what are your industrial design favorites?

[somebodyelse]

Psion Series 5 and family. Still my benchmark for tiny keyboards that are actually usable. The cpu was slow but the lightweight OS meant it was much more responsive than the substantially more powerful WinCE devices of the day. Between that and the monochrome transreflective screen you could get ~1 month out of a pair of AA alkalines. IrDA actually worked, unlike on Windows.

Down sides? The rubber coating wasn't very durable so became scruffy, there were a few points on the case that would crack after a while but weren't usually fatal, and the flexy connection to the screen would eventually crack.

 

[robwpdx]

This is a fun thread. Many great designers have been mentioned and designs pictured.

The Bauhaus was a response to the time in Germany which influenced the world.

I enjoy the Eames work for Herman Miller and sit in it.

Obviously Jony Ive. Ive is partnered with a favorite Marc Newson at LoveFrom today. Newson is famous for what I call jellybean style.

I know some shoe designers. One made some shoes for the olympics where the uppers were reversible inside to outside in manufacturing to make symmetrical left and right shoes.

There have been design rebellions against minimalism and modernism I love in the form or Memphis, Post Modernism, and Deconstructivism. It is influenced now by CAD software and 3d printing.

 

[mhardy6647]

Industrial design?
These were/are pretty good - both aesthetically and functionally.
Designed in the 1930s, still in production today.




(RCA from the 1940s, give or take)


(a Chinese-made example from the late 1990s)

I am listening to a 70-ish year old pair (which I picked up, used, over 20 years ago) reproducing Patty Larkin even as I am typing this -- and she, and they, are melting my heart, as they usually do.

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-Audio-Magazines-Other/Archive-Vacuum-Tube-Valley/Vacuum-Tube-Valley-12.pdf

(... and an old one)

 

[egellings]

2A3 has a very linear V-I characteristic.

 

[pavuol]

Loewe Klang M1 (portable bluetooth speaker / 2020) ..discontinued

 

[noname]

Alessi Il Conico Kettle

 

[thewas]

Loewe Klang M1 (portable bluetooth speaker / 2020) ..discontinued

Timeless Bauhaus design by Dieter Rams for Braun which was later also used by Apple:

 

[zeropoint]

Nakamich 600

 

[zeropoint]

Yamaha TC800

 

[zeropoint]

Nagra SNST

 

[ErVikingo]

View attachment 217792

965. Beautiful

 

[pavuol]

Onkyo CS-2xx (line of small bookshelf stereo systems, we call them "microsystems" in Europe)

CS-245 (2011, incl. 30pin iPhone dock, in some marketing papers called Colibrino, avalable colors "Black, Deep Red, Dark Brown, Yellow-Green)
(DAB+ version was called "CS-245DAB")

/speakers were similar config to JBL Control One, plastic "unibody" 2-way with front bassreflex, front cover was a removable metal mesh grill, wise option IMO, I guess it were meant as a good driver protection in kid's room use scenario)
/featured subwoofer output as well, later versions abandoned it unfortunately..
/minireceiver was based on Texas Instrument/Yamaha chips, class D with very low power consumption, I measured 5 Watt ! in operation - FM radio at moderate volume level

[all pictures are linked outside to save ASR's precios webspace!!]

CS-245BT version (bluetooth Apt-X instead of the dock, white&black colors only)

CS-255 (2013, lighting dock, avalable colors "White, Black, Lightblue, Red, Green")
((DAB+ version was called "CS-255DAB", in white color only)

CS-265 (2014 - last iteration, no dock, just bluetooth/NFC as default, although no Apt-X codec as with the first version, probably due to licence fees..?, , avalable colors "Black, Lightblue, Red, Yellow")
((DAB+ version was called "CS-265DAB", white&black colors only)

 

[Martin]

I always loved the looks of impossibly thin Montesa Cota 247 trials bike:

Much to my surprise Honda is building them in 2024:

Martin

 

[mhardy6647]

Nagra SNST

... and its (not so) distant cousin, the Stellavox.

 

[mhardy6647]

This Sony is cute, too.

taken from https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/40719/post-a-picture-any-picture/p1035

 

[tomchris]

This Sony is cute, too.


View attachment 345527
taken from https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/40719/post-a-picture-any-picture/p1035

Yes, these reel-to-reel players are nice

It is unfortunate that the tradition in audio equipment to relegate all fuctionality to a slim front plate has prevailed for so long, when much equipment has been designed to be used in a non-stacked setting.

 

[pavuol]

this is an audio forum, so I'm sticking to the theme again

Tivoli Audio - "PAL BT" - portable bluetooth speaker, "vintage inspired"

 

[pavuol]

Polaroid does't give up and surfs to the new market territories..

Polaroid P4 Bluetooth Speaker [largest of the P-line]
[all pictures are linked outside to save ASR's precios webspace!!]

 

[zeropoint]

Vox Mini SuperBeetle Audio​

 

[Martin]

I got this radio:

For Christmas the same year my sister got this one:

Who can forget this 8-track tape player:

Or these radios:

Martin