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V5: Hugh, you designed the VW Camper Van interior ?
HJ: Yes, it lasted almost 18 years, before the new one came out about three years ago.
V5: Do you like the new one?
HJ: I haven't even looked at it! It looks very rounded. (laughs) One thing of interest on that project is I had developed the "flat latch" and the Germans didn't have me sign a security agreement. So what I did was start manufacturing these latches and we had eighty percent of the industry in the United States and we made a lot of money, but the problem was when the gas crunch came and that was it. We all sold out and now there are one or two companies, such as Winnobago, that still uses it.
V5: So, you went from the projects with Volkswagen to the recreational vehicles? What was that like?
HJ: It was interesting because it was a new challenge.
V5: Was some of that also transferable into ship or boat design?
HJ: Yes, it was usable in boat design. A company called Sugarland, back in Fargo, Indiana. I designed their ski boats. You know, how tight can you make the “design” package? There's only so small you can go with the human factor. On a boat you can only go so far, there is a bow and stern a small galley and a place to put the skiers.
V5: So when you did design work for RV and other companies, those were commissioned designs. But the latch you were talking about, did you retained copyrights to it?
HJ: Yes, we also did the marketing on it, we had to sell it across the United States.
V5: You are selling to manufacturers?
HJ: Yes, but you also have the opportunity to sell to the all the different RV stores as replacement items. So what happened is we had the latch and I developed a support for cabinet doors and to get the support and manufacturing, we contacted a company called Sureflow, which is a company that builds all these different pumps and HVAC. So, they liked the idea, we got together and used they're marketing and instead of calling it the flatlatch, we renamed it surelatch and that made them happy. (laughs) Having a marketing distribution is one of the hardest things to do. Anything you produce, you have to sell it somewhere and you have to get a market for it. If you don't have that going you are out of business.
V5: What was the focus of Environmental Design at Art Center ?
HJ: The focus of environmental design at that time was really not getting into architecture itself, but working three dimensional concepts on the outside, space structures, as we called them, that could be done out of plastics and canvas.They would really put you into the concept of attachments and putting materials together.
V5: So what was the tool base you were using? Did you find the sketching and modeling constant through the two majors?
HJ: We did have sketching. The environmental sketching was your original concept. You did your rough model out of whatever material you could, which was usually inexpensive to get you started. Then you had to do your drawings because you had to build it. We had the shop at the college, the mills and everything. You had to be able to use the mills, cut it and make all your attachments. The best ones were put out on display in the front hall. Same old thing, they still do that now (laughs).
V5: The tools have changed with computer modeling and computer driven tools....
HJ: Yes, see with us, it was strictly turn the dial, push it through and
watch your fingers (laughs). To go up there and see all the computers they have now, especially the automotive, it has just completely changed. But this is the way it is right now, if you are not computer and high-tech in the industry, then you haven't got a chance. Same thing in the architecture, you need to use CADD in the final part of your plans. But you still sketch your original ideas.
V5: You still have to have ideas though and test those with whatever tool base you have.
HJ: Yes, the ideas have to come, but you have to know the limitations of that tool that you are working with. When you start working three dimensional, you have to be able to conceive in your mind with a sketch and do a small mock-up model. I haven't found anyone who can go from the sketch right into the computer. You have to model it first, feel it and then get the thing working. And know what material you want to work with. You have to figure what your material is going to be.
V5: Was the VW project a sponsored project at Art Center?
HJ: No, that was not sponsored. That was when the German group came to Art Center and I was, as they say, pulled up front to meet them. We walked them through the whole college and talked about how I had a VW camper. They were looking for somebody to do it. So I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. So I lived down in San Marino, which is just below the Huntington Hotel, and took them down there. I had all kinds of camper sketches and things that I had been doing. I was a natural for the project, so they sent me over the information and I started doing foam core full size mock-ups. I was lucky that I had a full size studio at the house, so I could accommodate two of them going at one time.
When they were ready to be seen, I would pull one up and take it over to their subsidiary in the United States, that produced the parts.They would ship it to Germany, take a look at it, and it would come back with their response. It wasn’t too long a project, actually, the whole thing was done in probably two months.
V5: That’s amazing.
HJ: Yes, once you get into it, you end up working twenty-four hours a day on these things.
V5: And it has become a sort of icon of the 60s
HJ: Yes, it was fun and I had a great time. I was very appreciative of the opportunity…
V5: Yes, I took your camper design skiing many times…
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