Core 6 Flashcards
What is classic design?
A classic design serves as a standard of its kind
Is still up to date despite the year in which it was designed
Characterised by simplicity, balance, purity in form, and being largely unchanged
What is the criteria for a successful classic design?
Address function, as well as an established emotional connection with the user
Convey a sense of satisfaction with ownership or bestow a level of social status
Name examples of classic design and why they are applicable.
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Fender Telecaster
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- World’s first solid body electric guitar
- Simple ‘bolt-on’ neck design simplified production + simplicity
- Versatility for wider audience
- Associated with stars like Elvis Presley
- Fender continues to produce several variants today
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Porsche 911
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- Associated with precision of excellent German engineering
- 97.4% of Porsches from last 25 years still on the road - longevity and robustness
- Represented radical change in automotive design
- Sport car favourite for rich and famous
- Sleek simple design that has remained largely unchanged
What is planned obsolescence?
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- Commercial ploy manufacturers use to boost sales and maintain competitive edge
- Involves constant refresh and improvement of the product
- Allows designers to create a desire for product replacement
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Classic design idea
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The nature of unchanging design that defies time allowing the product to cross generations and span decades of interest and use.
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E.g. Bistro Chair
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- Originally a durable café chair that became one of the most recognisable pieces of furniture
- Made of woven cane allowing drainage of spilt liquids
- Reproduced 50 million times between 1859 and 1930
- First example of flat pack furniture
- Today, offer a variety of materials, contain additional components, evolved into benches and rocking chairs
What role does mass production and volume sales play in classic design?
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- Recognition is a key factor of classic design
- Brought through market presence and volume sales
- Mass production brings an economy of scale delivering cost benefits to the consumer
- Large produce and ease of accessibility
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E.g. VW Beetle
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- Mass production on a global scale
- 21,000,000 produced from 1941 to 2003 globally
- Mechanical simplicity, quality of chassis, performance and suspension all helped with its success
- Marketed in a variety of contexts with it robustness: WWII transport, ambulance
- Unique design and unchanging nature, meant it stayed unchanged and a low-cost favourite
What is dominant design?
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The emergence of a product design that achieves market dominance through a particular feature set that is seen as essential to the product category
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Timeline
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New markets need to mature:
- Developed customer preferences
- Entrance of imitators
- Product development and improvement
- At this point dominant designs tend to appear
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Imitators or market colonisers capitalise on the research and development work of other firms.
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Classic Design
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Class-dominant designs are difficult to change if product popularity continues
Older models associated with emotional connections and feelings of nostalgia
Discuss the prioritisation of form vs function in products.
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Form and function shouldn’t really be separated in products, a balance should be found.
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Depending on circumstances different levels of form and function balance can be applied
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Bauhaus brought industrial practice together with design - “Form follows function”
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Development of functional items that brought both simplicity, and appreciation for both art and industry.
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If consumers are buying a product solely on price, form usually comes first
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Car buyers however will prioritise safety, performance and fuel economy before form
What is retro-styling?
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Products using design of past with modern technology
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Often mimic a product or past experience to evoke feeling of nostalgia
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E.g.
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Film based cameras and experience linked to them have become popular with people who feel nostalgic even though similar effects can be achieved with photoshop
Discuss conflict and compromise in product design.
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Designers are often faced with developing aesthetically pleasing, yet functional, products for an identified market
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When developing new products based on classic design, challenges of compromises between form and function can be even more difficult
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What is psychological function of a product?
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Psychological function involves the needs and wants driven by fads and trends
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Forms of social benefit from inclusion and perception of social status can come from particular product ownership
What are semiotics?
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The study of signs and symbols
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May be used in product design with ergonomics through user interfaces
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Applied to branding and logo development
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Good deal of product information can be conveyed with strategic logo placement
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Logos convey
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- Product quality
- Performance
- Cost expectations
What is Gestalt theory?
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Describes how individuals perceive visual input such as when viewing/using a product
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Similarity
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repetitive elements that may be identical or similar based on values such as shape, size, colour texture etc
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Individual elements may also be highlighted to emphasize their dissimilar nature in a field of sameness
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Use of this effect is known as creating an anomaly
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Continuation
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Use of design elements to draw the eye along a path
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The eye may be ‘tricked’ to continue lines not actually part of the design
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Lines often used to focus or lead eye to a specific element or to layer
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Closure
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tricking the eye into completing objects
Commonly achieved by negative space
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Proximity
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closeness or grouping of objects to generate a relationship between individual elements
Elements may be seen as part of a larger single whole
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Figure/ground
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use of light shade creating an image that appears from a group of shapes
Trick of the eye to see, and separate objects from the background
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Symmetry and order
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Providing a sense of order and balance
Assumes we perceive objects as symmetrical shapes
Eyes quickly identify the order associated with symmetry
Explain the application of colour theory in product design.
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Certain colours are aesthetically pleasing together, harmonise or pleasing contrast
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Colour wheel used as a guide to selection of pleasing combinations
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Monochromatic: a colour scheme consisting of various shades, tints and tones
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Complementary colours: opposites of each other on the wheel, e.g. green and red
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Analogous colours: adjacent to each other on the wheel
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Split complementary: three colours selected in which one of the complementary colours is substituted for the colours either side of it
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Triadic: three colours positioned at 120* from each other on the wheel
Explain functional design
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Where the prime purpose of the design is seen to be to provide the intended function.
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Functional design may include the act of using a device which provides psychological response
What type of responses can using a product invoke?
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Visceral response
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Evoking a physical response. Sensations like taste, smell, sound and touch. Keyboard feedback, or acceleration of a car.
Proportion, colour, texture heft, and materials.
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Reflective design response
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Fulfil emotional needs
Inclusion, social status or self-esteem. E.g. high quality watches or supercars.
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Behavioural response
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usability and functionality
Understanding how consumers will use a product - user centric design
