To Freeze or to Innovate

To Freeze or to Innovate?

paul voncken 2010

Wordcount: 9631 Dept: IDE

can objects survive time?

Introduction page 4

Chapter 1 Characteristics of timeless page 5

Chapter 2 Case Study 1: The 1946 Vespa scooter page 14

Chapter 3 Case Study 2:Â Denim jeans page 17

Chapter 4 Case Study 3: Apple Ipod page 19

Chapter 5 Conclusion page 23

Bibliography page 24

Introduction Everywhere we look, everywhere we go, we are surrounded by

A brief overview of how the defined problem is addressed:Â

designed objects of every kind. We are living in a time where

The first chapter will investigate the characteristics of timeless-

products are almost outmoded before they hit the market. It would

ness, what qualities an object needs to possess to become timeless

be interesting to investigate how these products can survive time.

and how we can identify these aspects? This chapter will be

I've always struggled with the dilemma that it is possible to learn

followed by three case studies. These case studies will give

constructing a perfect mechanical system, but never a perfect

detailed examples of timelessness. The case studies will concern

design. When creating for example a new car, you can be taught

objects which are being found timeless by society, designers and

how to create the different components and construct a perfect

experts. The outcome of chapter one and the case studies will be

engine that suits a given aim. The outer shell on the other hand, is

analyzed and used to describe the process of creating a timeless

almost not limited by current technology but by the abilities of the

object. Using this structure allows me to get a good grip on what

designer (which also includes things like understanding the mysteri-

possible characteristics objects need to have, and why.

ous and complex market demands). Thinking of the perfect design inevitably leads to the questions: What makes an object a perfectly designed object? One criteria would be to withstand time. In this dissertation I'm not going to give an answer to the question: What makes a perfect design, since this could be a very subjective answer. I'm much more interested in finding an answer to the question: What makes an object timeless? I'm going to tackle the issue from as many views as possible to achieve an objective answer. My personal goal will be creating a better understanding of how objects should be designed and why. Although timeless is described as "not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion"  by the Oxford Dictionary, timeless design can be described from two different views; 1: An object which has no reference towards time and is therefor a timeless object or 2: its assumed to be "beyond history", in other accounts - its something that expresses its time perfectly. Although this statement could be argued, both views could be achieved by the same set of characteristics 4  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2o1o

Chapter 1 Characteristics of timeless What does it need to be a timeless object? According to Suzanne

Making use of objects which are seen to be timeless and use

Tortillot, writer of the book "500 Teapots: Contemporary Explora-

experts view on it, helped me to define my first set of

tions of a Timeless Design" an object should draw the attention

characteristics. The most timeless objects are ticking one, or

and engage people in a dialog, or on the more functional side,

preferably more, of the following boxes: Non-Fashion, Iconic,

stretch the function and provide a pleasing sense of design to be-

Used Materials, Draw attention, Stretch function, Engage a dialog,

come timeless. Christopher Alexander described in his book, "The

Minimalistic, Classical, Differentiation in space, Class Status,

Timeless Way of Building" , a building becomes timeless when you

Quality.

use known materials and constructions and it grabs the imagina-

Non-fashion designs can function without the notion of time.

tion of contemporaries or posterity. But on the other end Elizabeth

Icons are well known over the whole world and will pass on from

Guffey in the book "Retro" is saying that the idea of the "clas-

generation to generation. Materials will not be fixed in time when

sic" unchanging design object is a bit of a conundrum because it's

they weather well or don't wear out. An unique object will draw at-

often closely associated with the period it comes to represent. I'm

tention and this can contribute in becoming timeless. An object is

highlighting these examples to display that there are a lot of dif-

seen to be timeless when it stretches its function, in which several

ferent ways of how an object could be seen as timeless and that

side functions are complement to the main function. A bad design

not everybody is agreeing with each other. This chapter describes

can be turned into a good design by engaging a dialog. Take for

a substantiated creation of a framework which is trying to achieve

example the Salif Lemon squeezer from Philippe Starck. In itself,

clarity in the meaning of timeless design regardless the object.

this design doesn't function very well, but due to its unique appear-

1

2

3

ance people remember it and conversations arise. Using ornaments 1.1 Finding the characteristics

in a design can refer to periods in time. This is the reason why minimalistic designs are more often being found to be timeless. On

In the journey of tackling timeless I've been overwhelmed with characteristics of timeless objects. What characteristics or properties does an object need to become timeless, regardless what kind of timeless we are defining here?

the other hand, classical designs can also become timeless. Especially the reference to periods in time, like the streamline design, can contribute to timelessness. These periods mean a great deal to society because of its history and influence. The Rietveld-Schroder house gives a good example of the differentiation of space. His

1 Triplett, Kathy 500 teapots Contemporary explorations of a timeless design

New York, Lark Books 2002 2 Alexander, Christopher The timeless Way of Building New York, Oxford University Press, 1979 3 Guffey, Elizabeth E. Retro, The Culture Revival London, Reaktion Books, August 2006

design completely differed from the designs of the time and space he was living in. It didn't refer to anything which was known by society. People were shocked, confused and didn't know what to paul voncken 2o10

To freeze or to innovate?   5

think of it. This is what made his design famous and timeless. An

There are a few factors to keep in mind when thinking of future

object needs quality to survive time and to become indestructible.

designs. One would be the advancement of technology. Technol-

In this way, it doesn't need to be replaced or repaired every year.

ogy will always be a driving factor within the creation of our

Objects can express a class status in the hierarchical arrange-

future environment. Within this technology the most important one

ments of people. Expressing a class status is often related to

to keep in mind as designers is the implementation of "smart"

membership or financial power and exclusivity. The unobtainable

machines. Scientist and engineers all over the world are trying to

and unreachable aspects make people long for designs and desire

create devices which are able to interact with humans to perform

certain objects. Â Having these characteristics soaked in made me

their task more effectively, but a lot of times the effectiveness

realize that timeless is a big topic applicable in a lot different

only works within the boundaries set by the designer. The most

areas

simple example would be the beeping sound of a washing machine when it finished washing your clothes. The biggest problem within this field are the humans themselves. They are not predictable,

