1940s

Decades of Design

World

War 2

There was one key event that affected

every aspect life in the 1940s:

A huge amount of resources

were needed to fight the war.

This meant that there were

constraints on the amount of

materials and supplies for

domestic use.

As so many men were away fighting,

women were encouraged to do jobs that

had previously been done by men, like

driving tractors on farms and working

machines in factories.

As they were going out to work, this meant that

many women had less time than before the

war to fulfil their traditional roles in the home,

like cooking, cleaning and

sewing.

Women were not allowed

to fight, but they were

allowed to fill support

roles in the armed

services.

How did this affect design?• As so many materials were needed

to support the war effort, there were constraints on the materials available for domestic use. Wastage of materials had to be kept as small as possible.

• As women had to spend more time out at work, there was a need for labour saving in the home.

• The huge manufacturing effort to support the war placed much more emphasis than before on the use of large volume and mass production.

Charles E

am

es, ply

wood

table

and c

hairs,

1940s

Designs were often very

simple, with little

decoration as this

wasted material.

Fu

rn

itu

re

in

th

e 1

94

0s

Very few people had televisions. For

most people, entertainment and

news came from their radio.

Radios often had to be very big so

that all the parts could fit inside!

As more women were working,

devices to help in the home

became more popular

Ele

ctr

on

ics i

n t

he

19

40

s

Lig

htin

g i

n t

he

19

40

s

Whilst electric lights were available for

use at home, soldiers had to be

equipped with robust, liquid-fuel lights

Photographs on adverts were

only black & white;

many adverts used

drawings instead.

Ad

ve

rtis

ing

in

th

e 1

94

0s

Health and well-being was a key feature of

many advertisements

Ad

ve

rtis

ing

in

th

e 1

94

0s Some companies tried to

say that their products

were good by linking

their use to the military

Most adverts contained

some text. A wide range

of font styles were

used.

Men often wore suits and ties,

even during leisure time

Fa

sh

ion

in

th

e 1

94

0s Hats were popular

Knitting and making

clothes at home

was commonplace

Fa

sh

ion

in

th

e 1

94

0s

Elaborate hairstyles and long skirts were popular

Fo

od

in

th

e 1

94

0s

Foods from abroad could be hard to get, so people

tried to find alternatives

The war meant that many foods

were in short supply and had to

be rationed.

Food that was quick and easy to

prepare became more popular

Fo

od

in

th

e 1

94

0s

Ca

rs i

n t

he

19

40

s

References

http://history1900s.about.com/library

/time/bltime1940.htm

http://www.lolc.co.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940s