IBM's pioneering role in the adoption of design by the technology industry is largely forgotten today
This year, IBM is celebrating its centennial.
Although the company remains influential, it no longer occupies the incredibly central role it once held for decades—a role that made it a symbol of the "evil" dominance of multinational corporations for some.
Beyond the antitrust lawsuits, beyond its questionable collaborations with dictatorial regimes, and beyond the many controversies surrounding its economic and political role during its golden age, IBM has left an indelible mark on our industry—which owes it far more than many realize.
While these legacies are more or less acknowledged, one crucial aspect is often overlooked: Design.
Most people remember Apple’s iconic '1984' ad campaign, directed by Ridley Scott, which portrayed IBM as Big Brother, standing in stark contrast to the freedom offered by the Macintosh.
Yet, long before Steve Jobs made design a central focus in computing with Apple & NeXT, it was IBM—ironically, the company depicted as the enemy—that took the first significant steps in this direction.
I invite you to take a journey with me into this forgotten chapter of history.
Let's begin with the key figures at the start of this journey
Thomas J. Watson Jr. (1914-1993) was the eldest son of Thomas J. Watson Sr., the legendary leader of IBM from its founding to 1956, who transformed the company into a dominant force in the business world.
After graduating, he joined IBM, but he struggled initially to find his place within the company, feeling overshadowed by his father's larger-than-life presence.
Seeking to prove himself outside of IBM, Watson Jr. joined the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
After the war, Watson Jr. returned to IBM yo work alongside his father, but it wasn't until the early 1950s that he began to make a significant impact.
In 1952, he was appointed executive vice president, positioning him as the heir apparent to his father.
During this period, Watson Jr. began to push for modernization within IBM, advocating for a shift from mechanical tabulating machines to electronic computers.
He recognized that the future of the company lay in embracing new technology and innovation.
Among the key influences on Watson Jr., Edgar Kaufmann Jr. (the son of the client who commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Fallingwater House) stands out as a significant figure, popularizing the idea that design should be central to both corporate identity and product development.
He became president of the company in 1956 after the death of his father.
Eliot Noyes (1910-1977) attended Harvard University, where he studied architecture under the renowned Walter Gropius, a key figure in the Bauhaus movement.
He earned his Master of Architecture degree in 1938.
Noyes began his career working at various architectural firms but soon became involved with industrial design, a field that combined his architectural training with his interest in modernism.
In the early 1940s, he joined the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York as the first director of the newly established Industrial Design Department.
During his time at MoMA, Noyes curated exhibitions that showcased modern design principles, helping to elevate industrial design as an important field of study and practice.
In the late 1940s, Noyes left MoMA to focus on his design consultancy, where he began working on a wide range of projects, including furniture, household products, and office equipment.
His work was characterized by a commitment to modernist principles, emphasizing simplicity, functionality, and the integration of form and function.
By the early 1950s, Noyes had established himself as a leading figure in industrial design.
At the beginning of this journey is a pivotal meeting
The story of IBM's innovative corporate design program began with an unlikely meeting between Watson Jr. and Noyes during World War II at the Pentagon, where Watson was running reconnaissance flights and Noyes was a glider pilot.
After the war, their paths crossed again when Watson, then a vice president at IBM, hired Noyes's employer, the industrial design firm Norman Bel Geddes & Co., to redesign 's office machines.
When the firm closed in 1947, Noyes took on the project himself, successfully redesigning IBM's Model B Executive Typewriter with a sleek, modern aesthetic.
His work impressed Watson Jr., who continued to involve Noyes in various projects, including the redesign of his own office at IBM's New York headquarters.
Watson Jr. developed a close relationship with Noyes, seeing his work as key to fulfilling his vision of modernizing the company he would lead :
"Noyes’s goal was never just to make things pretty. It was to reflect the true essence of the subject and its relationship to the space around it. Typewriters, for example, weren’t just machines?— they were vital organs within living, dynamic businesses. Eliot knows how to put things together so that the whole thing works,”
IBM, by Watson’s own admission, had lacked coherency in this area :
“We had no design theme or effort then. No identifiable or pleasing typography. No consistent color plan” he would later reflect. “Even our trademarks were laid out in jarring and dissimilar fashion.”
