The "American system" of mass production, successfully implemented during the mid-1800s, was characterized by the large-scale manufacture of standardized products with interchangeable parts. Much different than the individualized hand craftsmanship which preceded it, this method of production required artificially-powered machine tools and simplified operations, endowing products made from machine production with a certain aesthetic—an industrial design. At first used for the manufacture of revolvers, clocks, pocket watches, and agricultural machinery, the American system eventually produced most consumer goods.

Sewing machines and typewriters were the first products consciously designed with different contexts of use in mind—an early implementation of industrial design. In order to sell his sewing machines, Isaac Singer believed that they should be ornamented when in the home in order to fit into the more decorative aesthetic of the domestic sphere; likewise, they should be plain black when found in a factory...