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A Peak Inside the Design Process at Gladding McBean
"Good design will always sell dinnerware...Good design is that dinnerware, conceived in form, texture, color or decoration which serves to stimulate the imagination of the beholder and in turn satisfies the primary function for which the ware was intended." -George James, 1954 Pacific Coast Ceramic News 
The design staff at Gladding, McBean & Company (GMCB) during the 1950s was composed of a team of skilled ceramic designers & artists that possessed a broad range of technical & practical expertise. In addition to its in-house employees, GMCB also retained freelance artists. The department was responsible for the aesthetics of the various ceramic lines. This was not always the case in other companies. Gladding McBean felt that its designers & artists were absolutely vital in meeting the needs of increasingly style-conscious consumers. They believed that good design "leads, not forces, the public into acceptance" of its product.
The GMCB design department considered each of its patterns on the basis of its target audience. Simply stated, GMCB found that abstract designs were generally chosen by younger households while older consumers favored traditional styles. Different geographic locations in the country were acknowledged as affecting design choices. Once a need for a certain pattern style was established, GMCB designers would submit their creative solutions for consideration. Once a pattern was selected for its outstanding quality, various color palettes were often considered. The design director would select the best group of candidate patterns for market surveys. A comparison of patterns was made with similar styles already on the market, whose sales volume was known.
New designs were then sent to the Product Planning Department for customer testing. Market survey results were compared with analysis based on similars and it was possible for Gladding McBean to pick patterns which would demonstrate a successful wide range of appeal. For example, the Oasis pattern created for the George James Eclipse shape, was preferred by consumers over a number of other patterns and by the same survey it was determined that Oasis was preferred in a blue palette over chartreuse.