1.2 Don't neglect the future

don't have the precision and strictness of a machine and the most The reason why I start talking about the future is because this is

important: They don't share the same common ground (read knowl-

a methodology a lot of people share when you ask them: "How do

edge) as the machines and therefore can react differently than the

you design timeless objects?" A lot of answers will be something

logic outcome would be. So maybe a machine would be able to

like: "Make it look like it comes out of the future, then you will

distinct all the different beeping sounds from the microwave, dish-

have a timeless design." Of course this is a pretty hard thing to

ing washer etc. but humans are not. We need something richer to

do when you don't have the skills to predict the future. Luckily we

make this communication much more intuitive and effective. Don-

can't see the future and pay companies a lot of money for a good

ald A. Norman provided us with some design rules to prevent errors

guess of what is going to happen in the near future, let's say five

and unwanted actions of future designed objects, which I think are

to ten years. There will always be a future, this future is uncertain

important to consider when designing "timeless objects".

and partly directed by people itself. When we are talking about Design rules for human designers of "smart" machines: timeless it's good to look back in history and verify assumptions, but we shouldn't neglect the future, even if it's something quite

1. Provide rich, complex, and natural signals.

unpredictable. This sub-chapter is substantiated by "The design

2. Be predictable

of future things" by Donals A. Norman and the Futureagenda or-

3. Provide good conceptual models.

ganization (experts from companies like Google, Shell and Philips

4. Make the output understandable.

trying to predict the possible future within 25 year from now).

5. Provide continual awareness without annoyance.

Â

6. Exploit natural mappings.

1

2

1 Norman, Donald A. The design of future things, Basic books, 2007 2 http://www.futureagenda.org (feb 2010)

6  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2010

Design Rules Developed by machines to improve their interactions

second interpretation; no reference in time. The main questions

with people:

to answer is: How do you design an object with no reference in time? To answer this question I've had a look at different experts

1. Keep things simple. opinions and objects within this field.

2. Give people a conceptual model 3. Give reasons So when we start reasoning, no reference in time.. We need to 4. Make people think they are in control get rid of all possible clues of indicating time. The words which 5. Continually reassure. are instantly popping in my head are: Minimalistic, simplicity, no 6. Never label human behaviour as 'error'. technology?? or is technology not a reference anymore since we are able to make technology inside so small that we are facing the The direct problem occurring when referring to timeless and issue of having too small objects to physically work with. Let me technology is that technology always labels an object with a date/ remind you of the time, cellphones getting smaller and smaller until period in time (often an unwanted side effect), and one of the curthe moment they where to small (fig.1) and became bigger again. rent consequences seems to be an indifference to form. Everything becomes a black box, or brightly coloured organic shapes, irrespective to its function. So how should we address this problem?

Let's have a closer look at a timeless object, for example the vespa scooter, designed in 1946, it's the most recognized scooter shape ever build. Even today, so many years later, the basic lines of the current Vespa Moped are still the same lines drawn in April 1946. So how did they do this? How can a shape survive 70 years of technological development and still be disconnected from the technology inside? To find this out I will conduct a case study towards the vespa scooter. A perfect example showing that a design can be disconnected from time and technology.

Fig. 1 Nokia 8830 1.3 No reference

Minimalistic then? Minimalists in design and architecture are primarily aiming to reduce objects to its necessary elements

We all agree that there are two different ways to interpret timeless design. An object could either be associated with the period it represents or do the exact opposite, being very shy in giving an

1

They adapted the motto "less is more" , originally coined by Mies van der Rohe to describe his own, particularly minimalistic modernism, which in a sense leads to the term simplicity. Because

indication of time. In this chapter I'm going to dive deeper into the 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism#Minimalist_design (june 2010)

paul voncken 2010

To freeze or to innovate?   7

where there is less we appreciate everything much more . Is

attachment with its surroundings, and this rectifies Robert Venturi's

simplicity the way of achieving no reference in time? When read-

quote: "Less is Bore". So in a world where we consider emotions

ing John Meada's Ten laws to achieve simplicity:

above everything else, more emotions are better than less. And

1

to put it in an example: BMW has a range of BMW toys in their 1. Reducing - The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through

collection. The main reaction would be: Why invest in toys when

thoughtful reduction.

you are producing cars? The idea behind it is that they are trying

2. Organize - Organization makes a system of many appear

to create an emotional bound between the brand and the user.

3. Time - Savings in time feel like simplicity

So that the kid that owns that cool BMW walking car, buys the

4. Learn - Knowledge makes everything simple

BMW when he is grown up because of the emotional bound it has

5. Difference - Simplicity and complexity need each other

with the brand. So summarizing: It's possible to create timeless-

6. Context - What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not

ness when applying simplification method. But when you simplify

peripheral

an object you have to emphasize the surroundings of the object

7. Emotion - More emotions are better than less

and consider the more emotional design approach "Feeling follows

8. Trust - In simplicity we trust

form" which counterbalances the simplifying process. John sum-

9 Failure - Some things can never be made simple

marizes it all by the sentence: "Simplicity is about subtracting the

10 The one - Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and add-

obvious, and adding the meaningful" in where the meaningful would

ing the meaningful

need to be of a particular kind - relating to the conjuncture or to a sense of a comprehensive timeless solution. Apple's iPod would

I do pick up a few really important elements which are also

be a good example, they reduced the amount of buttons of a MP3

contradictory to make things even more complicating than they

player by half (less control), but added the meaningful by providing

already are. Until law 5 it's pretty straight forward, but when we

a whole service (iTunes) to enhance the complete user experience.

read "Law 5 - Difference" we can already see that translating this

Of course this is not the only thing they did to make it such an

law into a timeless shape requires design skills. John Maeda is

iconic object. So more about the iPod and whether it is a timeless

right, simplicity and complexity need each other in order to be

object in Chapter 4.

recognized. What does this mean for a timeless design, it needs to be simplistic but it has to be counterpointed by a complex ele-

1.4 Beyond history

ment. This complex element needs to be embodied in the objects' environment, user experience or any other way related to the

Beyond history, or in other words, an object which addresses its

object. This is the point where it's starting to get interesting. When

period of where it's coming from very clearly.

less is more, there is a point where an object loses it's emotional

When I was trying to get grip on this aspect of timeless design I found myself in a position where I could identify a split within

