7.3
ALESSI’S INNOVATIONS
70
READING
1
Look at the photos. What are they? Would you
like to own any of these designer products? Why?/Why
not?
2
a
Read the article quickly and find designers who:
1
created a new kind of vacuum cleaner.
2
invented escalator.
3
found a new way to bend wood.
4
gave many ideas to a successful modern designer.
1
The objects that we use everyday affect the way we
interact with the world around us. Well-designed
products are a pleasure to use and so they can make us
feel positive about the work we
have to do. Our choice of products
can also identify the kind of role
we want to have in the world and
so it’s not surprising that some
designers have reached ever
greater heights in the search for the
ultimate design.
2
Designers like Dieter Rams are
responsible for many of the
electrical gadgets that are most
familiar to us and he pioneered many of the ideas
that influence designers today. Designers like James
Dyson, can develop new innovations for old-fashioned
technology such as a vacuum cleaner. Other designers,
such as Marcel Breuer,
have always tried to
transform our home
environment by creating
beautiful furniture that is
wonderful to use, while
designers like Jesse
W. Reno, who created
the escalator, focus on
improving public spaces.
3
Designers will tell you
that no one buys a chair;
people buy something
to sit on. It sounds strange but designers almost always
begin by thinking about the function of an object rather
2
b
Identifying main ideas
Read the article again and
match the headings to the paragraphs.
a
The way forward
b
The importance of design
c
How designs are developed
d
Famous designers
e
International achievement
2
c
Find words in the text which mean the following.
1
introducing new methods for the first time (para 2)
2
the use of new ideas and methods (para 2)
3
to change (para 2)
4
something that is not successful (para 4)
5
something famous that is admired by many (para 4)
6
gave someone great ideas (para 5)
CLASSIC
design
than what it is. Next comes the choice of materials, which
can be an exciting part of the process when improvements
in technology have made new materials available. Then
the designer aims to find a solution that uses the materials
to create the best possible function and the object takes
shape.
4
Many designers are quickly forgotten but Charles and
Ray Eames are respected as two of the most important
designers of the 20th century. After a few failures in the
1940s, Charles and Ray Eames developed a new way to
bend wood so that they could create furniture that was
very strong. Their
furniture looked
fantastic and it
quickly became
popular. Over the
years, the Eames
lounge chair has
become an icon
of modern design
which can be found
in famous museums and galleries around the world.
5
Johnathan Ive is responsible for all design at the American
technology company Apple Inc. Like many modern
designers, Ive is inspired by the ideas of Dieter Rams and
he believes that we are at the beginning of a fantastic
time for design. He believes that when we think about
technology and what it has enabled us to do so far, and
what it will enable us to do in the future, we’re not even
close to any kind of limit
.
