The typical nontechnical user of electronic gadgets and devices is more interested in how they look on the outside than how they are assembled on the inside. While function matters to these users, form can seem to be more important. A cellphone might be termed smart not because of what it can do, but how the user looks doing it.
The more technically inclined may not be immune to being influenced by outward appearances, but they are also interested in what is inside. They welcome reports of a teardown to get a look at the constituent parts of something new -- to see how it has been designed and assembled. But it is not only mechanical and electronic gadgets whose insides are designed.
I recently read, in the traditional format of ink on paper, a book whose interior layout brought to my attention like no other in recent memory the art of book design. The book, Geography of Home: Writings on Where We Live, by Akiko Busch, is published by Princeton Architectural Press, which rightfully boasts of an "unrivaled design sensibility." Geography of Home demonstrates that this is no idle boast.
I cannot recall now, how, or when I acquired this book, but it has been on one of my piles of books-to-be-read for years. I chose to take it on a recent business trip because it is a paperback, small in size, and light in weight, measuring five by seven by one-half inches and, according to Amazon, having a shipping weight of only 6.4 ounces. Not only was the book easy to carry in my briefcase, but it was also easy and comfortable to hold in my hands for reading on the airplane.
The design of the book's cover is subtle and understated, with the background of the front and back consisting of soft-focus black-and-white photographs of interior details of a house. The front photo is of one room's corner, showing its floral-papered walls and oriental-carpeted floor separated by a painted wooden baseboard interrupted only by a single unused electrical outlet. The room appears to be unfurnished and unlit except by sunlight coming in from an unseen window or door. The book's title and author are in a label-like rectangle, with words and border printed in a muted shade of red. The overall effect of the cover is to invite the reader to come inside and explore.
I was reading along in the book when I became totally absorbed in its interior design. In the poorly lit airplane cabin, it appeared to me that the book's pages bore no page numbers, nor did they carry any running heads telling me what chapter in what book I was reading. How curious, I thought. I could not remember the last time I read a book that was not paginated.
Finding no page numbers, I looked in the back of the book to check if it had an index. It had none, which is not odd for a book of essays, which is essentially what Geography of Home is. I took the absence of an index as confirming my impression that the book's pages bore no numbers. Why, I rationalized, would a small book like this really need page numbers, especially if it had no index referring to them?
Thanks for a thoughtful post, and one mentioning what used to be a favorite subject of mine: book design. I think SparkyWatt's comments on CAD are unfortunately true, at least for some objects we live and work with. And I see the same trend in book publishing, if you can call it that anymore, due to the proliferation of electronic "books" and e-readers. I think Apple has been a leader for exterior consumer electronics design, at least. Too bad that other areas are not benefiting from their leadership. I wonder if 3D printing could be that new, more intuitive design method.
I have always been involved with manufacturing a product, consequently designing jigs, fixtures, conveyors, robotic equipment to automate processes etc.As a result, getting the job accomplished trumps getting the job accomplished—with flair and style.I certainly do appreciate the work of Jobs and the Apple folks but then again, all of the Apple products are consumer products.I never expect the buying public to see the conveyors necessary to expedite production and handling.When I think about all of the "pains" and effort put into the i-Pad, i-Phone, i-Book designs I conclude I'm on the right side of the commercialization equation.
It's all the same to me, Ann. But from a materials point of view, I'm quite amazed at the adheisive on the back of these little hearts. Once they're on, you really can't get them off.
Yes, that will do it, Ann. My daughter asked whether I minded that the dumbphone she swapped with me (for her smartphone) had bling on it. I told her the bling looks great. The phone has hearts with colorful dots. And you can't get them off.
Yep, it's a big trend. You can accessorize your iPod and iPhone to match what you're wearing. Apple and other suppliers are doing a big business in brightly colored sparkling covers for iPods and iPhones. Additional bling includes little items of colorful shapes. I bought my daughter a smartphone and inherited her dumbophone with has two sparkly hearts on the front.
It wasn't Jobs that brought beauty to the Mac. It was Jef Raskin. Search out his books & papers if you really want to know about form & function.
In an earlier age, L F Herroshoff's advice to a budding yacht designer was to ".. draw as much as possible (particularly freehand drawing)". Herroshoff was the son of an outstanding yacht designer and was himself one.
Both him & his father made significant advances to the technology of ship engineering for which, ".. it is very necessary to serve your time in a boat shop, where boats are really built, as this is the only practical way to learn."
I think his advice is just as valid to the budding engineer today.
An engineer's eye should be always looking to function. But in the greatest designs, form & function are one. Witness Mitchell's Spitfire or Sayer's E-type
Rob, my kids are a little older than yours, so I'm embarrassed to admit I don't know what it means to customize Apple products with bling. Are we taping jewelry to our iPads? Is this a trend?
I agree with you about engineering deisgn, Sparky Watt. Even today we see it. The Apple products are sleek and clean, engineering simplicity. Of course that changes quite a bit when my 16-year-old daughter customizes the products with bling.
An analysis of what’s needed to implement Design for Disassembly and Design for Recycling results in eight strategies engineers can use to design an intentional end-of-life stage into their products.
Government regulations, coupled with growing consumer sensitivity about data and identity theft, require that data storage organizations demonstrate proper protection and due diligence in protecting sensitive information stored inside datacenter enclosures.
When a crane doesn't have a monitoring system, crane owners schedule service every six months and simply scrap the parts they replace, even if a part has had little use and doesn't need replacing. This can cost thousands.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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