Fred (Frederick C.) Ward b. 26 July 1900

  • Designer (Industrial / Product Designer)
Ward was a designer who studied at the National Gallery School, Melbourne and began a design career in the 1920s, later working for Myer Emporium. He was the design consultant to the Australian National University, Canberra working with architect Brian Lewis and Derek Wrigley. In the 1960s he was a Commonwealth design consultant. Ward was also a key figure in the establishment of what became the Design Institute of Australia.

Fred Ward (1900-1990)

Fred Ward’s interior design career began at Melbourne’s Myer Emporium where he became their “interior design consultant” in 1935. He had previously designed furniture, cafes and Melbourne’s Hotel Australia cocktail bar and worked as a set designer for film. Pursuing a career in furniture design, amongst his significant contributions to the interior design profession was the establishment of Canberra’s Australian National University’s “Design Unit”, a group of professional interior designers and architects who directed the design development of the University from 1952 until his retirement in 1961. Ward’s “Design Unit” was fully engaged with university planning, landscape, furniture design and interior design. He was also a founding member of the Society of Designers for Industry (SDI).

Writers:

Michael Bogle
Date written:
2018
Last updated:
2018