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When the Apple designers first came to Steve Jobs with the iPod he picked it up, fiddled with it and then dropped it into a fish tank. "Those are air bubbles," he snapped. "That means there's space in there. Make it smaller." A successful designer needs a critical awareness of the design all around us and the factors that produce it. They also need to be able to look at an item and analyse - what it is, what does it do, why is like that, how is it made?
Track 3: Why there's still lead in the pencil
A brilliant communication device, it does what it's meant to do, it doesn't break, and it's cheap to replace if you lose it. Jeff Johnson praises the mechanical pencil.
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Tracks in this podcast:
| Track | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | iPhones and the price of air | An instant design classic the iPhone was more than just a mobile and transformed Robin Roy's life. Just what is it that made it so successful, and what’s it got to do with the price of air? Play now iPhones and the price of air |
| 2 | Too hot to handle? | Industrial design in a domestic kitchen, what could possibly go wrong? Georgy Holden's kiln gets the team wondering. Play now Too hot to handle? |
| 3 | Why there's still lead in the pencil | A brilliant communication device, it does what it's meant to do, it doesn't break, and it's cheap to replace if you lose it. Jeff Johnson praises the mechanical pencil. Play now Why there's still lead in the pencil |
| 4 | Old water in new bottles? | Why re-invent the bottle? Theo Zamenopoulos and the team explore the advantages and disadvantages of a new design for an old object. Play now Old water in new bottles? |
| 5 | Are you sitting comfortably? | What makes a good chair? Theo Zamenopoulos considers the factors that produce good design while sitting in his favourite place. Play now Are you sitting comfortably? |
| 6 | Is good design going down the plughole? | Is good design going down the plug-hole? Meet the Open University Design faculty as they debate what does, or doesn't, make a well-designed sink strainer. Theo Zamenopoulos, Georgy Holden, Robin Roy, and Jeff Johnson outline their design interests. Play now Is good design going down the plughole? |
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