The Streamline Designs of
Norman Bel Geddes

Norman Bel Geddes (1893 – 1958) was one of the prominent industrial designers to practice a style known as “streamline modern”. Always mentioned in the same breath as Henry Dreyfuss and Raymond Lowey, Norman Bel Geddes, who recognized the aerodynamic form inherit in a teardrop, is often credited for having given the 1930s a defining look. He was the first of his kind to recognize that American manufacturers were sincerely interested in the marketing of well-designed products.

The attached article was penned by Douglas Haskell, a respected critic of architecture and design throughout much of the last century, who had many agreeable thoughts regarding the Geddes vision:

“Let any adult absorb the idea of streamlining, and he will yearn to sit down once more and redesign, not only all our vehicles, but also all other objects to conform to it.”