Join me on a journey through the tulip-adorned countryside as we explore the Dutch art of bike design.
All in Good Design
Blind(s) to Design
The window blinds installed by the owner seem to meet our needs perfectly. I will briefly describe some of the main features we enjoyed and why I consider this a good design.
Good Design: Silly Putty
It squishes, it bounces, it breaks, and it occupies a spot in the Smithsonian museum!? Most of us have played with Silly Putty, the iconic pink goop, but few know its origin story and the lessons it has for designers and engineers.
Good Design: The Ozark Trail 1-Person Backpacking Tent
Going backpacking this summer? Still need to buy a tent that won’t break the bank? Consider the Ozark Trail, 1-person backpacking tent.
Good Design: Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT% 2
Nike has returned to its roots by providing exceptional performance, comfort, durability, and even fashion to elite and non-elite runners alike. Through my own experience and research, I can verify that Nike encapsulates this new vision in its Zoom Vaporfly NEXT% 2 shoe design
Good Design on the Roads of New Zealand
The reason why we can see so much good design in the world is because many of the bad (or not as good) designs have been removed over time and replaced with something better. At any given moment or place, the observable products and processes generally represent the best designs that the local people or nation could adopt or afford.
BYU Campus in LEGO
We challenged dozens of BYU engineering students to design LEGO Architecture-style models of BYU buildings; here you’ll see some of the many outstanding designs that were created. If you’re a current BYU student, an alumnus, or have ever visited the BYU campus, we hope these designs bring back great memories.
Good Design: Going-to-the-Sun Road
The advent of the automobile presented an interesting design problem for Glacier National Park: how could visitors travel easily to and from each attraction in the park? This road would need to cut through these sharp, rocky mountains through an easy route made for the everyday automobile.
Good Design: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, and The Phonetic Alphabet
Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo… this is the NATO phonetic alphabet. What made this design so enduring that it survived the analog age, and the onset and proliferation of the digital age? Why was this design so universal that it is used throughout the world with only minor regional adaptations?
Good Design: The Fanny Pack
Often, fashion fails to address the need for functionality, particularly women’s fashion. Our pants don’t have pockets. Most of our purses are big and unwieldy. The smaller ones simply don’t have enough room. Handbags are a horrible idea altogether because the entire premise is that they require the constant use of your hand. Cue the fanny pack.
Water, Water Bottles, and Why I Struggled Finding Water Bottle Stickers in Peru
Why was it so hard to find water bottle stickers in Peru? Why aren’t reusable water bottles popular in Peru, and why are they so popular in the United States? Read on to find answers to these pressing questions and change the way you think about drinking water.
I Can’t Look Away From the Design of Trash Cans!
Two more countries and many more garbage cans - which are indeed an interesting product. Every culture, every era, and every person has some interaction with garbage. How we dispose of our own trash in public spaces can teach us a thing or two about design.
Good Design: Garbage Cans In Brazil
I’m not usually fascinated with garbage cans… in fact, I’ve never been fascinated with garbage cans before. But the variety and diversity of garbage cans throughout the small city of Itacoatiara, on the banks of the Amazon river, was too great to ignore.
Good Design: Trublue Belay Gate
How is a triangular piece of fabric keeping rock climbers safe at the gym? Read about what makes the Trublue Belay Gate a good design.
Good Design—The iPhone
The phone market in the United States is saturated with different brands of phones to meet the needs of consumers. However, one device seems to rule them all: the Apple iPhone.
Design in Christmas Movies: Elf and the Forced Perspective
Have you seen the movie Elf? If not, you’re missing out on a good story with some neat applications of forced perspective. The designers of the film did some good design.
Good Design: Fender Precision Bass Guitar
The Fender Precision Bass Guitar has been a best selling bass for 70 years. What made this design so good?
Casino Design Royale
If you find yourself in Las Vegas, whether you plan to gamble or not, don’t miss out on the opportunity to observe some design choices made by casinos that influence behavior. However, don’t forget those same behaviors can be manipulated outside of casinos too…
Good Design: Dodge Viper
A well-designed product seems to fill a gap in the market so perfectly that it almost has a sense of reverence about it. It just works; it just fits, and it plays a role in the consumer’s life that makes it worth fixing and cherishing. These are products like the iPod/iPhone, the KitchenAid Stand Mixer, the Swiss Army Knife, and in this designer’s opinion, the Dodge Viper.
Design in Data Figures: Multi-Axis Figures
Multi-Axis Figures can be powerful in telling a story, but there are some real pitfalls that we see people fall into time and time again. Be careful and know the mistakes that others have made in order to keep your data figures well designed.