Henry DreyfussThe study of designers, the artists/engineers that develop products for mass production, has been a hobby of mine for years. I’ve always had a great deal of respect for the impact of visual design, the power it has to leave a positive, or negative, first impression. My first foray into this arena was to research the life and work of Howard Kron (1914-1991), a multi-talented ceramics designer. While the focus of his efforts were on what might be called decorative ware, he shared a trait found in most all great sculptors of utilitarian products: his passion to go beyond the visual aspects of a thing. He had a strong interest in, and understanding of, the ultimate purpose of an item… its function. It is that sort of vision, simultaneously broad and focused, that results in great products. Henry Dreyfuss was a master of this, of studying the multiple aspects of a project and seeing how they should come together.Henry Dreyfuss was born on March 2nd of 1904 in Brooklyn, New York. The Dreyfuss family was in the business of selling theatrical supplies, an environment that no doubt led to the 20 year old Henry becoming an apprentice under theatrical designer Norman Bel Geddes. This was an important formative period for Dreyfuss, who opened his own theatrical and industrial design business in 1929. Also in that year, he won a “phone of the future” competition held by Bell Laboratories. This, his first effort in the communications field, resulted in the Western Electric model 302. This design was a triumph that was followed over the next thirty-five years by other Western Electric phones, the Model 500, the Princess phone, and the Trimline. These hallmarks of 20th Century design are impressive to be sure, but he created more than just telephones. His other designs included the Hoover Model 150 Vacuum, the Westclox “Big Ben” alarm clock, and two tractors for John Deere, the models “A” and “B”.
Henry Dreyfuss enjoyed a long career filled with accomplishments and accolades. He became the first vice-president of The Society of Industrial Designers in 1944, and the first president of The Industrial Design Society of America in 1965. Dreyfuss retired in 1969. His wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer three years later, and the couple committed suicide on October 5th, 1972. The design company he started in 1929, Henry Dreyfuss Associates, is still an active and respected firm.