Industrial Design & User Experience

INSIGHTS FROM INDUSTRIAL DESIGN & USER EXPERIENCE EXPERT JOEL DELMAN

Insights on industrial design, product development and user experience from a design expert. Sources include Wired, Fast Company Design, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, Tech Crunch, and Engadget. If you’d like to chat about anything you see, feel free to reach out or connect with me on LinkedIn.

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Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Bumper Stickers That Let Tesla Owners Declare They Know Elon Musk Is Mad Are Booming
November 25, 2024
joel's thoughts:

While many are not ready (or able) to sell their Tesla, owners increasingly want to publicly distance themselves from its CEO

Tesla owners across America are looking to distance themselves from company boss Elon Musk after the Tesla CEO has become increasingly right-wing and, basically, batshit crazy. To do this, they’re doing the only thing any normal person would: they’re buying loads and loads of bumper stickers.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Trade Dress & Trademark Litigation
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Jaguar Changed its Logo, and Nobody is Happy
November 20, 2024
joel's thoughts:

Logo design is not easy. At all. You have to distill the entire essence of an organization down into something instantly identifiable, easily reproducible, appealing, eye-catching.

Jaguar’s new logo – and the associated new brand-image campaign – and look at the reactions it’s inspiring, almost none of which are positive. This is feeling like a logo disaster.

Jaguar making a radical and bold change is absolutely a good thing, don’t get me wrong. The brand has been stagnant for some time now, and in desperate need of some sort of reboot. Sure, they have a fantastic history and a legacy of truly iconic cars, but that doesn’t help them sell new cars, which I’m told carmakers enjoy doing. So the idea that Jaguar needs to make a dramatic change is something I absolutely agree with.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Trade Dress & Trademark Litigation
Murray McCory Dies; JanSport Founder Created the School Backpack
November 5, 2024
joel's thoughts:

He brought lightweight packs to millions of students, and transformed the way they carried their textbooks to school

Mr. McCory took an existing product, a lightweight, frameless pack used for short hikes, and added a reinforced bottom, nylon zippers and other tweaks to make it campus-friendly. He decided to leave the leather swatch, originally used for lashing poles to the bag, on its back panel — someone might want to attach an umbrella, he figured. Today, the patch, though rarely used, is a signature element of the JanSport look.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Buttons are back in a big way, and not a moment too soon...
September 30, 2024
joel's thoughts:

Touch Screens Are Over. Even Apple Is Bringing Back Buttons.

Companies have spent nearly two decades cramming ever more functions onto tappable, swipeable displays. Now buttons, knobs, sliders and other physical controls are making a comeback in vehicles, appliances and personal electronics.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Trade Dress & Trademark Litigation
Patent Litigation & Intellectual Property
The fascinating story behind patriotic Bomb Pop and Firecracker popsicles
July 31, 2024
joel's thoughts:

As we head into August, it seems like a good time to learn the fascinating design- and trademark litigation - history of America's most powerful frozen treat

The original rocket-shaped but confusingly named Bomb Pop was first invented in 1955 by D.S. “Doc” Abernathy and James S. Merritt, for Kansas City, Missouri's Merritt Foods. The iconic red, white, and blue stack was flavored cherry, lime, and blue raspberry. When Merritt Foods eventually shut down operations in 1991, Bomb Pop manufacturing was sold off to Iowa-based Wells Dairy/Wells Enterprises. The frozen confections are still made today in La Mars, Iowa.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
The $100 Million Quest to Build the World’s Greatest Golf Ball
June 17, 2024
joel's thoughts:

To produce golf’s premier ball, Loper and his team spent countless hours working with players and iterating through hundreds of different designs.

The odd part, to the engineers, was that [none of these problems] appeared in their data. That presented them with two options. They could tell the players that they were wrong. Or they could trust the players and examine whether the problem was with their numbers.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
The 25 Most Defining Pieces of Furniture From the Last 100 Years
May 3, 2024
joel's thoughts:

The New York Times outs together a pretty good list of the most enduring and significant objects for living.

Six experts gathered to make a list of the most influential chairs, sofas and tables, as well as some less obvious household objects, from the past century.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
The First-Gen Mini Cooper’s Exhaust Tips Were Modeled After A Can Of Budweiser
April 16, 2024
joel's thoughts:

After an accidental omission on the design model and a stroke of brilliance, the reborn Mini got inspiration from an unexpected source.

People are surprised to learn how designers sometimes "borrow" design elements from the world around us (we actually do it all the time...) Great story from one of the world's foremost car designers offers good advice if you get caught:

Innovation, Technology & Culture
Industrial Design & User Experience
Iris Apfel, Eye-Catcher With Kaleidoscopic Wardrobe, Dies at 102
March 28, 2024
joel's thoughts:

Another huge loss in the world of design... Iris was a fascinating woman, with more style in her pinky than most of us muster head to toe. Just pure class.

She came to fame in the fashion world in her 80s and 90s, and her wildly eclectic closet of clothes formed a hit exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Calling herself a “geriatric starlet,” Ms. Apfel in her 80s and 90s set trends with clamorous, irreverent ensembles: a boxy, multicolored Bill Blass jacket with tinted Hopi dancing skirt and hairy goatskin boots; a fluffy evening coat of red and green rooster feathers with suede pants slashed to the knees; a rose angora sweater set and 19th-century Chinese brocade panel skirt.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Cars Without Real Buttons Are Too Distracting To Receive 5-Star Safety Rating In Europe
March 22, 2024
joel's thoughts:

Want a top auto safety rating in the EU? Better put some buttons on that dashboard...

