Topic 6 Classic Design
Design classic
Who doesn’t know these?
Task : Student activity, research a
Brief Bio for these 3 designers:
1. Jonathan Ive,
2. James Dyson
3. Charles Eames
Phaidon’s definitions of classic design:
I.
Objects characterized by simplicity, balance and purity of form.
II.
Objects that are perfect in their design and have remained unchanged
since their creation.
A design classic is an industrially manufactured object with timeless appeal. It
serves as a standard of its time and remains relevant to future generations and in
this way has a lasting impact on society. The design resists the vagaries of taste
and fashion and once established as a “classic” it gradually acquires further
value. Design classics are usually innovative in their use of material and often
unite technological advances with beautiful design, for example, Apple products
such as the iPod, the Coca-Cola® bottle and soft drink cans. Classic designs can
emerge from any sector of the market.
In design, this can be a picture or some type of graphic display or presentation.
You see the image and you recognize the product.
Characteristics of classic design
1. Image
Students need to consider how a design classic is instantly recognizable and
provokes a variety of different emotional reactions in people, such as nostalgia
or innovation.
Mini Car a transport classic
The Classic Mixmaster
2. Status
Often referred to as “iconic”, the longevity of classic designs suggests quality and
the continued demand for such products is not dependent on heavy marketing or
advertising, although this often takes place to reinforce the status and remind
new generations of consumers of the intrinsic value of the classic design. The
design is often widely imitated, usually with cheaper versions, so this reinforces
the status of the original design and its “pioneering” concept.
Classic Chair
3. Culture
Design classics can reflect cultural influences. The culture concerned may be
national or religious or it may concern a sub-culture such as a particular youth
culture.
Classic Jeans Collection!
John Swansey, a Lenovo designer who suggested the subject of this post, recently
described his favorite classic design, the Tizio lamp, to me:
"I can remember very clearly when I first discovered one at a friend's house. It
fascinated me: the infinite effortless positions enabled by the pivoting counterbalanced arms and the marvel of a bright light with no wires. In design school I
made a convincing non-functional replica of balsa wood and paper from memory
- just to have it to look at. Now my work day begins and ends with a flip of the
red switch of the one on my desk. The Tizio embodies an emergent technology in
a spare, memorable form, enabling extraordinary usefulness with an element of
magic. When I saw that first one I couldn't have dreamed that I would one day
work closely with its originator trying to create design classics of tomorrow."
The Wikipedia has a great listing of products that have attained the status of
design classic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_classic
Included are some of my own favorites: The Wassily chair, the GEM paperclip,
the Vespa motor scooter, and the Thonet bentwood chair I sit on every morning
for breakfast. These things not only inspired me as a design student nearly thirty
years ago, but they make me feel comfortable today. With so much changing in
the world today it's a welcome relief to find a familiar oasis wherever
possible. Lets not forget that new is not always improved.
Task – List a classic design product which fulfil three requirements of classic
design.
Obsolescence
The classic design may no longer be needed as a functional object or it may
become technologically obsolete. However, it may still sell very small numbers
although it may no longer be viable to produce it commercially. In such
circumstances the resale value of existing products increases enormously as the
number of products available lessens over time. Such products become very
collectable and have investment value, for example, classic cars. Other products
may not intrinsically be worth much money but are valuable to certain owners
or collectors, such as toys that have been used and are in poor condition.
The Toy Collectors - Glen Seipel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8xYjg4Fb5A
Mass production
For many centuries prior to the Industrial Revolution, “classic” evoked thoughts
of artistry and craft skills, for example, classical architecture and furniture. The
advent of mass production and “designing for the masses” often meant a
reduction in quality of products and poor design. However, once mass
production techniques became more established some designers embraced the
opportunities offered by the new techniques and materials as a way of providing
people with well-designed products at an affordable price due to the costeffectiveness of production. No longer was classic design the preserve of the elite
in society.
Omnipresence
A classic design often has a constant presence, or omnipresence, in a rapidly
changing context.
Students will need to consider classic designs that have become dominant in the
marketplace and the difficulties for designers to change them.
Pens are everywhere!
Dominant design
Dominant designs are products that meet manufacturers’ and users’ needs very
well indeed and therefore, there is no need to change them. The design contains
those implicit features of a product that are recognized as essential by a majority
of manufacturers and purchasers.
Diffusion into the marketplace- The wide acceptance (and sale) of a product.
Market pull- The initial impetus for the development of a new product is
generated by a demand from the market.
Technology push-Where the impetus for a new design emanates from a
technological development.
The “Dominant design” IPod
Making of red A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW6LRbmokhQ
Task- Using the four areas described above- consider a product that is best
suited to each heading
Describe a design context where dominant design
is relevant
They tend to be products that we consume in large
amount like the Tetrapak food carton, Coca Cola
bottle, pencil sharpener, paper clip. However,
occasionally, a dominant design is the result of
innovation like the iPod, ballpoint pen (‘Biro’), Cocacola bottle or the Dyson vacuum cleaner.
Task- Make a list of products which are in your view dominant designs:
Explain the difficulties of getting a product to diffuse into the marketplace
Local, national and global competition can create problems of getting novel
products to market include product launches and marketing. Market ‘pull’ and
Technology ‘push’ – usually both are responsible for a successful product.
