Stanford
History of Design

History

The Origins of Design at Stanford (1949-1974)

Before 1958, Stanford University had several design courses in Machine Design, Architectural Design, and Product Design in various departments. With the establishment of the Mechanical Engineering Comprehensive Design Division (today Design Group) and the Product Design Program, a new comprehensive and integrated design education started. This design education integrated the Arts, Engineering, Social Science and Humanities, and Industrial Design. 

Matthew Kahn 

Matt Kahn (May 29, 1928 - June 24, 2013). He studied at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills. In 1949, at the age of 21, Matt joined Stanford's Department of Art (now the Department of Art and Art History). Over the following 60 years, he created pioneering coursework in design, and teaching painting, drawing, sculpture, and color theory.

John E. Arnold

John E. Arnold (né Paulsen; March 14, 1913 - September 28, 1963). He studied at the University College at the University of Minnesota and Mechanical Engineering the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  In 1959, he joined Stanford University as a full professor of mechanical engineering and business administration. He was a pioneer in educating creativity in design and engineering and integrating various fields into a comprehensive design education and practice. 

Short story: Did you know that John Arnold's creative and comprehensive design influenced the early developments of Long Range Planning (Strategic Management)? His work heavily inspired the Long Range Planning Service at the Stanford Research Institute, notably Robert Stewart and Joe McPherson.  

Robert H. McKim

Robert H. McKim (Sept. 24, 1926 - July 17, 2022). A native Californian, he grew up in San Mateo, graduating from San Mateo High School in 1944. He studied at Stanford, earning his Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1948. He then went to New York to study Industrial Design at Pratt Institute. He was the first hire by John Arnold and led the development of the Product Design program. He led the program as a director until his retirement in 1984. 

Short story: Did you know that Robert McKim outlined the idea of human-centered design in the late 1950s and, in his 1964 article Human Values and Design, he emphasized the need to redefine design with "[humans] at its center."

James L. Adams 

James L. Adams (March 6, 1934 - January, 15. 2022). Jim was born in Rialto, California and studied Engineering at CalTech and Arts at UCLA before doing his Ph.D. under the supervision of John Arnold. He joined the Design Division as an Associate Professor and directed the division in the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1968 to 1975. He helped found the groundbreaking Program in Values Technology, Science and Society and led classes with titles like Aesthetics and Technology (co-taught with a humanist colleague), Creative Problem Solving, and Good Products, Bad Products. 

Many other individuals 

  • Douglas Wilde
  • Peter Bulkeley
  • Robert Keller
  • Henry Fuchs
  • Nelson van Judha
  • James Fadiman
  • Carl Clement
  • Jack Stringer

For an overview of the Origins of Design at Stanford, watch the Lung-Wen Tsai Memorial Lecture: 

 

 

 

More to come in the near future.