33 Impact at Home

also popularly represented as a project able to draw links to Ireland’s mythological past and discourse of the ‘nation’. There were numerous advertisements made for Ardnacrusha and one most notable was by Dublin illustrator Gordon Brewster. The illustration comprises a field of horses galloping and controlled by the mythological hero Cuchulainn who is depicted wearing Celtic dress. Brewster successfully captured the magnificence of the river Shannon through the metaphor of the strength and speed of 90,000 horsepower. As stated by Ireland, Design & Visual Culture, the advertisement was “incorporating electrical technology into traditionally Celtic or Gaelic Irish vision”. Referring back to Geertz ‘essentialism or epochalism’, Brewster clearly choose essentialism over epochalism. It is as if Brewster knew that the very new upcoming spirit of age and advances in technology were too alien, so in advertising, he chose to display the indigenous way of life. In the next room in SFMOMA Michael Scott’s Busáras bus terminal which was built in Dublin which was completed in 1953 will be displayed. Similarly to Dublin airport, Busáras was seen as a glamour hotspot. The station held not only a hub for buses, but a cinema, a restaurant and various kiosks. It was important to Scott that the materials looked and felt Irish. Scott used Portland stone, as Irish granite was too

expensive. Scott decided that the bus terminus required decorative mosaic tiles and not painting, and travelled to Italy to buy these. Alongside the Portland stone and tiles, the terminus had wrought iron and air conditioning. The use and admiration for materials played a key role in transforming architecture from ornate and romantic to modern and functional, as according to Harbison “It was not until this century that the idea of stripped down functionalism in architecture gained widespread currency... The 1950s saw spectacular developments in architecture..... With the increase of confidence in new materials and structural methods has come a bolder use of them.” Not only was the Bus terminus distinct from the past architectural styles common in Ireland, but it was striking due to its location, beside the classical styled Custom House. Michael Scott himself said some “couldn’t bear the idea of a modern building going up on that site so close” to it 16. Despite some uproar, the building “got a wave of approval from British and European Architects” 17. This bus terminal meant that Ireland could prove it was a nation of the future, connecting masses of people from one county to another. It was a sign of a busy country full of hard working people. Ireland has changed drastically in the last few years. What has become more apparent and a recurring theme in Irish identity is the ever growing number of those who leave Ireland, and how Irish people live all over the world. Just as when Dublin Airport was built, Irish tourism is a huge focus,

and it is now one of Ireland’s key economic drivers. Dublin Airport now has two terminals, the latest being built by Pascall+Watson and Mace in 2010. It was designed in mind to be a “landmark building and a gateway into Ireland for the 21st century”18 and echoes the efforts made to project an image of the country for arriving travellers just as the initial airport tried to do. Due to technological advances, tourism and advertising is now largely reliant on photography instead of handmade posters like Melai’s. Despite the difference in delivery, the message and focus remain the same. Farming was, until the second half of the 20th century, the main driver of Irish economic activity. What manufacturing did exist prior to the foundation of the state in 1922 largely consisted of local craft-based industries centred on textile, glass and ceramic production. In the previous decades, craft output had taken on a particular significance as the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement demonstrated how local traditions

ambitious advertising campaign for Aer Lingus. As the decade progressed, these designers worked for many tourism-related companies including Bord Fáilte and John Hinde, in addition to working for a host of indigenous companies, including Guinness and RTÉ. They were also active in promoting the advertising industry which continued to expand with the establishment of the Institute of Creative Advertising in 1958 (now ICAD). As a flag carrier, and thus, official agent of state, Aer Lingus became hugely significant in how Ireland and Irish design were viewed internationally. It became a locus for the promotion of quality Irish goods as exemplified by the design of crew uniforms, the examples of Irish ceramics, glass and textiles used in its service provision, and its promotion of Irish design in the pages of its in-flight magazine, Cara. This visual timeline covers the periods of

Modernism to Postmodernism and various design styles and influences contained with in each era and shows how interactions of style and influences relate to each other. This poster is a visual representation of major design milestones of the 20th and early part of the 21st century and identifies key design practitioners active and influential in each important decade. It identifies the multidisciplinary nature of design and highlights major design disciples including: Vehicle Design; Architecture; Product & Industrial Design and Visual Communication & Graphic Design. This is a infographic charts design’s relationship with culture and history. Literature from national and international sources were investigated in order to develop a multi-disciplinary approach in identify key moments in design history and how this relates to current world and national historical events, and events within poplar culture. These

could materialise Irish difference and give concrete form to the aspirations of cultural nationalism. Examples of large-scale manufacturing were limited, and in Dublin brewing, distilling, baking and paper production thrived, in addition to a modest textile industry. Within this industrial landscape, Guinness (1759-) dominated the story of Dublin’s industrial production.

The first government of the Free State embarked on an ambitious project of nation building in which design activity – dominated by architecture and engineering - were employed to create a national network of infrastructure and communications. Milestones of the period included the monumental, Siemens-built, Ardnacrusha hydro-electrical station on the Shannon River and the launch of a state radio station. As the political climate stabilised in the 1930’s, the emphasis on state infrastructure continued with the establishment of a national airline, Aer Lingus; a new National radio station, RTÉ; and the provision of a network of national hospitals and schools, many of which are still in use today. The blue print of Dublin city changed dramatically during this time: Dublin Corporation (the forerunner of Dublin City Council) embarked on an ambitious campaign of rebuilding the city’s main thoroughfare and alleviating high levels of poor and unsanitary housing. The renaming of streets and state buildings after Irish cultural and political figures was an important, and cost effective, visual gesture of national pride, that recast the cities as symbols of political independence. Design activity played a crucial role in visualising this new political autonomy. Definitive stamps, coinage and variety of printed emphera as issued by the state synthesised historical references within contemporary idioms, giving popular expression to the change in political status. A growth in what we would now consider to be ‘graphic design’ activities saw new advertising companies appearing in Dublin. However, the need or desire to advertise Irish products was limited until the 1950’s as protectionist economics policies limited the competition for Irish goods to compete either nationally or internationally. An emphasis on the economic benefits of tourism had a crucial impact on the trajectory of design practice. This awareness can be traced back to the 1940’s with the realisation that the tourism industry could supplant agriculture as the principal indigenous industry. As mass emigration and high unemployment figures defined the 1950’s, there was a distinct growth in design activity,allied to tourism development. This was most evident in the area of graphic design where Dutch designers from KLM were imported to work on an