Robert Davol Budlong: the industrial design of radios and accessories for the new home
Abstract
The appearance of new materials and technical processes brought with it the evolution of
industrial design, one of the most decisive disciplines in the evolution of humanity towards what is
known as the welfare state, taking its first steps in the 1930s. The substitution of natural materials
by synthetic ones made it possible, for the first time, the making of everything that was only desired
before, giving rise to the paradise of objects that contemporary alchemy of plastic and the introduction
of new techniques allowed in its manufacture.
The development of mass consumption brought about by plastic objects made the figure of the designer
necessary. His role would be even imposed on the figure of the artist, coming to directly influence not
only the manufacturing processes but also its structure and of course the final appearance of the object.
This article based on the work of Robert Davol Budlong, one of the great North American designers,
is based mainly on the study of patent application forms in the United States Patent and Trademarks Office accessible online (USPTO. 2019). In this way we document the authorship of numerous objects
that took the first steps towards contemporaneity.
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