Hugh Whisson

Hugh Whisson stands out amongst the South Australian design community as a pioneer and owner of the first Industrial Design Consultancy in South Australia in 1961. He was also instrumental in establishing the SA chapter of the Design Institute of Australia, was the first DIA SA chapter President, and later, National DIA President from 1971 to 1973.

In his early career, Hugh established and ran the Colour and Design Department at Chrysler Australia in the 1950’s during the pre-Chrysler Valiant era when cars produced included the Chrysler Desoto, Dodge and Royal models. Hugh was directly involved in the redesign for Australian production with colour, trim and styling changes required to suit Australian requirements and local market needs. Hugh’s position at Chrysler was later filled by Hugh’s understudy, Brian Smyth a DIA Hall of Fame recipient.

Around 1960 Hugh resigned from Chrysler and established Hugh J Whisson Design Associates - Industrial Art and Design Consultants, originally operating from the rear of Hugh’s residence at South Plympton, later moving to larger studio/warehouse/workshop premises in Keswick SA in 1966, and to King William Road, Goodwood in the mid 70’s.

Amongst his many clients was LIGHTBURN INDUSTRIES, manufacturer of washing machines, concrete mixers and the legendary ZETA micro car. Harry Lightburn (CEO) purchased the tooling for a UK micro-car named “Frisky”, shipped it to Adelaide and from this developed the Zeta. Hugh worked on numerous design and R&D projects including the Zeta micro-car, where he was engaged to restyle the fibreglass body, improve the appearance and market appeal and develop the model range. Hugh produced full-size concept renderings in chalk and pastel on prepared plywood panels comprising front, side and rear views.

Amongst Hugh’s many other clients were home appliance manufacturers SIMPSON POPE and KELVINATOR, Lighting and Infra-red lamps manufacturer WYTRAY PRODUCTS, Air Conditioner manufacturers BONAIRE and BDH Industries, and SABCO cleaning products.

Of note was the innovative design work he undertook for farming machinery manufacturer DAVID SHEARER Pty Ltd, including industrial design input for their XP88 self-propelled header which was awarded the first Prince Phillip Prize for Industrial Design in 1968.

Hugh also designed, manufactured and commercialised the CONSTRUCTA display exhibition system. The modular and rapid demountable system was patented, design registered and sold nationally. CONSTRUCTA was awarded an AUSTRALIAN DESIGN AWARD IN 1977.

In the late 1970’s Hugh J Whisson Design Associates relocated to premises to King William Road Goodwood before retiring after 20+ years.