Today every city, town, or village is affected by it. We have entered the Neon Civilization and become a plastic world.. It goes deeper than its visual manifestations, it affects moral matters; we are engaged,...

Dad called [General Motors designer] Harley Earl’s designs ‘chrome-plated barges,’ … He said that, if left to his own devices, Harley Earl would put fins on a TV or refrigerator.

Good design keeps the user happy, the manufacturer in the black and the aesthete unoffended.

Never Leave Well Enough Alone.

He was always bringing home a new toaster, a new mixer, for the staff to use and critique, … He had his own in-house focus group.

He always intuited what the customer wanted, … He always had good taste, and the sense not to push the envelope too far.

They looked like chrome-plated barges.