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what are your industrial design favorites?

Frank Dernie

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I'm kind of torn on this one being great design. I've never gotten to drive one, but did get to sit in one.

It is beautiful. I have to imagine it would drive nicely and be very interesting to have and use. OTOH, as a car for use on the public highway it really is not a good design. Rather than form following function it is more of a function following an impractical form design.

The gull wing doors are the worlds worst idea for a door on a car. For multiple reasons. Then the extra high barrier to entrance and exit is pretty awful ergonomically. Maybe not a big sacrifice once you are in or out, but not great design either.

Now if anyone owning one of these has seen how badly they were duped on the idea, and need to dispose of such an impractical car, just PM me and I'll help you out. :)
The reason they had to use the gull-wing door wasn't styling but the fact that a substantially important part of the chassis structure were spaceframe beams down the sides so the bottom of the door was going to be well over a foot higher than usual. A conventional door meant nobody would be able to get in.
IIRC one other problem was the gearshift linkage went through this structure and another hazard to getting in was the gearlever going up a trouser leg! Edit: that may have been a GT40 problem not 300SL on reflection.
I think the McLaren doors are like that for structural reasons too, but it is true it is usually an inconvenient and probably worse styling feature.
 
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JeffS7444

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For what it's worth, Dieter Rams' "friendly advice" suggests that good design:
  1. Is innovative
  2. Makes a product useful
  3. Is aesthetic
  4. Makes a product understandable
  5. Is unobtrusive
  6. Is honest
  7. Is long-lasting
  8. Is thorough down to the last detail
  9. Is environmentally friendly
  10. Involves as little design as possible
Anyone wanting to hear his recent views in more depth can check them out in Gary Hustwit's documentary.

I'm seeing a lot of #3 here, #2 is looking iffy, and there's not so much #5 or 10 evident.
 

Feanor

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My son has a taste for the vintage -- as a quick perusal of his (now sadly somewhat un-tended) photoblog will confirm. :)
...

DSC_1649s.jpg
Gads! I owned a Miranda back in the day. (Shown' my age.)
 

eddantes

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For what it's worth, Dieter Rams' "friendly advice" suggests that good design:
  1. Is innovative
  2. Makes a product useful
  3. Is aesthetic
  4. Makes a product understandable
  5. Is unobtrusive
  6. Is honest
  7. Is long-lasting
  8. Is thorough down to the last detail
  9. Is environmentally friendly
  10. Involves as little design as possible
Anyone wanting to hear his recent views in more depth can check them out in Gary Hustwit's documentary.

I'm seeing a lot of #3 here, #2 is looking iffy, and there's not so much #5 or 10 evident.

Good list to use as a test. Lets apply it to the Vespa GS 160.

1606161171152.png


1) Is it innovative - No... If we define a scooter as motorbike with a floor and pedals - then the first ones probably predate 1920s. And the feaature of an all enclosed scooter was also likely pioneered by Unibus in the 20s. Vespa itself is a postwar company and the first product to resemble the above was Piaggio MP5 "Paperino" prototype from 1944.

2) Makes the product useful - Absolutely! An enclosed scooter with a front mudguard and a pssthru floor made it possible for use while wearing normal footwear and especially allowed women at the time a dignified motor transport while wearing a skirt.

3) Is it aesthetic? IS it now! I'll leave it there.

4) Makes the product understandable - While "keeping my shoes clean" may be something that requires experience to see; getting on a Vespa in a skirt - even for a guy like me - is instantly understandable as an advance over a framed motobike.

5) Is unobtrusive - While mods in the UK will likely disagree - the design above needs no aditions or removals

6) Is it honest - If it means form following function - then yes.

7) Long lasting - I think it's fair to say it is. They are still lusted over to this day.

8) Is thorough - If the repeating curved surfaces are being through - then YES

9) Environmentaly friendly - It's a two stroke... so...

10) Involves as little design as possible - seepoint no. 5

1606162451948.png
 

Angsty

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I always found the JBL Paragon to be satisfying design. Architectural and stylish. Very of the time.

I have seen a lot of speakers, but this is the first time I have seen that one. Thanks for sharing! I see that it was produced for almost 30 years, but mostly “before my time”!
 

eddantes

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I wanted to post something from the 80s into this thread, but I really have a hard time thinking of a product from that era that had a particularly timeless design. Sure we had the Walkmans, Atari's, Nintendos, etc... but if I am being honest... they're all a bit homely. The only two products that sprang to mind were the

ZXSpectrum computer

1606448423395.png


And the Swatch Watch

1606448471396.png


Anyone else for great 80s design examples?
 

eddantes

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Ok. One more audio example...

I really like the look of the original Rotel Michi set with the red cheeks. Something about that red/grey combo just oozes class

1606449469517.png
 

MDAguy

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this thread reminds of a truism that Alan Parsons (of Alan Parson's project fame, and the recording engineer for many famous Pink Floyd albums) once said..

“Audiophiles don’t use their equipment to listen to music. Audiophiles use your music to listen to their equipment”
 

Dave Zan

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And the Swatch Watch...

Not to dis another's opinion but they are a clear example of items very borderline to my view.
The fashion 'funkiness' actually makes them poorer watches, harder to read, easier to make mistakes.
Truly brilliant work looks beautiful as a result of functional choices.
This was posted in another thread, so here's just the thumbnail (but clickable) of my idea of an attractive watch-
Watch.jpg
Someone also posted some of Nervi's beautiful architectural work earlier.
But he wasn't an architect, he was a Civ. E. who did structural work.
His credo was "I have always believed in the inherent aesthetic power of a fine structural solution".
(Well, he said it in Italian I expect, but that's my free translation)
My candidate for industrial beauty would be this-
hp11c.jpg

I have had one for almost 40 years.
Never needs to be fixed, patched, updated, never obsolete, always secure.
Accurate, efficient, intuitive, excellent keyboard action.
Simple.
Other than the need to replace batteries every 10 years, it's essentially perfect.
I don't own any products that are better, perhaps a few that equally well embody form and function.

Best wishes
David
 
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