Sara Little Turnbull (née Finkelstein; September 21, 1917 – September 3, 2015) was an American
product designer,
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...
innovator and educator. She advised corporate America on product design from 1935 – 2005, and has been described as "corporate America's secret weapon."
[Vienne, Veronique (November 2000]
Sara Little Turnbull, Corporate America’s Secret Weapon
''Metropolis Magazine'' She was one of America's early
industrial designers and one of the first women to succeed in a male-dominated post-World War II design industry. She helped to create essential products from
medical masks[The Mask](_blank)
NPR throughline to
space suit
A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...
s, and founded and led both the Sara Little Center for Design and the Process of Change: Laboratory for Innovation and Design at the
Stanford Graduate School of Business. She approached design as a self-trained
cultural anthropologist
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portman ...
[About Sara Little Turnbull](_blank)
Sara Little Turnbull Center for Design Institute and believed that a thorough understanding of the fine-grain details of how different cultures behaved was key to successful and innovative business solutions.
[''Sara Little Turnbull''](_blank)
National Women's History Museum
Early life and education
Sara Finkelstein was born on September 21, 1917, in Manhattan, New York to Russian immigrant parents, and was raised in Brooklyn. Her mother introduced her to the use of color and form by arranging fruits and vegetables in bowls. She was a child actress in the Yiddish Theater, and in high school, she received early accolades in design, winning an award for textile design. She attended
Parsons School of Design on scholarships from the School Art League of NYC and the National Council of Jewish Women, graduating in 1939 with a degree in Advertising Design.
[''Sara Little Turnbull''](_blank)
Parsons School of Design, The New School
Because she was 4'11" in height, she acquired the nickname "Little Sara," and then began to call herself Sara Little professionally.
Career
''House Beautiful''
During college, Sara Little worked at
Marshall Field & Company
Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...
(now
Macy’s
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
) as an assistant art director in illustration and package design, then as an art director at Blaker Advertising Agency. On graduation, she was hired as an editorial assistant at ''
House Beautiful
''House Beautiful'' is an interior decorating magazine that focuses on decorating and the domestic arts. First published in 1896, it is currently published by the Hearst Corporation, who began publishing it in 1934. It is the oldest still-publi ...
'' magazine, where she wrote the "Girl with a Future" column until she rose to the position of Decorating Editor, which she held for nearly two decades.
At ''House Beautiful'', she anticipated and helped develop the American post-World War II domestic lifestyle. By asking, "how can we help these people put their lives back together through ideas in our magazine?"
She encouraged readers to use more informal space in the home (in what eventually became known as the
family room
A family room is an informal, all-purpose room in a house. The family room is designed to be a place where family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriag ...
), share living space with a roommate, and organize small spaces for maximum domestic efficiency (she lived for 20 years in a hotel room from which she also ran her international consulting practice).
Independent design consultant
In 1965, Little left the magazine world and formed Sara Little Design Consultant. At the time, she wrote a trade article for Housewares Review entitled "Forgetting the Little Woman". Her premise was that most companies created products for retail buyers, instead of considering the people who were actually going to use them.
The story caught the attention of prominent executives, including the heads of
General Mills
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
,
3M and
Corning Glass
Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The co ...
. All three companies eventually hired her as a product research and marketing consultant to assist in finding new applications for technologies developed for the war effort. She helped create disposable medical and antipollution masks made from non-woven fibers, which inspired the design details for today’s
N-95 mask
An N95 filtering facepiece respirator, commonly abbreviated N95 respirator, is a particulate-filtering facepiece respirator that meets the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) N95 classification of air filtratio ...
s, as well as soy protein foodstuffs, and the ubiquitous freezer-to-oven CorningWare that was developed from a material originally used on missile cones.
During her 70-year design career she was more than anything else a
strategic design consultant. She was one of the earliest professional designers to promote
human-centered design
Human-centered design (HCD, also human-centred design, as used in ISO standards) is an approach to problem-solving commonly used in process, product, service and system design, management, and engineering frameworks that develops solutions to ...
methodology, consumer awareness, and cultural change to an international slate of companies such as:
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...
,
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
,
General Mills
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
, Macy’s,
Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...
,
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
,
American Can,
DuPont,
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
,
Nissan,
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
,
Revlon
Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brother ...
,
Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth Arden (born Florence Nightingale Graham; December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966) was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. By 1929, s ...
,
Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...
,
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...
,
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
and
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
. She collaborated on a range of domestic products including housewares, home storage systems, foodstuffs, the glass cooktop, microwave cooking products, personal care, medication delivery systems, cosmetics, new fabric manufacturing processes (knit and non-wovens), space suits, furniture, toys, decoration and packaging, household cleaning products, pet care, tapes and adhesives, and car interiors.
Many of her ideas arose from her intense interest in world cultures and nature. Her work often showcased what later became known as the principles of
biomimicry. She traveled frequently to destinations such as
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Japan,
China,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
, and more, always on the lookout for how people and animals solved the problems of everyday living. Her design for a pot lid was inspired by observing
cheetah
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...
s grasping their prey in the wild. “It always starts with a fundamental curiosity,” she said of her quest for innovative product design. “When I can't find the answer in a book, I go out and search for it. The excitement of my life is that I have always jumped into the unknown to find what I needed to know.”
