The thing is, they were the craftspeople – the people who made the things they designed themselves.

This was great, as designers understood the product. And the craftspeople understood the design.

That disconnected with mass production – in Great Britain in particular, due to the Industrial Revolution.

You are right then, many designers moved towards being stylists (aka decorators).

And forgot what they were designing for.

And whether it would be of use to humanity.

As you say, a streamlined stapler is not.

Desks atop airliners are few and far between.