Socialist Design Front?: The East European Design Networks in the 1960s

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Abstract

In the late 1940s, industrial designers emerged as the new actors of socialist modernity. While the scope of their profession was largely unknown to society, and their impact on the everyday material culture in Eastern Europe remained limited, the political authorities recognized their work as instrumental for the state’s policies. Combining both technical and aesthetic expertise, industrial designers became indispensable for international diplomacy. This paper examines how Eastern European design professionals used this special position to straddle the line between supporting the national interest, shaping their professional agenda in a non-market economy, and, with the use of international forums, forging transsystemic alliances.

Author

• Katarzyna Jezowska, U of New South Wales (Australia)