Is Industrial design going the way of the kitchen counter backsplash?

Today, design is entirely fluid. It is malleable. What clients are insatiable for one day might be outdated the next, only to be re-worked into an evolved concept of the original theme. Does Industrial design have that kind of staying power?

First, a brief history lesson. Industrial design is rooted in the age of mass production. The U.S. Industrial revolution really hit a high point in the 1920's, when country mice decided to become city mice, and moved to more urban areas for work and a shot at the "big time". When a designer is asked to create an industrial space, we evoke that time period. Sky scrapers, metal, rivets, pipe, brick, hope.

But as time wears on, and with fewer clients requesting edison bulb lighting in their homes, it begs the question- is the industrial design revolution finished? My answer to this is, like all good designers you must look outside of the scope of your design theme, and remember what made it special to begin with. The Industrial revolution; a time of factories, and mass production paved the way for the quaint coffee shop down the street, the corner store with it's vintage soda fountain, the glamorous art deco lofts of the painfully stylish hipster folk. Like all good period inspired design, Industrial has evolved. Not of its own volition, but because like all good things our history offers us, growth and imagination is inspired. Industrial design morphed into the more urban vibe, and now more and more into the mid-century art deco and mid-century bohemian minimalistic designs. Not in spite of itself but because naturally that is what our history calls for.

The Industrial revolution was a special period, because it was just that. Revolutionary. Industrial design will never go out of style. It's evolution echoes the anamorphosis of our world. As designers we must remember to search out our past in order to re-connect with our spaces, re-vive our design concepts, and revolutionize our clients personal style.