: 164:
Another Design Research Unit exhibit was their design and scale model for a
66: 146: 209: 201: 325: 323: 321: 319: 317: 185: 142: 314: 84: 42: 37:
was an exhibition of industrial and product design held at the
104:. The exhibition was held from September to November at the 111: 73:
as part of future British manufacturing. Accordingly, the
269: 267: 265: 263: 261: 399:
Maguire, Patrick Joseph; Woodham, Jonathan M. (1998).
258: 347: 345: 126:    He is the Industrial Designer 122:    He solves all these questions 132:    influenced by what you want 130:    Factory Management – and is 304:"Designing Britain 1945 - 1975: Exhibiting Britain" 342: 200:" as the country was still in the grip of wartime 375:. Vol. 3: 1914–1969. Ian Allan. p. 83. 233: 196:A popular reaction in the press was to term it, " 501: 351: 329: 301: 460:King Opens Britain Can Make it Exhibition, 1946 401:Design and Cultural Politics in Postwar Britain 424:Journal of Architecture, 9 (4). ISSN 1360-2365 191: 297: 295: 520:Austerity in the United Kingdom (1939–1954) 444:Designing Britain 1945-1975 online resource 239: 124:He decides what the eggcup shall look like 370: 292: 208:and the manufacturers. Critics', such as 20: 398: 502: 358:University of Brighton Design Archives 336:University of Brighton Design Archives 308:University of Brighton Design Archives 273: 141:A major theme of the exhibition was 157:exhibition visitors carried out by 13: 392: 240:Evans, Paul; Doyle, Peter (2009). 14: 546: 436:"Britain Can Make Lovely Posters" 428: 128:He works with the Engineers, the 90: 45:in 1946. It was organised by the 440:Posters and graphic art at BCMI 278:. Macdonald. pp. 156–157. 403:. Leicester University Press. 364: 332:"What Industrial Design Means" 244:. Oxford: Shire Publications. 112:"What Industrial Design Means" 1: 227: 60: 417:Woodham, Jonathan M. (2004) 354:"BCMI Response and Critique" 76:Council of Industrial Design 48:Council of Industrial Design 7: 215: 192:Reactions to the exhibition 79:was founded in 1944 by the 10: 551: 525:Victoria and Albert Museum 510:British design exhibitions 106:Victoria and Albert Museum 39:Victoria and Albert Museum 373:Railway Design Since 1830 371:Haresnape, Brian (1969). 65:Even before the end of 16:1946 British exhibition 486:51.496302°N 0.172078°W 449:Design Council Archive 352:Dr Elizabeth Darling. 330:Dr Elizabeth Darling. 302:Dr Elizabeth Darling. 276:The Design Source Book 274:Sparke, Penny (1986). 134: 83:, as one of the first 51:, later to become the 29: 198:Britain Can't Have It 182:British loading gauge 116: 24: 491:51.496302; -0.172078 462:- British Pathé Film 151:Design Research Unit 482: /  438:. 23 February 2010. 222:Festival of Britain 98:Britain Can Make It 34:Britain Can Make It 26:Britain Can Make It 30: 28:exhibition poster. 410:978-0-7185-0073-3 285:978-0-356-12005-8 251:978-0-7478-0736-0 71:industrial design 542: 497: 496: 494: 493: 492: 487: 483: 480: 479: 478: 475: 439: 414: 387: 386: 382:978-07110-0072-8 368: 362: 361: 349: 340: 339: 327: 312: 311: 299: 290: 289: 271: 256: 255: 237: 184:by the use of a 159:Mass Observation 137: 550: 549: 545: 544: 543: 541: 540: 539: 500: 499: 490: 488: 484: 481: 476: 473: 471: 469: 468: 434: 431: 411: 395: 393:Further reading 390: 383: 369: 365: 350: 343: 328: 315: 300: 293: 286: 272: 259: 252: 238: 234: 230: 218: 194: 139: 136: 131: 129: 127: 125: 123: 121: 119:Here is the Man 114: 93: 63: 17: 12: 11: 5: 548: 538: 537: 532: 530:1946 in London 527: 522: 517: 515:Design Council 512: 464: 463: 457: 451: 446: 441: 430: 429:External links 427: 426: 425: 415: 409: 394: 391: 389: 388: 381: 363: 341: 313: 291: 284: 257: 250: 242:The 1940s Home 231: 229: 226: 225: 224: 217: 214: 206:intelligentsia 193: 190: 115: 113: 110: 92: 91:The exhibition 89: 81:Board of Trade 62: 59: 54:Design Council 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 547: 536: 533: 531: 528: 526: 523: 521: 518: 516: 513: 511: 508: 507: 505: 498: 495: 466: 461: 458: 456: 452: 450: 447: 445: 442: 437: 433: 432: 423: 421: 416: 412: 406: 402: 397: 396: 384: 378: 374: 367: 359: 355: 348: 346: 337: 333: 326: 324: 322: 320: 318: 309: 305: 298: 296: 287: 281: 277: 270: 268: 266: 264: 262: 253: 247: 243: 236: 232: 223: 220: 219: 213: 211: 207: 203: 199: 189: 187: 183: 179: 175: 171: 170:double-decked 167: 166:railway coach 162: 160: 154: 152: 148: 144: 138: 133: 120: 109: 107: 103: 102:James Gardner 99: 88: 86: 82: 78: 77: 72: 68: 58: 56: 55: 50: 49: 44: 40: 36: 35: 27: 23: 19: 467: 465: 455:Archives Hub 418: 400: 372: 366: 275: 241: 235: 197: 195: 163: 155: 140: 135: 118: 117: 97: 94: 74: 67:World War II 64: 52: 46: 33: 32: 31: 25: 18: 535:1946 in art 489: / 178:third class 147:Misha Black 504:Categories 474:51°29′47″N 228:References 210:John Gloag 61:Background 477:0°10′19″W 202:austerity 216:See also 186:well car 149:and the 143:didactic 174:sleeper 85:quangos 407:  379:  282:  248:  43:London 405:ISBN 377:ISBN 280:ISBN 246:ISBN 176:for 168:, a 41:in 506:: 356:. 344:^ 334:. 316:^ 306:. 294:^ 260:^ 188:. 161:. 87:. 57:. 422:' 413:. 385:. 360:. 338:. 310:. 288:. 254:.

Index


Victoria and Albert Museum
London
Council of Industrial Design
Design Council
World War II
industrial design
Council of Industrial Design
Board of Trade
quangos
James Gardner
Victoria and Albert Museum
didactic
Misha Black
Design Research Unit
Mass Observation
railway coach
double-decked
sleeper
third class
British loading gauge
well car
austerity
intelligentsia
John Gloag
Festival of Britain
ISBN
978-0-7478-0736-0

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.