Short description:

Originally published in 1944, The Missing Technician shows how Industrial Design must begin at the very first stages of planning a product.

Long description:

Originally published in 1944, The Missing Technician shows how Industrial Design must begin at the very first stages of planning a product. The procedure of a design research committee is outlined ? a type of practical co-ordination of the work of industrial designers and production technicians which proved highly effective. The value of materials like aluminium and plastic are emphasized, but equally the importance of glass and cast iron is stressed, especially when handled in new ways that 20^th Century techniques made possible.

Reviews of the original edition of The Missing Technician:

?The book is a reminder of the practical importance of good design in manufacture.? The Time, Trade and Engineering Supplement

?The book has left us with the impression that the success of some well-known British and American enterprises is due in no small measure to the employment of industrial designers.? The Foundry Trades Journal

?Mr. Gloag?s proposition is that industrial design is?a business operation, and as such can be costed: controlled, and aligned with sales policy, directed to home and foreign markets.? The Sheffield Telegraph.

Table of Contents:

Introduction Charles Tennyson 1. Why Missing? 2. Industrial Design as a Technical Operation 3. Design Research Committees 4. Design Research Committees in Operation 5. Costs, Royalties and Patent Rights 6. Selecting Designers 7. Examples of Work by Design Committees 8. The Effect of New Materials on Design 9. Old Materials with New Properties 10. National Character in Industrial Design.