["Stanford's Sarah Little Turnbull on Design"](_blank)
Corporate Design Foundation In another case, she began the design process for a burglar-proof lock by interviewing imprisoned persons.
Center for Design Research
In 1971, she established the Center for Design Research at the
Tacoma Art Museum
The Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is an art museum in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It focuses primarily on the art and artists from the Pacific Northwest and broader western region of the U.S. Founded in 1935, the museum has strong roots in the c ...
in Washington State to archive and display her collection of over 3500 artifacts gathered during her travels. The study collection includes body coverings and accessories, food preparation and dining implements, textiles, fine and folk art, much of which had influenced her concepts for domestic product design. These artifacts were used for her own inspiration as a part of her design methodology. The collection was deaccessioned from the Tacoma Art Museum in 2003 and has been re-established in Seattle, WA as the Sara Little Turnbull Center for Design Institute, focused on educating the public on design, and design scholarship for women.
Process of Change: Laboratory for Innovation and Design
In 1988, Little founded and, for the next 18 years, directed the Process of Change: Laboratory for Innovation and Design at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The Laboratory tracks change internationally, in more than 375 areas including, education, healthcare, aging, sexuality, food and nutrition, housing, politics, and culture. Little used this information to fuel her design concepts. "The quality of life of a people dictates what they design, what they make," she said. "It's a reflection of life itself."
In her work with students at Stanford, Little continually emphasized digging deep into the "why" of a product before leaping into the "how," in order to avoid designing products that only addressed superficial symptoms rather than the deeper need.
Sara stated: “The designer is the conscience of the company. We can't expect anyone else to fill this role. That’s why the Process of Change Laboratory delineated the need to know more. Design requires a background of scholarship, otherwise, it remains a visual trick.”
Teaching, awards and honors
In addition to her work at Stanford, Sara Little was a guest lecturer at schools such as Parsons School of Design,
Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
,
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
,
Harvard,
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...
,
Copenhagen Business School
Copenhagen Business School (Danish'': Handelshøjskolen i København'') often abbreviated and referred to as CBS (also in Danish), is a public university situated in Copenhagen, Denmark and is considered one of the most prestigious business schoo ...
,
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
,
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...
and
University of California Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...
.
She received a Distinguished Designer Fellowship from the
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
in 1988; the Trailblazer Award from the National Home Fashion League (1980), and an honorary doctorate from
Academy of Art University
The Academy of Art University (AAU or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. ...
(2003). Also, in 1980 she is mentioned in the United States Congressional Record with distinction by Oregon Senator Mark O. Hatfield.
In 2008,
Chrysler Corporation established the Chrysler Sara Little Turnbull Scholarship at Academy of Art University. The Modern Art Council of the
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and wa ...
designated her a "Bay Area Living Treasure" in 2001. In 2006, at the age of 89, Sara Little received the Lifetime Achievement Award from
ico-D
The International Council of Design (ICoD; formerly known as ico-D, International Council of Communication Design or Icograda, which was formerly an initialism for International Council of Graphic Design Associations) is an international organisa ...
(International Congress of Graphic Design Associations), becoming the only person from the United States to do so.
Board service
* 1948: Design Associate, American Institute of Decorators
* 1951-54: Alumni Board, Parsons School of Art and Design
* 1960s: Board, Home Furnishings Council (HFC)
* 1960-1980s: Board of Trustees, School Art League of the City of New York
* 1965-70: Board of Trustees, Parsons School of Art and Design
* 1972: Board Member, The Architects Collaborative (TAC)
* 1979: Board of Directors and Founding Board Member, Innovative Design Fund, Inc
* 1980s: Board of Directors, Tacoma Art Museum
* 1990s: Board of Directors, Corporate Design Foundation (CDF)
* 1991: Board of Directors, Long Term Care Implementation Committee at the Age Center Alliance, Inc.
* 1995: Advisory Member, National Design Forum
* 1998: Board of Directors, Tacoma Art Museum
* 2004: Board of Directors, Cooper Hewitt Museum and Committee for the Arts
Personal life and death
At age 48, she married James R. Turnbull, then executive vice president of Douglas Fir Plywood Association in Tacoma, Washington. Later, when James Turnbull became executive vice president of
National Forest Products Association, they moved to Washington, D.C., with an apartment at the
Watergate complex
The Watergate complex is a group of six buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Covering a total of 10 acres (4 ha) just north of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the buildings incl ...
. They were living there during the
White House plumbers
The White House Plumbers, sometimes simply called the Plumbers, the Room 16 Project, or more officially, the White House Special Investigations Unit, was a covert White House Special Investigations Unit, established within a week after the public ...
break-in.
The couple had no children.
Sara Little Turnbull died in 2015 at age 97 in Seattle.
Footnotes
External links
Sara Little Turnbull official websiteSara Little Turnbull Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Sara Little
Product designers
American industrial designers
1917 births
2015 deaths
Design educators
Parsons School of Design alumni