DESIGNS OF THE YEAR
SIR,—While I fully agree with Mrs. Scurfield's point that it is more important that articles for domestic use should fulfil their function well than that they should look beautiful, I think she does less than justice to the care taken by the Council of Industrial. Design's selection committees to watch these factors. Though it is true that the Coll) does not have a testing laboratory for consumer products, almost every industry represented in the Design Centre has nominated an individual or a panel to advise the Council on technical points of manufacturing quality, particularly where safety is concerned. If these tech- nical advisers do not recommend a product it will not be accepted for Design Index however well a selection committee may like its appearance.
It is surely premature for Mrs. Scurfield's attack on 'deadly good taste' while good design is still so scarce a commodity, but if, as her second paragraph suggests, she equates 'deadly good taste' with 'styl- ing' and 'gimmicky sales-boosting ideas,' then I am with her all the way. though 'deadly bad taste' might have been a better description.—Yours faithfully, PAUL REILLY Director The Council of Industrial Design.
The Design Centre, 28 Haymarket, SW
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