ken,
a minor observation you said that you had seen the first mobil phone in 1987. i don't doubt that.
however, i have seen them in star war movies since 1977 cover and all.
it supports my frequent argument that design inspirations can also come from fiction, science fiction, novels, and myths. the are written to be read and understood or teach something unheard of and they can persist in mythologies because they offer dreams of possibilities. if designers take some of these ideas, they don't need to endlessly explain the new. it fits into the conceptions of possibilities.
after all human beings flying was envisioned in greek myths .....
in view of the other thread about the importance of aesthetics. i wouldn't. discount it. but if designers read fashion magazines to absorb the latest visual fashion, get ideas of proportions and colors, they are bound to merely beautify what exists or making existing products more fashionable, sellable, and thus become appendices of the commercial interests, not pursuing the dreams and hidden aspirations we find in fiction.
just a. side comment
klaus
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jul 4, 2017, at 11:48 PM, Ken Friedman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Dear All,
>
> Delurking yet again after reading too many posts. Lots of interesting thoughts, followed by exaggerated claims for engineering on one side and exaggerated claims for the wisdom of illiterate children on the other. Children can't design an iPhone and neither can engineers working alone.
>
> The first mobile phone I ever saw (1987, in Finland) was designed by engineers ... it was the size of an old-fashioned automobile battery.
>
> What makes the iPhone an iPhone is the ease of use and simplicity in operation that required a 300-page user manual for some mobile phones.
>
> The greatest value in the iPhone is ease of use and multiple purpose through the user interface. The level, amount, and quality of engineering that it takes to deliver the experience of the iPhone is massive. But there must be nearly as much engineering in the Sony, the Motorola, or any other major brands .... these require hundreds of pages of user manuals to operate. The iPhone is designed to be simple enough to work on a relatively easy and often intuitive basis. That is the source of value creation in the iPhone.
>
> I once heard this take on the iPhone stated by a mathematical physicist and engineer who works in advanced manufacturing for global industries. Anyone who actually works with advanced mathematics or does engineering in the context of advanced manufacturing rather than simply talking about them probably has a view similar to the concept in David Sless's Gilbert Ryles anecdote.
>
> There is no "1%" of "aesthetics" in the iPhone, whatever that might possibly mean.
>
> There is a great product with as much attention to detail as is required to deliver a comprehensive, coherent user experience. The applies to every detail. It even applies to the relatively low tech manufacturing of the specific kind of cardboard box that tells consumers that the box contains an Apple product, the wrapping paper and sheets of plastic wrapper, or the little metal widget that one must use to insert the SIM card.
>
> Nevertheless, I still use my old auto battery sized mobile phone. It's just the right weight to hold down the edge of the canvas tarpaulin on the stack of wood in the back patio. On cold winter days, we fire up the wood-burning tile stove in the living room and the tarp keeps the wood dry. I figure that the high quality engineering in the mobile phone contributes around 1% to the total heating effort.
>
> Yours,
>
> Ken
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
> Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
> Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|