Margaret Howell's Ten Best Product Designs
September 12, 2011 by Philip Watts 
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Images
—01. Alverston Cutlery Set. Robert Welsh, 1962.
—02. Royal Festival Hall.
Words
Well known for both her understated and exceptional taste, Margaret Howell recently picked her top ten product designs for The Observer newspaper. Some you might guess, others you most certainly won't. Her tenth pick, for example, is Motorway Signs:
"These are so familiar that no one notices how clever they really are. They convey important information quickly, unambiguously and without distraction to motorists travelling at speed. This demands expertise in perception and information processing, but the result is anything but academic, combining shape, type and symbol with simplicity and style. They look as good today as they did 50 years ago and have made motorway travelling safer and easier for millions. It is one of the hardest tasks to be simple. And it’s a triumph."
Margaret Howell, The Observer 
