This is the 3rd part in as many as possible in this series.
The main reason I decided to do this series was to understand design from a non-tech, non- UI/UX perspective. I’d read enough content about design etc but, developing the eye to detect good and bad design along with the reasons for why they might be good or bad isn’t something I’d invested time into.
I think I’ve improved on that front, but, there’s still a long way to go I’m sure.
I’ve also started getting back into putting things into practice, so, I’ll update here when I have made some decent progress on that.
I received some feedback recently where a person said that i value only functional design based on my posts and not aesthetic design, sometimes things exist to make things look better not necessarily work better.
I have to say I agree with that to some extent, I do value functional design more than aesthetic design, but, it doesn’t mean I don’t value aesthetic design.
To dispel this notion a little and because I do care about feedback.
In fact, I think my first post was an example of how much I do care about aesthetic design across senses.
I thought I’d do a post on good aesthetic design in products that is non-intrusive, lends itself to the overall design, doesn’t necessarily make things work better, but, also doesn’t hinder the core aspect of the product, while still staying under the ambit of good design that goes unnoticed.
I’m still very much a minimalist, so, I’ll work within my constraints.
I’m also not going to list out visual aesthetic design examples purely because of how subjective they are, I’m going to stick with aesthetic design that appeals to the sense of sound and touch.
With those expectations set, here we go.
My favourite examples of great aesthetic design:
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The Car Door Close Sound The ‘click’ sound a car makes when it closes is something that people worked on because that’s what people expect when they open or close a car. It no longed functionally needs to make the sound, but, they found out that people expect the cars to make a sound when the door opens or closes, I think that’s awesome. I think that’s aesthetic design for the sense of sound.
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Singing Steps at Airavatesvara Temple There is a temple in Sound India near Kumbakonam called the Airavatesvara Temple. It has a series of 7 steps which when stepped on make musical notes that correspond to the 7 swaras of music.
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My Phone when I call someone I use a Xiaomi smartphone these days and one of the features that I really like is something so simple I can’t believe it wasn’t there on any of the previous phones I used.
When I call someone, and the phone is ringing, previously I’d have to hold the phone to my ear to see if they’ve picked up, this phone however vibrates as soon as the state of the call switches from ringing to picked up which makes my life just that much easier.
So, that was 3 simple examples of aesthetic design which still blend into functionality but go beyond.
As always, here’s some content for you to consume.
Content Recommendations
Richard Seymour : How beauty feels
Marian Bantjes : Intricate Beauty by Design
White : Kenya Hara ( Also, look out for 100 Whites in November. )
Thank you for reading
Sainath