When it comes to industrial design, the products that really stand out are those that we’ve come to accept as always being that way. They’ve certainly stood the test of time but once, somewhere, the initial idea was challenging, revolutionary even.
A case in point is the Coca Cola bottle. The Root Glass Company of Indiana, consisting of C.J and William Root, Alexander Samuelson, Earl Dean and Clyde Edwards, were the successful company who invented the contour glass in 1915 after finding inspiration from an illustration of a cocoa bean. We take the Coca Cola bottle for granted now, but it was a breakthrough of its time. There are many industrial designs that are inspiring, but here just six IDEAL examples to help inspire you.
The invention of the wheel
Oh how simple it seems, the cyclical wheel that gets us from A to B, moves heavy objects and helps us throughout our day to day lives more than we could have ever imagined. The original wheel design dates back at least 6,000 years, when its original use was in the world of pottery.
300 years or so later some bright spark deigned to suggest we ought to be getting around on them, and here we are today. Different types of castors, rubber, metal – all sorts of materials for wheels that can withstand outstanding loads, conditions and most dramatically, speeds are now used…and all from a tiny breakthrough.
We’ve got to talk about Apple
The success of Steve Job’s Apple is phenomenal and cannot be ignored as one of the most inspiring examples of industrial design. Presently, Apple is on the verge of becoming the first ever trillion-dollar business in the world, which is beyond crazy.
In the words of Apple’s chief design officer himself, Jonathan Ive: “The idea of genuinely trying to make something great for humanity was Steve’s motivation from the beginning,” he says in regard to the Designed by Apple in California book. Whether you discovered Apple in the original Apple I glory days, or you’re a converted iPhone user today, Apple has continued to develop exciting and technically brilliant products since 1976.
The development of the keyboard
In a way, the keyboard has a very straightforward design and despite becoming sleeker and more pleasant to use, the functions haven’t changed so much. The invention of the computer keyboard was adapted from the typewriter. However, it was Christopher Latham Sholes who developed the QWERTY structure of a keyboard for the typewriter back in 1868, so it’s Scholes who deserves the credit.
Transformation of a train station
If you’ve ever been to King’s Cross station in London, you can’t help but notice the stunning concourse roof that was part of a £400m redevelopment back in 2012. The Arup architectural team had the challenge of a design which remained in keeping with the Grade 1 –listed structure while also modernising the space. The new shell structure is a stunning example of inspirational industrial design.
Industrial design can be an art
An iconic piece of design and art that combines both beauty and practicality would have to be Phillipe Starck’s design for the citrus squeezer. The squid shaped aluminium design allows users to place a bowl of their choosing beneath the structure and juice directly into the container. Not only is this product unique, it also provides a more efficient experience than a standard hand held citrus squeezer.
Accessible technology
It’s all very well designing beautiful technology but if it’s not accessible to everyone, is it really that inspiring? To meet this demand, South Korean design start-up company DOT has been working on braille-enabled smart watches for the last few years. According to Core77: “The DOT smartwatch incorporates mobile braille into a traditional watch face and syncs with smartphones via Bluetooth to provide updates, call notifications, texts, and more.” This creation should enable the visually impaired to reach their local coffee shop unaided, have texts read out to them, and much more. The DOT braille smartwatch is extremely intelligent, sleek in design and a massive step in the right direction in the field of industrial design.