InsaneTwist: How The Space Age Influenced Design

6 June 2011

How The Space Age Influenced Design

A colorful look at how America's obsession with space travel led to rocket-shaped
vehicles, parabola-shaped buildings, and swiveling television set.
During the 1950s, architecture, cars, and gadget design took on a curiously
spaceflight-inspired aesthetic. Manufacturers built vehicles with ornamental tailfins.
Upswept roofs and parabolas cropped up on buildings. Logos incorporated starburst
s and satellite shapes, while parallelograms, wings, and free-form boomerangs became
the motel sign shapes du jour. In retrospect, those designs look a little gimmicky, but they nonetheless reflect a collective 1950s confidence about America's dazzling future as a leader in space flight and economic prosperity.