1 Maeda, John The laws of simplicity London, The MIT Press, 2006

8  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2010

this way of interpreting timeless. When we take for example the

citizens in different classes; those of the chief class, and those

Greyhound bus of Raymond Loewy (1946) this bus is almost an ad-

who possessed an income of a certain fixed sum were the

vertisement for streamline aesthetics. Streamline aesthetics started

"classici". Those who possessed a smaller income were described

in the early 1930s where an increasingly machine-driven culture

by the term "infra classem", below the pre-eminent class. Almost

arose in America. Everything needed to express speed; "speed was

2000 years later, the famous book family "Phaidon Design Classics"

the essence of the modern age and the shape which was the most

3

conducive to speed was the ovoid, or tear-drop." It also captured

are defining 999 design classics from the last 200 years. Their

the public mind as the symbol of progress. The same would apply

main selecting criteria were: Innovative, Beautiful and Influential

for ancient greek architecture, founders of the 5 orders in archi-

products. One of them is the Rolex's Oyster watch (invented in

tecture, which are currently still used by many architects as a form

1926), innovative because it was the world's first truly water-

of inspiration. The only difference with Raymond Loewy's stream-

resistant watch. Therefore a design is classic according to experts.

lined bus is that Greek architecture is mostly mentioned together

Rolex, who is still creating "classic watches", according themselves,

with "classic" and "timeless". They even made a number of science

is describing classic as the following :

1

, written by a wide range of international design-world insiders,

fiction fantasies of futures and utopias drawn heavily on classical, mostly Greek styles . So is there a difference between classic

"Rolex's classic watches are crafted from the finest raw materials

design and objects like Raymond Loewy's bus? The best way to get

and assembled with scrupulous attention to detail. Oyster Perpetual

a reliable answer to this question is to investigate: "What is classic

watches benefit from Rolex's cutting-edge technology and extensive

design?" and "How does an object become classic?"

expertise. In additions, each individual Rolex watch undergoes

2

stringent examination and testing. Epitomizing the values that have Classic (according the Oxford Dictionary):

made the brand world-famous. Oyster Perpetual watches are first

Adjective - 1. Judged over a period of time to be of the highest

and foremost a symbol of a way of life, a benchmark for style."

quality. 2.Typical.

by Rolex 2010

4

Noun - 1. A work of art of established value. 2. (Classics) the study of ancient Greek and Latin literature, philosophy, and history. 3.

A lot of great promises to justify a classic design. Of course we

(the classics) the works of ancient Greek and Latin writers.

have to derive the marketing classic from the "timeless making"

Orgin Latin classicus "belonging to a class or division", later "of the

classic. Rolex is right, in order to become classic you need to have

highest class".

attention to detail and consider your materials wisely to fit the object's requirements. In Rolex's case that means quality and a

The word classic was first used by the Romans. They divided

symbolizing way of life, a benchmark for style. I have to grin when writing down this last sentence. Because this is not making current

1 Handlin, David P. American Architecture, Second Edition London, Thames & Hudson , 2003 2 HG Well's "Shape of Things to Come� (1933)

3 Various Authors Phaidon, 999 Design Classics London, Phaidon Press Inc. 2006 4 http://www.rolex.com (june 2010)

paul voncken 2010

To freeze or to innovate?   9

Rolex's classic, at least not as a timeless classic object. Why not?

it is, and leave out the unnecessary (chapter 1.3). More answers

Because the Romans were partly right about

to this question can be found in rule number three; Maintain a

classic, a classic object distinguishes itself from other similar

gentle relationship with the user. All existing object are living in

objects (they were wrong about the part where they compared

a world surrounded by people. People are intelligent creatures,

humans and their income to objects, but that's a whole other story).

they created a world in which they are less vulnerable to natural

And that doesn't happen with current selection of Rolex watches,

influences and where they can maintain themselves. But in order to

there are a lot of other watch manufacturers who produce similar

function in this world, people need gentle clues telling them how to

quality watches. So the big question in this chapter remaining is:

use/understand the object. Having the right amount of clues in your

"how can an object distinguish itself from the rest to become a

design is crucial, that's where you can separate the "not so good"

classic?"

from the well designed ones. I deliberately used the word muse in rule number four. When you have an answer to question one,

I defined 6 rules:

two and three, you have to choose your materials. Choosing the

1. Forget all preconceived notions and trends in order to be

right material is not just a case of choosing what looks and feels

innovative

the best. In regards to timelessness it is crucial that a material

2. Form follows function without adding the "extra"

explains the story of the object, weathers well and preferably a

3. Maintain a gentle relationship with the user.

small impact to the earth resources. The last criteria doesn't sound

4. Muse about your materials

too related to timeless, but when you consider that you can stack a

5. Be influential

pile the size of Hyde Park (London, UK) up to 100 meters high with

6. Become iconic

all the ipods made until now, you can imagine the impact throwing these away. This last argument is a more recent criteria for time-

Rule number one is probably the most important one. History

less designs, mainly due to ecological idea that you also design for

taught us that timeless designs need to be innovative. An innovative

future generations. So creating something timeless does also mean

object needs to fulfill a certain task in a better or more efficient

that you have to consider the source of the materials and the after

way than its competition or predecessors or address a complete

life.

new function. Two ways to achieve this would be to analyze the essence conform the platonic ideal or be such a successful

These 6 rules are guidelines, but considering that you're only in

realization of the type that it's hard to imagine how it could be

control of the first three completely, makes it a bit harder than

changed or improved. The second rule is there to really consider

following cooking instructions. Does this make designing a "classic"

your shape. You don't want to add extra unnecessary clues to

timeless object a hard task to fulfill? Yes. Is it impossible? No,

the shape which could end up dating your design. Rule number

nothing is impossible.

two is difficult, but try explaining yourself why the shape is like

10  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2010

of "mechanical evolution" - objects which were so functional that

1.5 Timeless sustainability

their form hadn't changed for a hundred years or more - along At some point, being a 2010 Master student at a design institute

with the bowler hat, briar pipe, spark plug . Nevertheless, the

makes you think you have to save the world before it gets ruined.

