Margaret Howell's Ten Best Product Designs

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Images

—01. Alverston Cutlery Set. Robert Welsh, 1962.
—02. Royal Festival Hall.

Words

Well known for both her understated and exceptional taste, Margaret Howell recently picked her top ten product designs for The Observer newspaper. Some you might guess, others you most certainly won't. Her tenth pick, for example, is Motorway Signs:

"These are so familiar that no one notices how clever they really are. They convey important information quickly, unambiguously and without distraction to motorists travelling at speed. This demands expertise in perception and information processing, but the result is anything but academic, combining shape, type and symbol with simplicity and style. They look as good today as they did 50 years ago and have made motorway travelling safer and easier for millions. It is one of the hardest tasks to be simple. And it’s a triumph."

—The 10 Best Product Designs

Comments

[Tim]

great post. interesting choices.

[Coggles]

Jack Nicholson insisted on wearing his own Margaret Howell corduroy jacket for his role in 1980’s The Shining