Henry Dreyfuss

Henry Dreyfuss (March 2, 1904 – October 5, 1972) was an industrial design pioneer. Dreyfuss is known for designing some of the most iconic devices found in American homes and offices throughout the twentieth century, including the Western Electric Model 500 telephone, the Westclox Big Ben alarm clock, and the Honeywell round thermostat. Dreyfuss enjoyed long term associations with several name brand companies such as John Deere, Polaroid, and American Airlines.
Career.
Born into a Jewish family. Dreyfuss, a native of Brooklyn, New York City, is one of the celebrity industrial designers of the 1930s and 1940s who pioneered his field. Dreyfuss dramatically improved the look, feel, and usability of dozens of consumer products. When compared to Raymond Loewy and some other contemporaries, Dreyfuss was much more than a stylist; he applied common sense and a scientific approach to design problems, making products more pleasing to the eye and hand, safer to use, and more efficient to manufacture and repair. His work helped popularize the role of the industrial designer while also contributing significant advances to the fields of ergonomics, anthropometrics and human factors. 
Dreyfuss began as a Broadway theatrical designer. Until 1920, he apprenticed under Norman Bel Geddes, who would later become one of his competitors. In 1929 Dreyfuss opened his own office for theatrical and industrial design. His firm quickly met with commercial success, and continued as Henry Dreyfuss Associates for over four decades after his death.
Later life.
In 1955, Dreyfuss wrote "Designing for People". A window into Dreyfuss's career as an industrial designer, the book illustrated his ethical and aesthetic principles, included design case studies, many anecdotes, and an explanation of his "Joe" and "Josephine" anthropometric charts. 
In 1960 he published "The Measure of Man", a collection of ergonomic reference charts providing designers precise specifications for product designs.
In 1965, Dreyfuss became the first President of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).
In 1969, Dreyfuss retired from the firm he founded, but continued serving many of the companies he worked with as board member and consultant.
In 1972 Dreyfuss published "The Symbol Sourcebook, A Comprehensive Guide to International Graphic Symbols". This visual database of over 20,000 symbols continues to provide a standard for industrial designers around the world.
Death.
On October 5, 1972, Dreyfuss and his terminally-ill wife and business partner Doris Marks Dreyfuss committed suicide by running their car in the garage of their South Pasadena, California home. Dreyfuss was survived by a son and two daughters.