'The Industrialized Designer': Gender, Identity and Professionalization in Britain and the United States,...

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Leah Armstrong

'The Industrialized Designer'

Gender, Identity and Professionalization in Britain and the United States, 1930-80

Leah Armstrong

$331.95 $265.18

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Manchester University Press
05 November 2024

Series: Studies in Design and Material Culture

What does it mean to be called an industrial designer? This book traces the remarkable rise of this professional identity in historical perspective from a position of anonymity in the early twentieth century, to mid-century professionalisation, to decline and disintegration by 1980.

Drawing on new, extensive, original archival research, it uncovers the history of a profession in a state of re-invention, 1930-1980 in Britain and the United States. The book tests assumptions about the relationship between the professions in the two countries, bringing them into comparative historical perspective for the first time. The gendered dynamics of professionalisation and their interaction with the representation of the heroic male designer are interrogated and critically examined. Building on new gender perspectives to the history of the industrial design profession, the book calls for a re-examination of the limits and boundaries of what constitutes professional identity and work.

By: Leah Armstrong
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 170mm,
ISBN: 9781526141033
ISBN 10: 1526141035
Series: Studies in Design and Material Culture
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 05 November 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Leah Armstrong is FWF Elise Richter Senior Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the department of Design History and Theory at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.