A first-of-its-kind corporate-wide design program
One of Watson Jr.'s first decisions as president was to hire Noyes in 1956 with the title of Consultant Design Director to lead a project that was atypical and innovative: a corporate-wide design program that encompassed everything from architecture to graphics to methods of work.
For Watson, design was always an enabler of business success :
"We don’t think design can make a poor product good … but we are convinced that good design can materially help a good product realize its full potential. Design can help make a good business great. In short, we think good design is good business.”
Noyes held a position where he reported directly to the president, an exceptional recognition of design at the time, foreshadowing a similar approach that would be seen decades later at Apple.
Noyes had the president's trust, a generous budget, and both the right and the duty to challenge established practices and refresh the company's worldview.
Let's Build a "Dream Team"
The scope of Noyes' work was extensive: product design, of course, but also the company's visual identity, internal and external communication tools, business presentations and reports, packaging, the architecture of buildings and office design, the architecture and design of factories, employee attire in factories, exhibition booths, and even some supplies...
This, once again, brings to mind the partnership between Steve Jobs & Jonathan Ive.
To accomplish these varied goals, a range of talented individuals were enlisted.
Noyes' achievements, reputation, and relentless pursuit of top talent enabled him to attract some of the 20th century's most innovative and influential design minds to help shape the new image of IBM.
One of his early collaborators was Paul Rand, often referred to as the “father of graphic design.”
He created the now-iconic IBM logo and continued to consult for the company on graphic design for many years. (And as a fun fact, Steve Jobs would later hire Paul Rand to design the logo for his company, NeXT)
The list of talents in design and architecture would be long, but in addition to Eliot Noyes and Paul Rand, we can highlight:
In 1966, the Design Program was honored with the Tiffany Award for excellence in American design.
Many creations from this period have now entered museums, and the list of iconic IBM buildings—from research centers to factories and offices—is truly impressive.
IBM Aerospace Research Center
Among Eliot Noyes' works, this 1963 building, nicknamed the Punched Card, holds a special connection to the world of design, as it was later sold to the Otis College of Art and Design .
The program had a significant impact on many aspects of the company and remains a pioneering example of the role design can play in a company's modernization strategy.
He helped establish design as a key element of business, and IBM significantly contributed to its academic teaching by funding programs.
While the company might seem a bit old-fashioned compared to today's industry giants, it’s important to remember the impact it made beyond its significant technical contributions.
And if I've sprinkled references to Steve Jobs throughout this article, it’s not without reason.
His passion for design is well known, and he cultivated it by engaging with designers throughout his life, drawing from their experiences.
However, what is less known is that IBM's corporate-wide design program was a reference for him, reinforced by his collaboration with Paul Rand.
This program inspired his vision at NeXT and later during his return to Apple.
Surprisingly, an IBM legacy can be found in the history of Apple through Steve Jobs.
UX & UI Designer at Epic Games
3 个月Merci Stéphane Dalbera j'ignorais a peu près tout de cette aventure !
Professeur honoraire EnsadLab, Maire adjoint Peyrolles
3 个月A noter qu'en 1975, IBM France finance un numéro spécial de sa revue gratuite qui, en 100 pages sur papier glacé fait superbement le point sur l'utilisation de l'ordinateur dans les arts plastiques, le cinéma d'animation, les arts graphiques, l'architecture et l'esthétique industrielle. Une référence très éclectique sur l'état de l'art en 1975.
Designer
3 个月Fascinating story which has filled a spot in my knowledge bank. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this!
35y+ writing software - looking for my next adventure
3 个月My father used to love to spend time with those he called 'the artists' at La Gaude, the people who were building to-scale wooden models of future PBX's, or other machines. You could witness actual craft, actual creativity, and the company was pretty much spending the sort of effort a manufacturer of planes, boats or cars would. It was important the machines looked the part : doing the job wasn't enough. I used to find it odd, as a kid, that a company that otherwise felt so rigid, almost military, would also care about that. Although, when I say that, I realise the military also do nurture their "good looks".