The advent of Designer Telephones became possible with the
explosion in the demand for telephones and the miniaturization
in the electronics utilized for telephones. The market was ready
for design telephones or so the theory ran. However, though privatization
of 'telephones' was a reality, the inbred loyalty (or was it inertia!)
to ones monopolistic supplier of 'phones' for half a century meant
that those taken on board by the 'traditional supplier' fared
well, whilst others promoted on the liberalized market, though
virtuoso productions, with exceptions, failed to catch on. The
Ericafon dial telephone by L.M. Ericsson of Stockholm is definably
the first attempt at a Designer Telephone. Produced in 1957 it
revolutionized the format and style of telephones. With miniaturization
no longer were manufacturers hide-bound by 'container' size. This
exciting concept engendered this, the first 'one-piece' telephone
and thus the Ericafon was born. This was later followed by Ericssons'
push button version, both big sellers. Scandinavia continued to
lead the field and the 'Kirk' telephone, produced by Standard
Electric Kirk, was designed by Jacob Jensen of Denmark. This had
the added attraction of changeable covers. This innovation mean
if it was moved to a different room the cover could be changed
to suit differing decor. Its rival, also from Denmark, was the
award winning GNT Telephone, also launched in 1980, and designed
by Henning Andraesen. On the other side of the Atlantic their
first true Designer Telephone was the Genie, a successful seller
around the world.
Previously, the colloquially known 'Donut' telephone failed to
live up to expectations. Two other elative failures were the Italian
Grillo Telephone and the overpriced Bang and Oluffsen telephones.
In Britain there were attempts to enter this market by British
Telecommunications. The Trimphone, that made the transition from
dial 'phone to push button 'phone to a later renovated push button
product in unusual colors, being British Telecoms' riposte in
the Designer 'Phone War. Next was the attempt at a bedside table
'phone by marketing British Telecoms standard Statesman with a
luminous body, a short lived rare beast, possibly as well known
for its radioactive properties as the luminous Trimphone was.
Two other Designer Telephones had mixed reception in Britain.
There was the uniquely designed Swatch'phone in a variety of 'Swatchy'
colors. The design was unique in as much as it was a two-piece
telephone with the handset lying flat on the base whereby both
parts could be used as a telephone receiver making for genuine
three-way conversations. Finally the Taurus designed by Andy Davey
won the Designers and Art Directors Silver Award for 'most outstanding
British product design for working environments' in 1990. Like
many innovations it was ahead of its time and sold relatively
poorly. Perversely the less popular telephones, being less prevalent,
tend to command a higher collector's value. There is a burgeoning
market in these collector's pieces. Connoisseurs of fashion and
of decor have the pleasure of an investment that is appreciating
with the added bonus of their functional use.
Note: Tim Baugh has corrected some of the information found in the above article. His comments are: "The Trimphone was introduced in the early seventies when it was still GPO or Post Office telephones and by 1980 the Trimphone was obsolete and I doubt if it was available as a new item, mainly because of the problem with its switchhooks and the fact they were prone to sticking. When British Telecom came about its first attempts at design phones were the "Inphones", the two main ones being the Viscount and the Statesman but also several others such as the compact. Whilst a push button version of the Trimphone was introduced, shortly before its demise. In fact the transition was brought about by the 700's series key master telephone which was the button version of the traditional British dial phone. The Swatch phone referred to was something produced in the very late 80's by the Swatch company who make Swiss made waterproof watches which had become fashionable at the time. The mass exodus from hardwire to plug and socket installations started in 1982/3 when Inphones were introduced advertised as "you go where where the Inphone goes". The main two were the Statesman at an additional cost of £5.00 and the Viscount at £10.00."