shape isn't the most efficient one. Cheviot Bridge, a wine distribu-

The amount of stuff people have put into this world is enormous.

tor, tried to solve this:

This on its own shouldn't be a problem when we are dealing with

3 Comment made by Barry Curtis

3

a world prepared for a whole product life cycle. Unfortunately the world wasn't, and the products weren't either, and that has to be rectified. This issue has a drastic impact on the criteria of the objects we are currently designing. This is a fairly new issue (unfortunately), designers/students in the 60's and 70's weren't bothered by sustainability, so examples of timeless sustainability are rare, and probably accidentally. According to Stuart Walker, in his book "Sustainable by Design", it all started during the industrial

Fig. 2 Long Flat Packaging

revolution. We used to have a complete different view on how to do business. Instead of using a surplus in production to expand the

Cheviot Bridge

productive capacity, like we do now, they invested in economically

"The romantics among us would never have thought Shiraz would

unproductive projects like the great European cathedrals. Which

prosper in a Tetra Pak, a packaging form traditionally reserved

are still fulfilling a valuable purpose today . People will probably

for juice and milk. However some producers such as Cheviot

think your nuts, when proposing these economically unproductive

Bridge have, with a reduced packaging weight of almost 10 times a

ideas in the current market. So what can we do? How can we use

conventional bottle (unfilled). This de materialization enables huge

our skills as designers to go beyond purely aesthetic, and shake

embodied energy, carbon and water use reductions on the packag-

off this bias the industrial design practice currently has (superficial

ing, not to mention reduced haulage impact after filling (particularly

and emphasis on product appearance) .

for export, 1.05 kg rather than 1.5 kg per unit), and a smart pal-

There are 2 ways of tackling sustainability; one is to change

letisation shape for shipping and storage. The decision to move to a

current objects in more environmental friendly objects. Maybe a

paper board packaging mode derived from extensive life cycle re-

concrete example is the best way to explain. Take for example a

search, cost comparison and product testing (which funnily enough,

more sustainable way of distributing wine:

contrary to some stigma, highlighted longer shelf life) to measure the

The wine bottle was selected by Le Corbusier to illustrate his idea

potential benefits. The weight reduction, combined with an additional

1

2

250 mL of wine to the customer (the product is delivered in 1 L), 1,2 Walker, Stuart Sustainable by design

delivers a quality driven outcome, with a raft of environmental and

2

economic benefits due to life cycle

London, Sterling, VA, 2006

paul voncken 2010

To freeze or to innovate?   11

thinking." by Simon Lockrey, Research Fellow at RMIT Centre for

more efficient than the current way of doing business. Doing the

Design

right thing isn't going to be easy. Take the small list of problems

The Long Flat team tackled the inefficient wine bottle design, by

mentioned above. People are used to certain standards of living

improving its embodied energy and transport costs, but maintaining

and traditions. Changing these, means a change in behavior, and

shell life. Another common mistake made in this way of tackling

as we all know, it's hard to accomplish behavioral change solely in

sustainability, is that the designer produces a product for disas-

product design. This because you, as a designer or company, are

sembly, which is all good, but forgets the fact that there is no

not in control of the whole user cycle. That's why I think, purely

effective scheme to collect the parts and recycle/reuse them. Or

product design + sustainable design to change behavior is not go-

even worse, the so called green product is maybe an efficient

ing to work. We need a system to address the whole life cycle and

device when using it, but the amount of embodied energy going

user experience, in order to be in charge of the whole process

into the object when producing or recycling, is much higher than

and be truly sustainable.

1

the non "green" version. Think of the First generation Toyota Prius, parts came from all over the world, and used batteries were highly

I've been thinking of making an extra rule which especially focuses

toxic.

on the sustainable part, but when I was analyzing the timeless objects in chapter 2, making use of the 6 rules, I figured out that

The other way of tackling sustainability is to approach the problem

almost all the rules are covering this area. It's not something you

from the other direction. In other words, consider how functional

just add-on, but more a connecting theme throughout the designing

objects could be designed to be functional with the principles

process, or actually the starting point of a project. The difficult

of sustainable development as a starting point. We need ground-

part regarding timeless, is that the requirements of sustainability

breaking solutions like Gerrit Rietveld or Marcel Breuer had on

often demand that an object is transitory, degradable or transform-

20th century design, but now facing current challenges (globaliza-

able, which seems to work against any sense of enduring timeless

tion of industrial capitalism, the environment, and rapidly evolving

forms. This, because you could claim that a well made, non chang-

scientific and technological developments which are not all a

ing, desirable object is just what is needed to prevent people from

necessity) .

constantly consuming and replacing things (whether this works in

2

the currently fast consuming society is another question).

Sustainability will become a timeless criteria when designing

Concluding, we haven't solved the sustainable issue yet, and there

objects. Why? Because of the simple fact that we are running out

will be different interpretations of how to solve it. One thing that

of our limited amount of raw materials. Due to this knowledge,

is clear, is that we, the designers, are responsible for doing the

we can't go back to the way we used to operate and we need to

right thing and have to look further than the "perfect aesthetic

find new methods which are less harmful to the environment and

horizon".

1 http://www.longflat.com.au/ (august 2010) 2 Walker, Stuart Sustainable by design London, Sterling, VA, 2006

12  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2010

1.6 Who is making the timeless judgement?

When I was writing about this topic it lead me to an interesting discussion with a group of architects (also one Greek person). I'm

The question arose, after reading the draft version of this

not going to explain the whole discussion but at a certain moment

dissertation and discussing this with my dissertation guide Barry

we were discussing Dutch designers, compared to for example

Curtis: Who is making the timeless judgement? Take the iconic five

German or Greek designers. According to them, Dutch designers

Greek orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan and Composite). Now

aren't burdened by culture and history, which makes us a free

considered as classic timeless design principles. How did this style

thinking, some call it amnesiac, nation (everybody has his own

become timeless?

opinion). Whether it's the lack of burdening or something else, it might be one of the reasons why we have many great architecture

