What are the origins of industrial design?
What is industrial design?
Who were the influential icons of this design period?
What is the difference between industrial, modern industrial and industrial vintage?
How do I add industrial décor into a home?
What industrial lights do you recommend?
Why is industrial décor so popular?

Researching online for various décor styles can send you down a rabbit hole. If you have stumbled on industrial design chances are you are thinking, ‘what exactly is industrial design?’ Maybe you’ve delved deeper trying to decipher the difference between industrial and industrial vintage. To answer these questions, and so many more, we’ve put together this definitive how-to guide on industrial design.

This guide will explore the origins of industrial design, iconic artists and products, as well as how to add industrial style décor and lighting into your home or commercial space. As you’ll soon learn, we’re quick to embrace all things industrial here at Fat Shack Vintage. So, whether you’re designing, redecorating, renovating or building a home, buckle up as we dive straight in.

What are the origins of industrial design?

To understand the emergence of industrial design, we have to step back in time to the Industrial Revolution of Great Britain in the mid-1700s. The Industrial Revolution changed the way objects were made across all industries, including textiles, iron, machinery, glass making, printmaking, mining, transportation and more. The transition from handmade items made by craftsmen towards mass production sparked the first tentative steps towards industrial style design.

The rise in population growth and employment created a wider and wealthier middle class, who could now reasonably aspire to purchase items that were not only functional, but also fashionable. This represented their juxtaposition against the lower classes (thereby solidifying their middle-class status) for whom discretionary purchases were unattainable.

Heading forward in time to the early 1900s, another key influence was the Deutscher Werkbund.  A state-sponsored association of German artisans,  it aimed to ‘integrate traditional crafts and industrial mass-production techniques’ while competing with the established industrial markets of Great Britain and the United States.

Centenary stamp (2007) to commemorate the Deutscher Werkbund showing Richard Herre's poster for the 1924 exhibition Die Form (The Shape)

Fritz Hellmut Ehmcke poster for German Werkbund exhibition Cologne 1914

The B32 tubular steel, wood, and cane chair, designed in 1928 by architect and designer Marcel Breuer who trained at the Bauhaus

The Bauhaus movement, which followed the Deutscher Werkbund, ‘attempted to unify the principles of mass production with individual artistic vision and strove to combine aesthetics with everyday function.’ Its mantra was that ‘form follows function’, and it has had an enduring legacy through its contribution towards the field of modern furniture design.

The baby cradle designed by Peter Keler for the first Bauhaus exhibition in 1923. Composed of simple shapes, the palette of primary colours is a trademark of Bauhaus. His work was inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s colour theory published in 1911.

Table lamp designed by German designer Wilhelm Wagenfeld and Swiss designer Carl Jakob Jucker, known as the Bauhaus Lamp, incorporates the Bauhaus principle “form follows function”. A simple geometric shape made of precisely cut glass and metal, previously used only for industrial lighting.

Josef Albers designed this modern table set during his time as artistic director of the BAUHAUS furniture workshop (1926 to 1927). Made of solid oak and lacquered acrylic glass, it depicts his signature colourful, geometric style.

While it is impossible to outline every major and minor influence towards the industrial design movement, the events above highlight the preceding influences that contributed towards the formal study and practice of industrial design.

What is industrial design?

At its core, industrial design focuses on the balance between function and form, with an implicit understanding of the product, the consumer, and the setting in which the object will be used. Industrial designers focus on smaller scale design, while the design of more complex systems, buildings or ships falls to engineers. Industrial design as a field of expertise is difficult to precisely define; however, an industrial designer considers a range of values, such as aesthetics, usability, usefulness, ergonomics, etc when designing an object.

Who were the influential icons of this design period?

Often considered the father of industrial design, Raymond Loewy was a French-American industrial designer, who over the course of a career spanning seven decades designed everything from locomotives to cigarette packaging, lamps, aircraft and more. Other industrial designers of note include Joseph Claude Sinel and Christopher Dresser.

However, there are others who influenced our modern perception of industrial design, albeit to a less purist extent. A famous Danish designer, Poul Henningsen, devised the PH lamp series. While Henningsen was part of the mid-century movement within Denmark, the unique yet practical design of the PH lamps is what enables him to be considered as an icon of clever industrial design. The PH lamp – which has been manufactured since the 1920s – utilises an ingenious logarithmic spiral to create glare-free lighting via reflecting concentric stacked shades, thereby integrating functionality and design. 

Another example of iconic industrial design can be found in the Saucer Bubble Lamp series, developed by designer George Nelson in 1947, and then reproduced by Herman Miller from the 1950s. Similarly, Nelson’s invention did not exist within a vacuum of solely industrial design; rather, it was situated within, and is a representation of the American modernism movement. Just like the ingenuity of Henningsen,

Nelson’s Bubble Lamps utilise plastic and steel-wire frames to create diffused and glare-free lighting. The versatile shapes and sizes of this pendant light series, coupled with its neutral and understated design, is why it remains an enduring icon of both modernist and industrial design.

