#brooksstevens

Brooks Stevens was born in Milwaukee, and even when he moved away, he was still drawn back. On July 1st, 1935, Stevens opened his first office. While it started with only five staff members, he soon grew to have over fifty. In 1937, he married his wife Alice. Then with Fitzhugh Scott, Jr., they built Stevens and Alice’s first house which is now one of Milwaukee’s most significant examples of modernist architecture. A major piece of history for Milwaukee Industrial Design. Not only did Brooks Stevens build and design for himself, but he also began delivering lectures on “Industrial Design and its Practical Application to Industry.” Through these talks, Stevens would try to share the message with his audience that design would pay for itself many times over. 

His legacy did not stop there. During World War II, Stevens executed a few designs with a military application, and converted military manufacturing into civilian consumer products. He also became the only Midwestern founder of the Society of Industrial Designers. He had a show at the Milwaukee Art Institute in 1950, and got a lot of popularity from the press. This was a huge event for the Milwaukee Art Institute. Stevens also created an Auto Museum, which had his design of vehicles on display. In 1954, Stevens was asked to state his favorite design among all of the firms that he had. His response was “none” because every single one would have to be redesigned for the new ideas of tomorrow. This is what makes Brooks Stevens so admirable because he knows that true design is always needing to be adapted and changed. 

ABOUT BROOKS STEVENS

Brooks Stevens was a designer born in Milwaukee, who had the passion to build and design from a very young age. With the help and motivation from his father, he challenged himself through a childhood illness and became one of the most influential designers in Milwaukee. His first intentions were to study architecture at Cornell University. This became his only time that he lived outside of Milwaukee.

He left Cornell without a diploma and returned to Milwaukee to work as an inventory manager, first for a pair of soap companies, and then for a grocery supply firm. He persuaded the head of the company to let him redesign some of the product labels. He also won a contest to redesign the company logo for his father’s employer. These opportunities were the first step towards Stevens’ career as an industrial designer. While he had numerous opportunities to live and work in New York City, he decided to stay in Milwaukee, “where the business was”.

He opened his first office in 1935, which had over fifty people in the following five years. Later, when he got married, he and his wife built their own ultra-modern house in Fox Point, which stands today as one of Milwaukee’s most significant examples of modernist domestic architecture. Later, Stevens began delivering slide lectures on “Industrial Design and Its Practical Application to Industry.” These talks invariably stressed his main selling point: that design would pay for itself many times over. 

Stevens argued that “an industrial designer in today’s business world should be a business man, an engineer and a stylist, and in that direct order.” He sought out high profile commissions and relationships with Milwaukee’s most prominent manufacturers, including Miller Brewing, Allen-Bradley, the Outboard Marine Company, and Harley-Davidson. In 1947 he unveiled a design for a new train called the Olympian Hiawatha, which was one of the last of the great “streamliner” trains that roared across America. Stevens also became the only Midwestern founder of the Society of Industrial Designers (SID), and the first industrial designer ever to be honored with a one-person museum retrospective. His show at the Milwaukee Art Institute, in 1950 was more than successful. Stevens later created his own Auto Museum, which displayed both vehicles of his own design and those that he admired. His words “planned obsolescence” became a recognized aspect among the industrial design.

Stevens did not have a favorite design of his. His argument was that “every one would have to be restudied for the tastes of tomorrow.” By the time he retired, had helped to shape approximately 3,000 products for almost 600 clients over the years.

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