The origins of the Greek orders emerged in 1100 B.C. The Dorians,

and designs (statement made by the group of architects). Whether

a soldiery, settled near Sparta. Dorians were a very creative group

eventually it can be called a culture has to be seen, it's probably

of people and started building big temples to worship prosperity

not going to be famous for its coherent building style. The state-

around 800 B.C. They developed the art of painting and sculpture

ment I'm trying to make: Using, old and proven timeless styles is a

and the Dorians became known as one of the most creative na-

way of designing timeless shapes, and is in a way an easier option

tions. Almost three-thousand years later we acknowledge that era

than trying to reinvent the wheel. So this is where the "who is judg-

as the Greek era and consider it as a culture. An influential time

ing" becomes very important.

in the history of human kind and we concede its great works and philosophy as classic and timeless. Coming back to the questions

When somebody tries to create a timeless object and isn't

who is making this judgement? Who is the "We"? We is the devel-

interested in forming a new nation like the Greek, he or she has

oped and educated world and "We" make this statement because

to convince the judging parties (society) that this object has the

the Greek had a new way of exercising authority, namely democ-

characteristics to become timeless. This is of course a much big-

racy, different to anything else in that time. They had an innovative

ger challenge than building on proven concepts. The advise that I

and successful way of expressing themselves (Art & building style)

can give, is that you have to keep in mind that society has taught

and they were a perseverant nation. So that's why we identify the

itself the values of what is important and what is not, and formed

Greek orders as timeless.

a process called education to transmit these values over to a new

So timeless design is judged by society, and that society consists

generation. So don't neglect this fact, but also don't let it burden

out of two parties; The majority and the experts in the field. To

you.

receive the timeless or classic stamp you need the support of both parties. The Majority will give you the recognition of success and the expert the recognition of quality and both will endorse the innovation.

paul voncken 2010

To freeze or to innovate?   13

Chapter 2 Case Study 1: The 1946 Vespa scooter

Fig. 3 Two Vespa commercials (1950 & 2010)

"A machine of less than 250cc engine capacity with body work

How did Piaggio in collaboration with designer Corriando

giving considerable weather protection and having a smart clean

D'Ascianio create an object which is still being produced in almost

appearance" (J. Simmonds: Design no 94. 1957)

the identical shape as it was in the 1950s?

1

Usually I should start this chapter by explaining why I chose the Vespa to function as one of my Case study subjects. But I think

History

that the two pictures shown above are almost self explanatory and

Piaggio used to be Piaggio Air, Piaggio Air was producing Italy's

making it almost undeniable that the Vespa scooter is one of the

only heavy bomber, the P108B, during World War II. This bomber

best examples when talking about a timeless object. The Vespa

was never a real success story. (Mussolini's son, Bruno, was killed

scooter is created in 1946, and is responsible for overwhelming

piloting an early test flight).

the two wheeled vehicle market in terms of sales and fixed the design concept of the contemporary scooter. The original Vespa is

Piaggio's airplane factory was completely destroyed by allied

designed by Corriando D'Ascanio for Piaggio.

bombing, so a new strategy was needed. Piaggio decided to build a new factory geared towards peace-time production, mainly

1 Various Authors Phaidon, 999 Design Classics London, Phaidon Press Inc. 2006

14  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2o1o

machine tools. The scooter was initially intended as a small scale

project to make sure that they were using the new factory to its

able for traveling short distances at low speeds. They didn't pitch

full extends. Piaggio cleverly discovered that consumers were de-

the Vespa as a member of the motor family, but I quote Piaggio:

prived during the war from stylish, inexpensively luxury goods and

"as the principle term in a new transport category, as a machine in

needed a cheap stylish form of transportation capable of handling

its own right with its own singular qualities, its own attractions and

damaged Italian roads.

its own public."

The Design

And that's where the scooter was born; Piaggio, selling millions

Designer D'Ascianio was a former helicopter designer who intro-

of scooters a year, dominating the world which made the words

duced airplane technology into the motor design. He wanted to

"Vespa" and "scooter" as interchangeable.

2

design a motorcycle that could afford some protection from the weather, in a way that traditional motorcycles did not. D'Ascanio's

Timeless aspect

interpretation of a motor came from the drawing board, simply

So what was making this Vespa so timeless? Was it the female

because he threw out all the preconceived notions of what a mo-

shape? Was it the innovative step of introducing airplane technol-

torcycle must be and should look like. He created a "step through"

ogy into the world of scooter? Or was it just the really smart way

chassis so woman could ride it without having to wear trousers. The

of determining the gap in the market and answering it with just the

leg shields were designed to protect the rider from the elements,

right object?

whether it was sunny or rainy. Under the bonnet was a little and fully enclosed engine making sure that the Vespa was easy to start

Using my 6 rules as a case analysis tool, starting with the first rule:

and ride and by making use of stub-axles rather than mounting the wheel between forks, it was able to easy exchange the wheels.

1. Forget all preconceived notions and trends in order to be innovative

Shape wise Dick Hebdige describes the Vespa design as streamlined and self consciously "contemporary" in his book "Hiding in

As I told in the text above: Designer D'Ascianio neglected all

the light". It had a visual impact in its time, and was an instant hit

previous knowledge about how to use a motor cycle and started of

when being introduced at the Turin Show.

with a blank sheet. Together with Piaggio he identiefied that the

1

conventional way of sitting and using a motor cycle wasn’t getting The Vespa wasn't a flawless design. There was a lot of critique on

the full potential of the market. The position was anti feminine and

the soft suspension and the riding comfort at high speed. Piaggio,

way to bulky/uncomfortable for short commuting.

on their side, argued that these critiques weren't applicable since the motor had been designed as a small, "gadabout" vehicle suit1 Hebdige, Dick Hiding in the light London, Routledge, 1989

2 http://www.piaggio.com (August 2010)

paul voncken 2010

To freeze or to innovate?   15

2. Form follows function without adding the "extra"

4. Muse about your materials

This is probably the first rule in which D'Ascianio didn't really had a lot to think about. Piaggio's factory was build for manufacturing and machining steel. Other materials like for example plastic, weren't really an option in that time, so that metal would be the obvious and right choice.

