What does timeless design mean?


Timeless

  • Not restricted to a particular time or date

  • Having no beginning or end

  • Not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion.

  • The definition of timeless is something that cannot be measured by time or does not go out of style. A movie that is just as popular and relevant today as it was in 1950

  • According to some, there are six core values which are timeless and transcultural: Honesty and Truth, Respect and Dignity, Compassion and Kindness, Fairness and Justice, Helpfulness and Forgiveness.

  • Original definition: Honest design, design with intent



Design

  • a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is built or made.

  • an arrangement of lines or shapes created to form a pattern or decoration.

  • It's said that the word “design” comes from the Latin word designare. Designare is said to have meant to draw a plan. For this reason, it is thought that the word design initially was used in this sense of a plan on paper.

  • The purpose of design is much more closely linked to strategy than aesthetics. Design is the process of intentionally creating something while simultaneously considering it's objective (purpose), function, economics, sociocultural factors, AND aesthetics

  • Original definition: To create for a user with empathy 






- Futurism that stand the test of time-

- Is high impact short term?-

- Geometric design vs. organic design 

- Brutalist architecture is both old and geometric and timeless

- Why can architecture break this rule, does it relate to scale

- Why do we rely on scale so much? Digital life, does scale matter anymore 


I am interested in learning from past design cycles to better understand the direction of the future and be able to design efficiently and with less waste. Overall creating a more sustainable design process. Developing a design process based on the facts of the past to help steer a vision of the future. Giving the customer what they need even before they realize they need it. 

I seek to gain insights from previous design cycles to enhance my comprehension of future trends. By anticipating customer needs before they arise I aim to deliver solutions proactively. This will enable me to design more efficiently and reduce waste. The ultimate goal is to cultivate a design process that prioritizes sustainability, leveraging historical data to shape a forward-looking vision.

(Brualism)


In the words of Reyner Banham, it was an attempt to create an architectural ethic, rather than an aesthetic. When the Smithsons called their work Brutalist or part of a New Brutalism, the brutality to which they referred had less to do with materials and more to do with honesty: an uncompromising desire to tell it like it is, architecturally speaking.




(Book)


- So much left to our own imaginations

- Do words follow fashion, does fashion follow words 


(Performance art) 


- THIS IS NOT A PIECE OF POETRY. POETRY TO ME IS NOUNS OR ADJECTIVES. THIS IS VERBS. AND YOU HAVE TO DO THEM. THESE ARE ALL INSTRUCTIONS AND WHEN YOU JUST DO IT, THEN YOU START TO UNDERSTAND IT.

​YOKO ONO



WHY?

(products)

  • CMF silver?

  • Minimal visible technology 

  • silhouette/ proportions 

  • Disruptive vs. refined


(Film)

  • Absent of trends 

  • Disconnected from reality 

  • Original thought 


(Architecture)

  • Brutalism/ old and new 

  • Foreign to its environment 




(Music)

  • Experimental 

  • Lack of trends 

  • No socal monetary

  • Un-relevant 



RECIPE 

(A product that just exists) idea 1.

  • Lives on its own 

  • Creates its own moment 

  • Came before not after 


Empathy follows passion

Passion follows empathy


Design for the sake of design and expression not to satisfy a market but to release an inner desire to create  




















Ultimately: Understanding what attributes will cause a design to become timeless will result in a sustainable product. Sustainable because making a product that doesn't age will result in less physical waist. Digital waste is endless and will not negatively affect the environment around us. 


The future of car design will be designing digital organs. Focus on uncompromised user needs.  


Sustainable (def): Sustainability consists of fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations

 


Idea

  • Has a timeless shape with updatable internals 

  • Hidden technology 

  • Ageless exterior design 

  • A shell with the future inside of it 

  • A shape that never changes, optimal 

  • Exterior design that understands past, present, and future



Questions


  • If car design is dead let's create a better product 

  • Focused on experience, emotion, empathy, desire, personal needs, peace, mobility, autonomy, self expression, connection with others, enjoyment of art, safety, an escape 


What I want to live on


  • Emotional bond to a product 

  • Memory maker

  • Experience transporter

  • Personal bubble 








How to design this?

(Exterior: Phase 1)

  • Uncompromised shape (aero/ safety)

  • Simplistic enough to become different proportions (may change) 

  • Designed with passion 

  • An original thought 

  • Use research to justify visual design (phase 1)


(Interior: Phase 2)

  • THX1138 (white space)

  • Transformative 

  • Usage of AR and forward thinking interactive technology 

  • Use phase 2 to identify and predict ux/ui and CMF


(Simplify: Phase 3)

  • Take what I have and simplify it down as much as possible 

  • Trim the fat 

  • Optimize as much as possible 

  • Simplify the experience 

  • Simplify the updating system 




(What it's missing)


People will ask why?


