Contemporary Style of the 1950s, also know as Festival, drew from a lively post-war celebration of color and modernity following the limited freedom of expressions that resulted from the Utility Design regulations of the Second World War.
Small molecule-like ball feet were popular Festival features on many domestic products of the 1950s, appearing on plant pot holders, magazine racks, coat hooks, lighting fittings and the space dividers in retail outlets and offices. The molecular look of organic forms and brightly colored, abstract elements was used in ceramics, glass, textiles, carpets, wallpapers, packaging and other surfaces.
Contemporary Style most notably took off in England at the Festival of Britain in 1951 and subsequently spread to the United States (as in George Nelson´s 1949 Atomic Clock) and to Brussels (as in André Polack and André Waterkeyn´s Atomium, based on the magnification of 165 million times of an ion molecule.)