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It's long been the case that we invent tools, and then tend to do the things that the tools make easy. You can see that the distribution of furniture varieties
by tjic 17y ago
It's long been the case that we invent tools, and then tend to do the things that the tools make easy.
You can see that the distribution of furniture varieties changed a lot when machine tools were introduced. Furniture got a lot cheaper, but because table saws make straight cuts a lot easier than curved cuts, even in higher end furniture, we ended up get a lot more style choices that utilized what was easier.
I'm looking forward to seeing what stylistic changes happen in clothes, furniture and more with the rise of small-lot production, CNC, and other technologies. I expect that we'll see big changes.
- george_morgan 17y agoThis is something the industrial designer Ross Lovegrove has been exploring for a while, here's the obligatory TED link: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ross_lovegrove_shares_organic_designs.html http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ross_lovegrove_shares_org... He talks about early modernist design being dictated by the machining processes of the time, lathes and extrusion etc. producing the characteristic geometric work. Tangentially linked to the OP...