Ellen B. Manderfield (February 11, 1916 – March 21, 1999) was an American industrial designer. She was the first female member of IDSA, also known as the American Society of Industrial Designers. She was also the first woman to receive the IDSA Personal Recognition Award in 1992.

Early life

Manderfield was born in Chicago. Her father introduced her to woodworking, but told her that furniture design was an unsuitable profession for a woman. She went into commercial graphic art instead, graduating from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

, followed by advanced study at a commercial art school, which she completed in 1939.

Career

During the early years of her career, Manderfield worked on packaging and graphics. Her first proper industrial design job was at

Colonial Radio Corporation Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French colonial architecture * Spanish colonial architecture Automobiles * Col ...

, where she worked on designs for

televisions A television set or television receiver (more commonly called TV, TV set, television, telly, or tele) is an electronic device for viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or as a computer monitor. It combines a tuner, display, and loudspeake ...

radio receiver In radio communications, a radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless, or simply a radio, is an electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form. It is used with an antenna. ...

s, and

record player A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

s. She eventually supervised a staff of seven, working in particular on prototypes of portable receivers. In 1947, she was hired by

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a mail-order business and later a department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001; its common nickname was "Monkey Wards". ...

, where she worked under Anne Swainson, along with a number of other noted women designers. Until 1951, she designed various appliances for the company, ranging from

sewing machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...

s to

lawn mower A lawn mower (also known as a grass cutter or simply mower, also often spelled lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a lawn, grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by ...

s and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

s. The range of styles in her early years covered most of the gamut in use in the United States at the time, from Scandinavian modern to early American-inspired style. She worked at

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

, at

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, from 1951 to 1956. While her husband was based in Chicago at the time, she did not join him there but commuted regularly to Chicago. During her time in Syracuse, she was among the founders of the local branch of the

Industrial Design Institute Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

. From 1956 to her retirement in 1986, she worked at

Oneida Silversmiths Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

, designing metal flatware and plastic dishware. She was active in professional organisations, becoming the first female member of the new

Industrial Designers Society of America The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is a membership-based not-for-profit organization that promotes the practice and education of industrial design. The organization was formally established in 1965 by the collaborative merger of t ...

in 1957, and the first woman to receive its Personal Recognition Award during her retirement, in 1992.

Exhibitions

Several museums hold her designs, including the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, which obtained her Oneida "Omni" design of stainless steel flatware in 1979, while she was still active.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manderfield, Ellen 1916 births 1999 deaths American industrial designers Designers from Chicago