EU regulators are proposing new rules that would mandate the use of in order for cars to receive the top safety rating available

Industrial Design & User Experience
The Fascinating Design History of the Humble Pocket Calculator
February 5, 2024
joel's thoughts:

Form is temporary, function is permanent. The most important inventions are the ones that relate to the human condition, and they crop up over and over again.

Writing, counting, and calculation are all bound up in the same histories, peoples, and places that crop up over and over again. This shouldn’t be surprising. We’re all human, after all, and humans like to acquire information, record it, and manipulate it. That’s exactly what writing and math are for. The most important inventions are the ones that relate to the human condition, and they crop up over and over again.

Industrial Design & User Experience
‘This Has Been Going on for Years.’ Inside Boeing’s Manufacturing Mess.
January 14, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Have suspected for a while that Boeing's engineering and design teams were getting an unfairly bad rap... Great article discusses why (as so often the case) it's probably Wall Street's fault. I have friends in private equity, but I try to ignore what they do...

Industrial Design & User Experience
The C Pillar trim on the Kia Carnival is truly revolutionary in the world of auto design
January 11, 2024
joel's thoughts:

Just a photo and a design observation today... IMO the C Pillar trim on the Kia Carnival is truly revolutionary in the world of auto design.

Just a photo and a design observation today... IMO the C Pillar trim on the Kia Carnival is truly revolutionary in the world of auto design. Like it or not, I can't think of another car with patterned, highly textured metal surfaces like this (aside from Kia's other models). If you know of other examples please comment below, thanks!

Industrial Design & User Experience
Trade Dress & Trademark Litigation
Patent Litigation & Intellectual Property
If You Love Fonts And Graphic Design, Go To A Classic Car Show
January 9, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Great slideshow about two of my favorite things, old cars and branding... Highly recommended Friday read!

Industrial Design & User Experience
Patent Litigation & Intellectual Property
There's Only One Way To Install the Toilet Paper Roll
December 11, 2023
joel's thoughts:

My annual holiday reminder that there is only one right way to install a toilet paper roll, as protected by a US patent issued just before Christmas 1891

Industrial Design & User Experience
Yale neuroscientists discover why Zoom meetings make your brain go numb
November 15, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Neuroscience proves what we already knew about Zoom meetings, and explains why they suck so much...

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
IDEO Cuts 1/3 of Staff and Closes Offices
November 7, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Is the era of design thinking truly over, or did IDEO just jump the shark it created?

Innovation, Technology & Culture
Industrial Design & User Experience
The Price we Pay for Wearing Noise Canceling Headphones
October 9, 2023
joel's thoughts:

I've always believed there are significant costs to wearing noise-canceling devices, some more obvious than others... Great to see an article that lays it all out

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Rage-Poking and Wet Fingers: Why Gadgets Need More Buttons
October 3, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Fantastic article about user interface problems posed by touch screens... Great to see such excellent coverage in the mainstream press

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Can Polaroid Survive the AI Era?
September 29, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Polaroid's success in the digital era is a testament to its brand's proposition: The value of a Polaroid camera is authenticity. Life isn’t perfect, neither is a Polaroid picture. I'm a huge fan of modern instant cameras, highly recommend Fuji's Evo Mini for anyone thinking of dipping a toe.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Manual Transmission Cars are Regaining Market Share in the US
September 27, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Best user interface news of the year... IMO, that more people want to shift for themselves reflects a sea change in the most fundamental man / machine interface humans have ever created.

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Amazon's Electric Delivery Truck was Designed from the Ground Up to Meet Drivers' Unique Needs
September 25, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Love the way they used researched to prioritize drivers' needs in the design... Most used control? Hazard lights for frequent stops, so it has a dedicated mechanical switch (everything else is touchscreen-based.)

Industrial Design & User Experience
The Dream of Self-Cooling Shoes May be Closer to Reality
September 22, 2023
joel's thoughts:

This problem has literally been on inventors' "problems that need solving" lists for decades... This story shows why its been such a tough nut to crack

Industrial Design & User Experience
HP Is Selling a 40-Year-Old Calculator Again—For $120
June 1, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Has the retro electronics fad jumped the shark? I’d buy one if it wasn’t for the dorky “Collector’s Edition” logo…

Industrial Design & User Experience
Innovation, Technology & Culture
Kodak Vibes: This Disposable-Style Digital Camera Makes You Wait 24 Hours to See Your Photos
June 6, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Brilliant idea… “Disposable Digital” camera brings old school film experience to modern picture taking (full disclosure, I enthusiastically backed this Kickstarter)

Industrial Design & User Experience
Volkswagen CEO Admits It Was A Mistake To Abandon Buttons And Other Physical Controls
July 10, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Hate to say I told you so, but I called this one as soon as Diess made the announcement…

Industrial Design & User Experience
Trade Dress & Trademark Litigation
How Airstream Became an American Icon
July 12, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Fantastic Friday read about the business behind one of America’s most iconic designs

Patent Litigation & Intellectual Property
Industrial Design & User Experience
Thumbs Up Emoji Is an Official Contract Agreement, Canadian Court Rules
July 18, 2023
joel's thoughts:

A heads up to watch how you use those Emojis… A “thumbs up” could be costly

Patent Litigation & Intellectual Property
Trade Dress & Trademark Litigation
Industrial Design & User Experience
Lululemon's Dupe Strategy
August 18, 2023
joel's thoughts:

Not sure it’s effective from a $$ standpoint, but what a super creative way to deal with design knockoffs…

Industrial Design & User Experience
Thank The Lord, The Classic Steelies Are Back
August 21, 2023
joel's thoughts:

For my auto design colleagues and fellow car people… I think Dieter Rams is credited with saying “good design is just enough design”, and it’s so refreshing to see the comeback of simple, purposeful wheels. Other manufacturers take a lesson, and yes I’m looking at you Audi…