Brooks Stevens (1911-1995) was an automotive designer and stylist. In the first half of the 20th century, he developed the concept of planned obsolescence, the practice of artificially shortening product lifecycles in order to influence the buying patterns of consumers in favor of manufacturers.

Stevens was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 7, 1911. Stricken with polio as a child, Stevens father encouraged him to practice drawing while confined to his bed, perhaps motivating his career in design. He studied architecture at Cornell University from 1929 to 1933, and established his own home furnishings design firm in 1934.

As an independent designer, Stevens was responsible for the Studebaker products (the Avanti was an exception) from the 1962 model year until Studebaker closed in 1966. While with Studebaker, Stevens created the Studebaker Hawk GT and Studebaker Wagonaire. Stevens also designed the Kaiser Jeep Wagoneer which remained in production between 1963 - 1990.

Related topics

• automotive design
• industrial design
• product design
• Planned Obsolescence

External links

• 60 Years of Industrial Design, providing a brief biography of Stevens