¨Pop, ¨ a term originated in the 1950s as an abbreviation of ¨popular culture,¨ first entered widespread usage in connection with 1960s British and Italian design. Pop's sense of optimism drew from comic-strip-inspired commercial art of the 1950s and the economic prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s.
Pop designers capitalized on the consumer spirit of the time during which expendable, low-cost mass-produced products, fashion, furniture, and interiors became commonly available for the increasingly important youth market. Such design was fun and frivolous and delighted in its use of bright colors and synthetic materials.
Peter Murdoch's disposable paper chair (1964,) Pedro Friedeberg's Hand Chair (cerca 1970) and Salvador Dalí's Mae West Lips Sofa(1937) are all examples of Pop design. American artists Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg and British designers Mary Quant and John Stephen of London's Carnaby Street are also strongly associated with this movement.
Pop's rebellious playfulness refuted Modernist assumptions of ¨Form follows Function,¨ ¨Truth to Materials,¨ the elimination of unnecessary decoration and the use of a restrained palette, eventually helping to give rise to the Memphis movement, Anti-Design and Postmodernism.