Raymond Loewy Quotes

“A designer must always think about the unfortunate production engineer who will have to manufacture what you have designed; try to understand his problems.”

“A lot of people are open to new things, as long as they look like the old ones.”

“American products are marvels of production and functionality, but were unnecessarily and unbearably ugly, noisy smelly and offensive.”

“As a boy I had liked both drawing and physics, and I always abhorred the role of being a spectator. In 1908, when I was 15, I designed, built and flew a toy model airplane which won the then-famous James Gordon Bennett Cup. By 16 I had discovered that design could be fun and profitable, and this lesson has never been lost on me.”

“Between two products equal in price, function and quality, the better looking will outsell the other.”

“Design, vitalized and simplified, will make the comforts of civilized life available to an ever-increasing number of Americans.”

“Good design is not an applied veneer.”

“Good design keeps the user happy, the manufacturer in the black, and the aesthete unoffended.”

“I alienated the automotive industry by saying that cars should be lightweight and compact.”

“I believe most in educated intuition, in what you get through profound experience.”

“I can claim to have made the daily life of the 20th Century more beautiful.”

“I sought excitement and, taking chances, I was all ready to fail in order to achieve something large.”

“I've been accused of being a shell designer – you start with a machine and enclose it. But in many cases, the shell is essential. A locomotive without a shell would be non-functional.”

“If America wants to make 'made in America' a symbol of excellence and worth. They have to make everything of high quality, otherwise the best.”

“It all must start with an inspired, spontaneous idea.”

“It would seem that more than function itself, simplicity is the deciding factor in the aesthetic equation. One might call the process beauty through function and simplification.”

“It's a simple exercise; a little logic, a little taste, and the will to cooperate.”

“Noise is a parasite. Anything noisy is poorly designed.”

“People will turn to you, follow you, support you only as long as they are confident that you are doing your best.”

“The American automobile has changed the habits of every member of modern society.”

“The automobile is an American cultural symbol.”

“The Coke bottle is a masterpiece of scientific, functional planning. In simpler terms, I would describe the bottle as well thought out, logical, sparing of material and pleasant to look at.”

“The main goal is not to complicate the already difficult life of the consumer.”

“The most beautiful curve is a rising sales graph.”

“The most reliable appliance has simplicity and quality, does what is demanded of it, is economical to use, easy to maintain, and just as easy to repair. It also sells best and looks good.”

“The world is filled with archaic objects – mailboxes which look like alarm boxes, banks which look like places to break out of rather than places to enter.”

“There is a frantic race to merchandise tinsel and trash under the guise of 'modernism'.”

“Ugliness does not sell.”

“Form, which should be the clean – cut expression of mechanical excellence has become sensuous and organic.”

“Design is too important to be left to designers.”