Design Made in France: Perspectives on “Industrial Aesthetics” (1951–1984)

Abstract

If the very term "design" was not really in use in the french academic field between the fifties and the eigthies, an important thought concerning design appeared in this period under the name "industrial aesthetics". This text try to follow this activity in France between 1951 and 1984 and the development of an original design theory rooted in french philosophies of art and technology. Thus, this movement is based on an anti-kantian aesthetics introduced by Paul and Etienne Souriau, acknolewdging technology as a real issue for aesthetics. Then, it is also connected with a philosophy placing technology in relation to its cultural and vital milieu (Mauss, Leroi-Gourhan, Friedmann, Simondon). In this way, this paper follows the development of the Institute of Industrial Aesthetics, created in 1951 by Jacques Viénot, relating the continuous dialog between this specific design theory and their philosophical backgrounds. Indeed, during this period, a design theory based on technology and its socio-cultural effects has been developped, accounting for an ecology of technology. Keywords industrial aesthetics, history of design, technology, implied art, milieu, technical culture, ecology of technology.