Kenneth Grange : Making Britain Modern

Kenneth Grange : Making Britain Modern

July 20 - October 30 '11

Design Museum
London

Later this month, The Design Museum will open 'Making Britain Modern', a retrospective of the 50 year career of one of Britain's leading product and industrial designers, Kenneth Grange. A designer whose iconic works have become part of and then shaped, the visual landscape of everyday life in the UK.

A prolific designer, Grange has designed many recognisable domestic objects and appliances, not only developing forms and aesthetics which would become ubiquitous, but embracing the latest technology to drive new innovation. This is seen particularly in his work with Kodak; developing the Instamatic (1968) and Pocket Instamatic (1972) which was to be the beginning of a new generation of portable, inexpensive cameras.

Grange has also worked within urban and transport design; beginning with his parking meter for Venner in 1958 and going on to later re-design the London black cab, the Taxi TX1 (1998), Adshel bus shelters (1993) and the Rural Post box for Royal Mail in (1998).

In 1972, Grange, together with Alan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes and Mervyn Kurlansky established Pentagram, a world renowned multi-disciplinary design consultancy. The 60s and 70s were a key time for the designer, as the organisers say; "This was a time when Britain led the way with its strong manufacturing base and renewed vigour for design, a time for Britain to embrace the future," and indeed Grange was designing at the heart of this.

Kenneth Grange was made a Royal Designer for Industry in 1969 and was awarded a CBE in 1984, he has also no less than five honorary doctorates. Today, he is still an active member of the UK design community; working with Anglepoise, furniture designer Hitch Mylius and fashion designer Margaret Howell, and tutoring the next generation of design talent at The Royal College of Art.

In association with the show, The Design Museum want to see if there are any original Grange designed Venner parking meters still in existence and are appealing to the public to help in their search, a years membership is offered as a reward. More details can be found at the link below.

Design Museum | Kenneth Grange - Making Britain Modern

Image above: Adshel bench (1972)