Never Leave Well Enough Alone by Raymond Loewy, introduction by Glenn Porter, Johns Hopkins University Press, facsimile of 1951 edition, £22/$29.95, ISBN 0801872111 Reviewed by Adam Goff
“AMERICAN products are marvels of production and functionality, but were unnecessarily and unbearably ugly, noisy smelly and offensive,” said Raymond Loewy. He set out to destroy those flaws in American design – that ugly offensiveness. In the process, he gained a reputation as the father of modern industrial design.
He began as a window dresser, then worked as a fashion illustrator for Vogue in the 1920s. He went on to create an American lifestyle,…