I'm personally not so impressed by the current development of the vespa's use of materials and design. The scooter looks a lot more mature and lines are perfected. A side effect would be the excesFig. 4 Step through frame

sive use of materials which are just there for one cause: Giving a

To solve this anti-feminine and unhandy appearance they created

more luxurious, almost fatter appearance. The price to pay: More

the step through frame (fig 4). As you can see in the picture you

materials and more difficult to maintain, resulting in a bigger

immediately understand why this kind of shape attracted people.

environmental impact when the scooter is on the end of its

It’s convenient and easy step on plus the advantage of being pro-

lifetime.

tected against wind and rain (partly). When looking at its form, the vespa is probably one of the best form follows function examples

5. Be influential

in combination with the creation of its own typical identity.

Going back to the first Vespa with the question: "Was the Vespa 3. Maintain a gentle relationship with the user

influential?" It's probably a redundant question to ask. Seen the millions and millions of Vespa's sold over a timespan of 60 years

This identity is a bespoke and well discussed item by a lot people

combined with a complete new look on how to commute within

about its life span. But one thing is sure, it has a really clever re-

city and villages, we can conclude that the Vespa was influential.

lationship with the user. D'Ascianio analyzed what people needed

Which leads to the next rule;

and combined this clever frame with attractive curves which happened to be encompassing it function perfectly (space for engine,

6. Become iconic

spare tyre and functions like headlight, storage etc.) Whether these curves are feminine or a complex coming together of Italian

As I stated before, these days the words "Vespa" and "scooter" are

Baroque/Art nouveau design doesn't really matter. What does mat-

interchangeable in people's conversations. It became a representa-

ter was (and still is) the attraction to its target market, youth who

tive of its target group, trendy youth, without being a trend itself.

wants to be stylish but doesn't have the assets for costly items.

16  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2010

Chapter 3 Case Study 2: Denim jeans The Levi Strauss story

1

Levi Strauss emigrated with his family to New York in 1847. His family sold dry goods such as canvas tenting and Manchester drapery goods. He moved to San Francisco in the early 1850s because he thought the same dry goods business would be brisk, because of the California gold rush.

About 20 years later, a solvent Levi Strauss and a Nevada tailor joined forces to patent an idea the tailor had for putting rivets on Fig. 5 Levi's Strauss Denim Jeans History After choosing a pretty obvious timeless design like the Vespa, I thought it would be interesting to pick an item which is probably not the first thing you think of when choosing a timeless object, the Denim Jeans. Derived from the South of France phrase "Serge

stress points of workman's waist high overalls, commonly known as jeans. Levi Strauss chose to use the stronger denim fabric and cotton duck, putting his own name on the product. Later the duck fabric was dropped as consumers found denim more comfortable, particularly after washing. Washing creates the faded bloom on the indigo blue dyeing that we all love

de Nimes". Although, that is what the majority of the resources are suggesting. The fabric we now call denim arose in different parts of the world, so determining who was the first is a difficult task since documentation wasn't the first priority that time. The Serge de Nimes was originally a wool silk mix, twill weave. Certainly by the 19th century in England, denim had a white warp and a navy

Eventually in the 1950s people asked for denim jeans or just as often - Levi's jeans, rather than waist overalls. Other manufacturers began to produce jeans. Other brand names such as Lee Coopers and Wranglers also became famous. Each brand is renowned for having a particular cut.

woof. Denim was considered as a hard wearing sturdy fabric, ideal for heavy laboring.

From there on, more companies mangled into the Jeans business (Lee, Wrangler) with all having their own particular cut. Until then,

So when did the denim jeans become so popular the way we know it these days? Jeans history would be nothing without Levi Strauss.

Levi Strauss is credited with inventing the jeans as we know it today.

Denim Jeans were only worn as work wear clothing. But in the 1950's, when jeans were shown in Hollywood movies, sales of the jeans rose sharply and became a must have for teenagers. Famous 1 http://www.fashion-era.com (August 2010)

paul voncken 2o10

To freeze or to innovate? 17

people like Elvis Presley, James Dean, and Marlon Brando made

from influences from the environment. Designers play with the

the jeans an icon for Rock & Roll and Pop music. That is the mo-

design, which make jeans look they are from a specific time. A

ment when Jeans became popular in the whole western world, and

big fold on the bottom of the jeans would refer to the 60's and

is still popular at the very same moment you are reading this text.

the more skinny jeans would refer to the 80's. But functional seen,

Of course we've seen a lot of different variations of the jeans.

they are all the same, and never date. For example, skinny jeans

People experimented with the washing (creating a controlled worn

became popular again in 2008.

out effect), or customized the jeans themselves (think of the flower power time in the 1970s) and added a lot of extra details like

3. Maintain a gentle relationship with the user.

lycra or subtle stitches to upgrade comfort and differentiate from other brands.

Next to the fact jeans wear out according the use of it, which on its own, provides a gentle relationship with the user. Some jeans

Timeless Aspect

companies are actually adding subtle details to create a emotional

So what made the jeans a timeless design? Is it the strength of

bound between jeans and user so that they can get away with

the fabric combined with the rivets? Or was it Elvis Presley who

pricing it for four or sometimes even more times the actual value.

made the jeans so popular? Again I'm going to use my 6 rules to determine the timeless aspect:

4. Muse about your materials

1. Forget all preconceived notions and trends in order to be

There is not much more to say about denim. This material and all

innovative

its properties made the denim jeans to what it became now.

Besides the fact that jeans are hard wearing and fit the human

5. Be influential

body rather well, it has also a lot of styling opportunities which gives it its most timeless characteristic. Usually when clothes wear

Julios Ceasar has this famous quote: Veni, vidi, vici. When I could

out they got dumped because everybody sees they are old and

stick a quote on the denim jeans, it would be this one. The denim

worn out. Denim jeans on the other hand, creates a much richer

jeans grabbed us, and never left us.

attachment with the owner. You get subtle and unique hints about the owner. For example, you see more worn out parts where the

6. Become iconic

keys used to sit when he or she was wearing the jeans.

And that's why I think that if, in 10.000 years, they are creating 2. Form follows function without adding the "extra"

a replica of a human being from the 21st century, its wearing a

The primary function of the denim jeans is to protect the owner

denim jeans. And I recon that this is enough to become iconic.

