101 Product Design
We’re surrounded by legions of products, most of them unremittingly lousy. What separates the good from the bad from the ugly? Take out your well-designed pencils for Product Design 101.
An Introduction to Product Design
Last night I went to a corner liquor store to buy some toothpaste. While the beer and candy aisles of the store were heavily trafficked, the back “household goods” section was not. And that’s where I was, searching for Crest among reams of dust-covered carbon paper for typewriters nobody now uses; scissors made in China with finger holes too small for toddlers; and paper-thin polyester argyle dress socks hanging like petrified bats from plastic hooks.
Words You Should Know
Charrette: An intense period of design activity in which a group collaborates to work out a solution to a specific design problem.
Best Buy
Good design isn’t inextricably wed to a high price tag. These classic designs run the gamut of types and prices.
Buyer Beware
Bad design can be not just unattractive but unhealthy. Steer clear of this trio of second-rate offerings.
Like a Rock
When it comes to great product design, the material is often the message. Matuse’s wetsuits prove why.
Books You Should Read
The Champ
Phaidon Design Classics: 001–999. Phaidon Press, 2006
Product Developments
We asked three product designers from three different fields what the future holds. Oddly, none of them mentioned crystal balls.
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Sake Table
Distill the basics of a sake barrel and what have you got? Maple and steel, transformed. RS Barcelona's booth at ICFF had a playful take on quite a few classics (if you've been looking for a well-designed game of foosball, check them out!), and we liked the look of these low tables by Stone Designs.
Vancouver Maneuvers
Vancouver, British Columbia, offers a dramatic natural setting, but as Omer Arbel shows us, there’s more to the city of glass than an immaculate reflection.
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Vessel 3633
Since its founding in the 19th century the Werkstätte Auböck has produced superior metalwork in the 7th district of Vienna.
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