A good current example is the competition between mobile’ phone
manufacturers and service providers.
Product launches and marketing- Consumers need to know that the product
exists and where it can be purchased. If the target market does not have access
to forms of advertising like the internet, billboards, TV, newspapers and
magazines, they will be unaware of the product’s existence. To make a big
impact, a company may use a ‘product launch’ as a strategy to generate interest.
This may be a high profile event like a film premiere. This generates interest in
the product, especially if it is endorsed by celebrities. This in turn helps to get the
product into the media through news channels and magazines. This strategy is
used very effectively by games console manufacturers (Sony, Nintendo) when a
new game is launched.
A final problem is that consumer tastes vary globally. You can see this with
Trevor Bayliss’ wind-up radio. Consumers in the West and Asia want
products that are miniaturized to suit their lifestyle. However, the intended
target group (African nationals) demand radios which are larger.
Food exemplifies this better than any other product. We are all attracted to
and repulsed by different food products, sometimes due to personal taste,
sometimes due to ethical and religious reasons. We like and dislike different
flavours, textures, sights and smells. Coca-cola is one of the few food
products that has broken through this cultural barrier to become the most
globally recognised product in existence.
http://www.nngroup.com/reports/life_cycle_of_tech.html
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/NORVH/chapter2.html
Classic design, function and form
Form versus function
Classic designs are harmonious, well-proportioned in form and often restrained
in style. To reinterpret a classic design, the original form needs to be respected
and the underlying structure of the form understood before making changes.
Decoration applied must be suitable for the form and take into account the
function of the object, although “classic” does not necessarily mean the style
needs to be minimalist in nature or lacking in decoration.
When considering form, students need to understand how it can be dictated by
other functions such as design for manufacture techniques, for example, design
for disassembly.
Retro-styling
Retro styling uses the form and decoration of classic designs from a particular
period of time and/or style. Retro styling builds on the classic image but can
often involve the use of new technology, for example, the Roberts range of digital
radios based on the style of the original transistor radios.
Retro-styling is designing products to evoke feelings of nostalgia.
2S TIME - TIMEX 80 Digital Retro Style Watch Classic Design
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE1BkUO0dAg
Another popular retro style includes the art deco style of the 1930s. It owed its
origins to the exclusive hand-made French decorative arts of the 1920s, but its
popularity a decade later was due to the cheap mass production of artifacts made
from new variations of metals, plastic and glass. As a decorative style it could be
applied to the forms and surfaces of a wide variety of different objects.
In particular, art deco has created many classic designs within the fields of
architecture and lighting.
Conflict and compromise
Not all classic designs are based on aesthetic appeal as the primary generator for
the idea. For example, the designers of many early examples of mass production
motor cars that are now considered “classics” were more interested in function
than form. The Volkswagen (VW) Beetle, designed by Ferdinand Porsche in the
1930s, was aimed at ordinary people with a modest income and Porsche
economized on many features considered as standard and necessary today, such
as a rear window. Alec Issigonis designed the first Mini motor car to be as
economical and functional as possible and priced so it was affordable by the
majority of working people in the late 1950s.
Task:
In order to explore the concept of function in relation to classic design, students
could evaluate 21st century designs of the VW Beetle and BMW Mini cars and
compare the designs with the original production models in relation to form
versus function.
2013 Beetle
1948 Beetle
2013 Mini
1973 Min
Practical function versus psychological function
Many industrial design products are the result of teamwork by specialists such
as ergonomists, electrical engineers, materials engineers and product designers.
For members of the team, form may dictate function or function may dictate
form.
In general, practical function is concerned with aspects of performance such as
size and ease of use. Such aspects are quantifiable and objective evaluation can
take place. The psychological function of an object, such as the different types of
emotional attachments people have with mobile phones and favourite items of
clothing, relies more on subjective criteria. For some products the practical
function dictates the form, for example, the Anglepoise lamp designed by UK
engineer George Carwardine in 1947. Carwardine was interested in an apparatus
that could move easily through three planes but would be rigid when left free. It
was many years before Carwardine worked on this concept as a versatile “arm”
for focusing light on an object. Although Carwardine made no particular effort to
make his lamp an object of beauty, its clean and functional form has established
the Anglepoise lamp as a design classic.
The Juicy Salif lemon squeezer, designed by Philip Starck in 1990 and produced
by the Italian company Alessi, is an example of how the psychological function
dictates the form of an object. The design was conceived on a napkin while
Starck enjoyed a dish of squid in a restaurant and was squeezing lemon over it.
Starck is quoted as saying that his juicer is less concerned with squeezing lemons
than as a conversation starter. An example of Starck’s lemon squeezer is on
display in the New York Museum of Modern Art.
"The most controversial lemon squeezer of the century"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41qp1MnnX3g
Students can explore other objects where either practical function or
psychological function has been the determining factor in the design.
The way in which humans need to interact with objects often dictates their form.
The interaction may be classified into three aspects: assembling the object either
during manufacture or at home (self-assembly), using it, and repairing or
maintaining it. Students could consider different designs of mobile phones, for
example, and assess the success of the human-interaction interface for each
example.
Semiotics
Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols. It includes the communication of
information and meaning from source to receiver.
Gestalt Theory
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Similarity
Continuation
Closure
Proximity
Figure/ground
Symmetry and order