I have never been able to draw, paint, trace, or color. As a child, it made arts and crafts very humiliating. That’s probably why I am fascinated by cool design. Here are a couple examples:

I love the taste of Absolut Vodka..or maybe it’s just that sleek bottle. A great looking food or beverage product can really alter how we perceive taste.

Apple products have always been known for marrying great form and usability. The best things about Apple is that they don’t stop with the product’s appearance. The software is just as beautiful. The iPhone proves my point.

IWC Aquatimer Watches have a slick look. My favorite is the Aquatimer Chronograph from The Lucky Number Slevin.

Japan is leaps and bounds over most countries when it comes to making great design common in everyday life. Sushi is a delicious example. So are those wax food presentations in the restaurant display window (not pictured).

Another company which makes well designed products very accessible is Ikea. Yeah yeah..it is played out; it is cheap college apartment decor; they sacrifice quality for form. BUT at first glance, their stuff does look great. Even if you dislike Ikea’s initial design, at least they have a whole site dedicated to improving (aka hacking) their low-mid quality products. Check out Ikea Hacker.

Of course the automobile industry puts tons of emphasis on design. In many cases people would prefer to have a car which looks fast rather than goes fast. With the Audi R8, you can have both…for an MSRP of $123K. Good design usually costs.

Lastly is Garr Reynolds, who is a well known expert on design, branding, and presentation. In this video link he talks about all 3 during a Google Authors Talk.

All this design admiration may just inspire me to redesign the funkrocks website…as long as I don’t need to draw anything.

Tags: Art · Products ·