18  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2010

Chapter 4 Case Study 3: Apple Ipod to Scully, who brought order in Apple's head quarter in Cupertino, they became a well oiled machine. The only jamming factor that time was Steve Jobs himself. He launched dozens of projects, but when they became substantial, he send them back to the drawing board so that progress was constrained. It eventually led to Scully firing Jobs in 1986. He left Apple as a multi millionaire to become founder of the company NeXT and the director of the animation company now known as Pixar (a company who needed Fig. 6 iPod (first generation)

vision according to Jobs). In 1997 Jobs returned to Apple as interim director, Apple which was nearly declared bankrupt in 1995 was

History Before saying anything about the iPod I'm first going to explain a bit more about the company Apple. The company which made the iPod a big success. Or was it the iPod who was making Apple successful? Anyway, before Jonathan Ive (designer of the iPod) was working for Apple, Apple was already successful for a while.

Primarily because Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak identified in the early seventies that IBM was wrong about the personal computer.

desperately looking for innovation. Innovation came, together with a frustrated Jonathan Ive working at Tangerine, a design agency helping Apple with the development of the PowerBook. Apple was, according to Jonathan, suffering from a lack of creative bankruptcy. From there on Jobs and Jonathan Ive, as Apple's creative design director, became responsible for many successful products like the iMac, iBook and in 2001 the iPod. Ive's eye for detail and Jobs' creativity appeared to be a good match.

Computers were only a useful tool for research institutes & companies to do complex calculations according to IBM. But they would soon change that statement. As we all know today, there was definitely a market for personal computers. After the launch of several Apple computers, some successful, some not, Steve Jobs decided in 1983 that he needed more time to focus on building new computers instead of leading the company. He asked John Scully, former director of Pepsi Cola, to become the new director of Apple.

Apple, at that time, was already a multi million company, but due

The design process When they invented the MP3 audio compression codec in 1987, it was Steve who initiated the idea of building a portable music player in 2001 which would be revolutionary for that time.

It needed to look original, be smart in operation (since all the portable music players existing that time weren't), have seamless integration with iTunes (recently launched music player from Apple) and a super quick connection to transfer songs without having to wait. This all needed to happen within 10 months, so that people paul voncken 2o10

To freeze or to innovate?   19

could buy the music player as a Christmas gift. In short, quite a

create a portable music player. The problems critics pointed out

challenge. Apple never intended to design the whole thing from

were solved quite quickly, and by making use of intelligent com-

scratch. There was no time for developing own components with

mercials, the iPod gained popularity and soon became a beloved

such a tight deadline. Responsible for the technical side was Tony

object by a lot of music lovers worldwide. Instead of focusing on

Fadell, a freelance technician. He got the freedom to assemble the

the hardware they focused on the individual experience people

basics of the music player. Two months later, when he arrived in

gain when using an iPod. Only with the iPod you can enjoy the

Cupertino for the first time, the iPod was not far from its eventual

music you like and wander away with it.

shape. Especially with the idea of Phil Schiller, vice president of Apple, to use a click wheel for menu browsing. Apple approached

The timeless aspect

the company PortalPlayer to design the interface and Toshiba for

That was the story of the iPod, according to many, already the

their 5 gigabyte 1.8 inch hard drive. All the other components also

gadget of the 21st century. So let's analyze the iPod on its timeless

came from various suppliers and were selected on their sound

aspects:

quality and implementation capabilities.

1. Forget all preconceived notions and trends in order to be The outer appearance was designed by Jonathan Ive, he made

innovative

hundreds of study models to eventually create the final shape and component lay out. He chose to give the iPod a neutral white color.

Apple didn't re-invented the wheel. Apple wasn't the first one

According to Ive is white a neutral but bold color. Due to the lack

to come up with the idea of creating a portable music player.

of having a battery cover and the by Apple developed 2 layer

But they did create the first one with all the important product

plastic manufacturing process, Ive was able to make a revolution-

requirements at a specific time, namely when the world was ready

ary clean and un-compromised shape. The iPod, the "Internet Port-

for it. As Don Norman described in his article, Why great ideas can

able Open Database" was born, and available in the Apple store

fail : "Innovation only succeeds when all the stars are aligned. The

on the tenth of November 2001. The first version directly received

company has to have complete buy-in. The technology must be

reasonable criticism; it was expensive, 399 dollar, only compatible

ready: inexpensive, robust, and effective. The supporting infrastruc-

with Macintosh and had no online store to download content.

ture must be in place. And the customer base must have already

1

had sufficient exposure that they are willing to buy. Put all these Apple agreed to the criticism, although it seemed to be a smooth

together plus the funds and patience to wait the decade it takes

operation for Apple to design the iPod from the outside. Behind

for market size to become reasonable and you have an instant

the curtains, Ive confirmed that many Apple employees, who were

success." Apple ticked all the boxes and created a desirable prod-

truly music lovers and wanted to create the perfect portable music

uct within a well considered system. A fact people quickly overlook

player, had their setbacks too. It was also their first attempt to 1 http://www.core77.com/blog/columns/why_great_ideas_can_fail_17235.asp (September 2010)

20  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2010

when you ask them about the success of the iPod, the integration

the gentle relationship is noticeable throughout the whole user

with iTunes was an important link. This made sure that Apple was

experience. From buying the iPod in the remarkable Apple store,

in control of the complete user experience which is probably, next

connecting the iPod to your computer, buying new tracks on iTunes,

to the great physical design, the most important innovation.

to playing the music when you're in the underground. Because they are in control of the whole experience they are able to produce

2. Form follows function without adding the "extra"

a lot of "aha" and "oh's" where users are surprised in the ease of use.