What is the difference between industrial, modern industrial and industrial vintage?

Phrases like ‘industrial’, ‘modern industrial’ and ‘industrial vintage’ are often thrown around, and it’s not always clear what each term means, and the distinctions between them. To help you out, here’s our understanding of these three words:

• Industrial: Industrial design refers to everything we’ve mentioned so far i.e., the juncture between function and form, with an emphasis on beautiful items for everyday living. Also refers to the study and professional field of industrial design.

• Modern industrial: Modern industrial refers to an industrial warehouse aesthetic. Think exposed bulb lighting, contrasting metal, exposed brick and reclaimed tapware, to name a few. This style embraces moody colours such as black, charcoal grey and deep blue, with contrasts of white. If you are thinking of an old warehouse converted into a home or apartment, you’ve hit the nail on the head.

• Industrial vintage: Industrial vintage refers to vintage inspired homewares, furniture and lighting that incorporates modern industrial elements. An example of this could be a traditional scalloped glass pendant light that has a grungy metal suspension, or a 1940s style bunker wall light that has a pre-distressed finish.

How do I add industrial décor into a home?

To begin with, decide if you want to take a more traditional industrial design perspective, or if you want modern industrial and/or industrial vintage. From there, we recommend creating moodboards through platforms such as Style Sourcebook and Pinterest. Sometimes what we envision doesn’t quite look the same in reality. We adore moodboards as they’re easy to use tools that help visualise a style, so you can be more confident in your choices.

Another important thing to remember is that you don’t need to go all out with your home or business space to achieve a 100% industrial look. In fact, very few people (with the exception of die-hard fans) do this; most are happy to incorporate elements of styles such as traditional industrial design, industrial vintage and modern industrial into their existing aesthetic.

So, throw the rulebook out and let your personal style and taste guide you. And as we’ve said countless times before, nothing in permanent. If you’re unsure of over-committing to a style, remember that you can always swap out things in a few years if you’ve changed your mind or simply evolved from the aesthetic you liked a few years ago.

If you’re leaning towards the industrial vintage or modern industrial aesthetic, a great way to incorporate style into your home is to visit antique and second-hand stores. Whether you find your unicorn (i.e. dream item), or whether you find the perfect piece of furniture to fix up yourself through a bit of DIY, reclaimed furniture and décor is an authentic and meaningful way to get the industrial style into your space. It also gives objects a second (or third, or fourth…) life, which is kinder to the environment and gives your space a sense of longevity and connection to time and place.

What industrial lights do you recommend?

First thing’s first: decide whether you want a traditional industrial design style or a modern industrial/industrial vintage look. Or, you could even do both. The only rule is that there are no rules, so go where the wind takes you and find a style that perfectly represents who you are, and what you want your space to be.

From a traditional industrial design perspective, here are some of our timeless styles.

Bunker cage pendant	Dome pendant light	Multi arm light	Floor lamp	Industrial desk lamp

Given that Scandinavian design is strongly influenced by functionalist design, you can view our Scandinavian Lighting collection here to find industrial influenced Scandi lights. We also have a great range of task lighting, which often reflects the practical yet fashionable ethos of industrial design.

Whether you are looking for modern industrial or industrial vintage aesthetic, peruse our industrial lighting collection. You’re sure to find something that sparks joy.

Why is industrial décor so popular?

There are endless reasons why industrial décor is popular. From a purist standpoint, traditional industrial design is popular because it has been designed to meet at the pinnacle of both form and function – there’s nothing worse than buying a stunning designer armchair, only for it to be uncomfortable and unusable. Items made by industrial designers are carefully designed to meet the consumer’s implicit and explicit needs on both a conscious and subconscious level. So, while these objects have been made for mass manufacture, the human remains at the forefront of the design process.

Modern industrial style, on the other hand, is popular as its raw and oftentimes grungy look denotes a certain pared back simplicity and authenticity. And, given the prevalence of reclaiming second-hand furniture and fittings, it is a sustainable and stylish choice for eco-conscious consumers.

To achieve the perfect modern industrial and/or industrial vintage look, it must be carefully curated; it’s not an aesthetic that embraces or lends itself to clutter and knick knacks. Modern industrial style relies on bright open plan spaces and considered décor. This invariably produces a timelessness and enduring quality that is rarely seen elsewhere, so we firmly believe that it will remain popular in the future as well.

Okay, I’m convinced, but I still have questions

A few niggling questions still holding you back? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly FSV team. We’re ever-ready to assist with any lighting or décor question no matter how big or small the question or project may be.  

We also have a growing range of comprehensive guides to cover lighting styles, architectural styles and room-by-room lighting. Whether you’re a home-owner-turned-renovator, an investor, a budding start-up or well-established entrepreneur, we’re sure to have a guide to help you along your design journey. And if we don’t, simply drop us a line – we’re always on the look-out for new guide ideas to add to the pipeline.