The Bell System Model 302 Telephone

Industrial designers in the 1930's came upon the concept of streamlining as a tool for increasing the effect of a machine's visibility. The best term for describing the process of streamlining appliances could be 'cleanlining'. Designers set out to reduce or shroud gears, levers, screws, slots and protuberances. The unified and balanced form of the Bell 302 telephone is a prime example of replacing the awkward and ungainly shapes of earlier 'candlestick' phones with the clean lines of the new “modern” phone. With fewer visible and distracting parts and controls, the user's attention became more easily directed to essential controls and how to operate them.

In 1930, a design competition was sponsored by Bell Laboratories to define the appearance of the ''modern phone''. Ten artists were invited to participate, one of who was Industrial Designer Henry Dreyfuss. He insisted on interviewing scientists and engineers at Bell Labs in order to design ''from the inside out'' and the resulting design was the Model 302 which was compact, easy to use, cleanly ''modern'' and durably manufactured.

For Dreyfuss, ease of use was a primary goal. The highly visible, alpha-numeric rotary dialing system also reduced the complexity of initiating a call. The appearance or look of the device essentially told the user how to place a call; the handset could only be placed appropriately in your hand with the receiver adjacent to an ear and the transmitter near a mouth. The size of the handset's cradle cunningly prevented the caller from mistakenly replacing the handset and inadvertently leaving the receiver "off hook". Similarly the rotary dial indicated what you were intended to do. The well-weighted phone sat solidly by itself allowing single-handed dialing with an index finger. The smooth, "cleanlined" new form won several design awards and has been displayed in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. It is THE classic "Art Deco" telephone.