Made for the masses

Made for the Masses probes the origins of humble designs from the Aertex shirt to the nation’s road signage system. It’s makers wanted to focus fresh attention not just on products but on the design processes behind them.

The 18 design icons in the spotlight have been so widely used for so long that they are now taken for granted. But, as presenter Oliver King says, ‘we’d all notice if they weren’t there. Just think what it’s like to drive abroad. That instantly makes you aware of what a great, deeply ingrained piece of design our signage system is.’

The six-programme series explores several key themes, including design’s role in shaping our landscape and culture, and designers’ role both in turning original ideas into things people want and creating visions of how we might live our lives in the future.

Many of the items in the series - including the odd tongue-in-cheek perennial such as the Custard Cream - are not credited to individuals and some were developed by non-designers.

Oliver King, who is co-founder of service design consultancy Engine Group, says: ‘One of the lessons from the programme is that you don’t have to be a designer to design something. Design is a process anyone can go through to be entrepreneurial and develop wonderful things.

The two men behind the string vest were polar scientists but they followed a problem solving process that designers would use - they researched the problem and prototyped and tested a solution.’ King added that the string vest was a personal favourite because ‘It was actually a very good example of human-centred design.’

‘One of the things that I hope comes through is that design has a bigger remit than just designing things. It’s about companies developing a vision and finding their way towards it. More organisations need the skills and processes of designers than need to have something designed,’ he added.

Extract from the Design Council website. 2005.