Jonathan Ive was in charge of the design of the iPod. He was creating the iPod in a time we weren't able to create small solid state

4. Muse about your materials

disks with massive storage capabilities. So his goal was to make the iPod as small as possible to make sure it had a manageable

The iPod was revolutionary in the way they made use of materials.

size. Jonathan once said they could have made a banana shape

The Apple engineers developed a way to manufacture 2 layers of

if that was the best shape, but due to the inventive click wheel in

plastic in one go. This gave them a whole new range of opportuni-

combination with a lcd screen the boxy, almost cigaret package

ties, including molding metal to plastic. So the materials weren't

like shape was the most efficient one. Apple's theory that they

revolutionary, the manufacturing processes were, so that they could

are trying to get rid of all unnecessary options and components

extend the material properties and be innovative.

to keep user confusion to a minimum was also applied to the iPod design. They figured that 6 buttons and a scrolling wheel are just

5. Be influential

the right amount of buttons to operate the iPod. Compared to for example a samsung MP3 player, which is counting 12 buttons to do

The word iPod is nowadays almost a synonym for MP3 player, and

the same job. Doing the same job with half the buttons and still im-

outsold every other MP3 player in sales and popularity. As I men-

proving the user experience shows the in depth analyzation Apple

tioned before, when launching a new "techy" product, you have to

must have done to get the user interface functioning so well.

make sure that the market share, the company itself and users are ready for the product. Apple was not the first company to produce

3. Maintain a gentle relationship with the user

a MP3 player, but was the most influential one. They provided people with a device that was small enough to fit in their pocket

The iPod's user interface is not as intuitive as people say it is.

and also contained enough space to save their whole music collec-

When I gave my dad my old iPod Nano, the 3rd generation one,

tion on. This combined with an easy to operate user interface and

his main response was confusion. You need to get the hang of it

complete user experience package (Apple Store & iTunes). This

and when you passed that moment the interface is easy to operate.

combination was unique and made the iPod Apple's biggest suc-

So where is Apple's gentle relationship with the user? I argue that

cess story. According to experts the iPod made Apple successful,

paul voncken 2010

To freeze or to innovate?   21

instead the other way around.

6. Become iconic

You can currently find the iPod everywhere in the world, not to talk about the "made for iPod" accessories. The answer to the question whether the iPod is becoming an icon is simple: The iPod is already an icon, even with its relative short existence. To maintain the iPod's success, Apple is updating their greatest success stories every year (not always successful, but it's keeping the iPod desirability alive).

22  To freeze or to innovate?

paul voncken 2010

Chapter 5 Conclusion The starting point of this dissertation originated from a curiosity

in today's society, that's not enough. They need to keep up with the

on my side. I came to the RCA as an engineering student, who was

competition and also provide a whole decoration service (as an

taught to tackle projects the way anthropologists do. However, I

example). In other words, they need to innovate. A recent survey

never really got a good grip on how the shape of objects came to

from the Boston Consulting Group covering nearly fifty countries,

life. What gives an object the characteristics to make it a beloved,

reported that nine out of the ten senior executives believe that

well designed, attractive, calling it whatever you want to call it,

generating growth through innovation is essential for their success.

object. It was something intangible for me, which has always both-

Are these two issues changing the way we judge the timeless

ered me in the back of my head, but I never got the chance to do

characteristics or are these just trends which eventually fade away

something about it.

or change into something else? I can't tell for sure. What I can tell,

I chose timeless design as the starting point of my research, and

after my quest in getting grip on timelessness, is that innovation is

soon realized that this is not a topic I was going to get a clear

a way to identify new opportunities for the creation of possible

answer to, purely making use of facts. There are many ways of

timeless objects, and that the whole issue involving sustainability is

interpreting the right solution, like so many things in life. I identi-

going to be solved. Let's hope by doing so, we'll create some bril-

fied that timeless strongly relies on the way we move forward. If

liant timeless objects.

1

somebody invented a new way of transport through the city, in a way it made the vespa scooter redundant, did we still implement

Concluding; creating something timeless is not based on pure luck.

the vespa's timeless design in objects?

When you want to create a timeless object, creating a timeless

For that fact, timeless design will always be intangible. What we

design shouldn't be your goal. Neither the idea that building upon

can make tangible, are the characteristics of a timeless object.

classics and proven concepts will give you a timeless/classic

The thing which became clear when doing my research, was that

object. According to me, the features that create timelessness are

it's not only the shape which determines timelessness. Factors like

originality, whether it's revolutionary or evolutionary, and the rule

change in markets, global issues like war and disasters change

of six (Forget all preconceived notions and trends in order to be

people's way of interpreting the world and the objects in it. I

innovative, Form follows function without adding the "extra", Main-

identified that there are currently two directions which are chang-

tain a gentle relationship with the user, Muse about your materials,

ing the way people interpret the world, and its objects. One is

Be influential, Become iconic).

about the way we are currently polluting the environment, and the other one is more related to the ways we/companies are making their money. A woodworker was used to work with wood only, but

Whether I'm right about this .. I guess time will tell.

1 Walker, Stuart Sustainable by design London, Sterling, VA, 2006

paul voncken 2o10

To freeze or to innovate? 23

Bibliography Walker, Stuart Sustainable by design London, Sterling, VA, 2006

Books Alexander, Christopher The timeless Way of Building New York, Oxford University Press, 1979 Guffey, Elizabeth E. Retro, The Culture Revival London, Reaktion Books, August 2006 Capucci, Roberto Timeless Creativity Geneve-Milan, Skira, June 2001

Kelley, Tom The ten faces of innovation London, Profile Books, 2006 Websites

Triplett, Kathy 500 teapots Contemporary explorations of a timeless design New York, Lark Books 2002 Cruickshank, Dan Timeless architecture:1 London, The architectural Press, 1985 Norman, Donald A. The design of future things Basic books, 2007 Handlin, David P. American Architecture, Second Edition London, Thames & Hudson , 2003 Maeda, John The laws of simplicity London, The MIT Press, 2006 Fukasawa, Naota & Morrison, Jasper Super Normal Sensations of the ordinary Lart Muller Publishers Hebdige, Dick Hiding in the light London, Routledge, 1989 Handlin, David P American Architecture London, Thames and Hudson, 1985 Brady, Michael Art and Design: What's the Big Difference?

Critique Magazine, 1998 Drucker, Johanna and McVarish, Emily Graphic Design History: A critical Guide Pearson Education, 2009 Various Authors Phaidon, 999 Design Classics London, Phaidon Press Inc. 2006

24  To freeze or to innovate?

Sullivan, James Jeans, A cultural history of an american icon New York, Gotham Books, 2006

paul voncken 2010

http://www.futureagenda.org (feb 2010) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism#Minimalist_design (june 2010) http://www.fashion-era.com (August 2010) Films Shape of Things to Come, dir: HG Wells, 1933