HPRO-280: Practice Production Furniture

The History and Practice of Production Furniture is about learning the sequence of design history. The class focuses on furniture, and includes the wider contextual history of cultural and intellectual influences that have led to important product innovations. Study will include how the arts drive furniture design. The overview will provide a historical foundation for what challenges lie ahead. This knowledge will provide understanding of how successful products created mass market appeal. In the end, the program will provide a comprehensive overview and insights into the rigors and inner-workings of the global furniture market. Each week we will delve into the great furniture designers, their products, and notable players from each decade. Beginning with cave people and the first furniture designs and leading up to the Industrial Revolution, we then move on to eras like the Bauhaus and Modernism, the 50's Eames and Knoll years, and Italian design of the 60-70s. By tracing the path that has taken us to where we are today in furniture design, we can prepare for tomorrow. Each week for homework the students design furniture from the period that we studied in class.