This is my first post, and I have a task, so I can't ramble too much. This blog is being kept for PD 370, and I've been asked to select my favorite object and give ten reasons why it is so awesome and why I am so fond of it.
After going back and forth between a handful of things, I decided to just pick one at random. It's too hard to pick just one! But this one I landed on has long been a favorite.
I chose the Raymond Loewy designed automobile, the Avanti.
1) As the child of a automotive-obsessed bodyman, I grew up loving cars. As soon as I learned to use a pencil or marker, I was off drawing cars of my own design. When I came upon this design in a book of Loewy's work, I was struck by how similar some of my childhood concepts were to his design!
2) Reading into the design process, I was astounded that Loewy gave himself and his team only 10 days to complete the design.
3) I love the asymetry of the hood. The bump in the hood, emanating from the driver and steering wheel seems to add to the sense of motion that this car conveys.
4) This car design really departs from designs of the era. It is an early 60's American automobile that abandoned the stereotypes of garishly chromed American "boats" that permiated the market at the time.
5) I like the front end of the car, with the slanted nose and the protruding front ends of the fenders. It hints at Loewy's past locomotive designs, and also hints at a future of aerodynamic design that would come after the Avanti.
6) Last summer I had the opportunity to actually see an Avanti in person. I hadn't seen any photos of the interior, but had heard the dash described as aircraft influenced, described as a cockpit. And it really is! In a very unique and stylistic way.
7) I am a fan of the fiberglass body, one of the first production models to employ that material.
8) Loewy was a fan of mimicking or harkening back to the female form in many design. In the design of the Avanti, he chose to "pinch the waistline," which I feel was a very good choice. Though a feminine design queue, I feel it doesn't make this sports car any less appealing to male drivers. The little touch of femininity was a nice departure from the ultra-macho Detoit designs of the time.
9) I'm a fan of the Avanti's fast-back rear end, with curving rear window. It was really about 10 years ahead of its time, automotive design trend wise.
10) Finally, I am a big fan of Loewy's decision to angle the side door and quarter panals to a slight point at the expected "style line" instead of using an added embellished chrome line at the style line. This gives to car a more graceful dimension, while also avoiding the pointless Detroit chrome Lowey loathed!
(Photo of the Avanti sketch scanned from a book that I own, an anthology of Loewy's works/biography entitiled "Industrial Design")
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