What makes it timeless (describe)?


I see it…then wonder why


Told this is timeless…makes people question why…needs to be stimulating


Taken as inspiration.. 



…unique..unrefined…open ended… less refined…able to be interpreted..




How to research 


What caused the designs to become timeless?

What is similar about the inception stories of these products. (Rebellious)

Create instructions based on this research. 

(What's undervalue now that will become valued in the future)- trend forecasting


(interior)

3% rule..maybe the experience only slightly needs to change. Combining two upcomon things… driving without seeing.. Driving in water..sitting on grass… taste.smell. Think about people's senses  


(For Phase 2)

Anti current trends..what is something people won't be doing in the future that will cause this product to remain unique..trend research to understand the vehiocles timeline and think about life of product. 



Ergonomic driven design 

  • Products are made for humans 























(Countach LP500,1971)


Why was it designed?

  • Best high speed road car the world has ever seen!

  • Develop a new car that would be better than the mura in every way 


What affected its design? 

  • Mid engined, rear wheel drive, v12

  • Weight distribution, longitudinal engine and trans between the seats

  • Marcello and head of lamborghini lived together

  • Company was sold and now had funds to develop the car

  • Futuristic design and old world craftsmanship 

  • Lamborghini re worked the car to fit new high performance pirelli tires

  • An f1 driver gave lamborghini lot of money for them to add a wing to the car 


What else was happening during the time period?

  • The cold war

  • Vietnam war

  • Many movements people looking for change

  • Silent Spring :focuses on the negative effects of chemical pesticides that were, at the time, a large part of US agriculture.

  • Western movies were popular

  • Rebellious era, different fashion, hair styles, music


Who designed it?

  • Marcello gandini


Pros and cons?

  • Less visibility

  • Not very aerodynamic 

  • Expensive 

  • Fastest top speed 

  • Wild styling

  • Bad boy attitude 


Summary

  • Rebel against ordinary surfacing 

  • Shock the market 

  • Caused a movement (influenced automotive design)

Was it the first production wedge car?  



(Electric Guitar, 1954)


Why was it designed?

  • Acoustic wasn’t loud enough 

  • Les paul “if people can hear him better be can get more tips”


What affected its design? 

  • 1932 frying pan

  • Magnet pick up, reduced feedback 

  • Rickenbacker first to produce the electric guitar 

  • Hollow body 

  • Input jack on the side of guitar

  • Made wood thicker to reduce feedback, created a whole new model (semi hollow body)

  • The les Paul log, created new technology but hid it with conventional styling

  • Solid body guitar helped to resolve the pickup issue

  • Used by famous musicians 

  • Fender (broadcaster) guitar was a made from two pieces the body and the neck reduced production costs and easier to repair on the road

  • Became the fender telecaster then the stratocaster (most iconic) Three pickup setup, most versatile. Used by so many artists 

  • Double cutaway made it easier to access the upper frets 


What else was happening in music during the time period?

  • Rock was fast, fun, and controversial 

  • Rock was combo of blues, country, golspal, and jazz


Who designed it?

  • Collaboration of many different artist

  • Guitar players that modified their guitars 


Pros and cons?

  • Headstock is slanted at an angle (les paul gibson)

  • Easily broken if dropped 

  • Reduced tuning stability 

  • Guitar sounds and plays amazing (people overlook these flaus)


Summary

  • Societal revolution of the 1960’s

  • Wanted to reach more people (louder)

  • Made by enthusiasts (guitar players) Caused a movement 


(Brutalist architecture, 1950’s)


Why was it designed?

  • Anti-bourgeois and socially progressive 

  • Monuments of egalitarianism (equality for everyone)  and democracy 

  • Anti ornamental style and anti rigid glass box of the bauhaus movement 

  • Honest approach to architecture 

  • Designed for the people 


What affected its design?

  • Focused on material 

  • Shiny glass towers were associated with the wealthy 

  • Style was used for public buildings 

  • Concrete is inexpressive and accessible 

  • Less glazing made it more practical for climate control (better for schools)

  • “Heavy emphasis on the exposure of structural materials and celebrated the internal functional use of the building”

  • A cohesive interior and exterior design 

  • Uncompromised structures 

  • Built to last 


What else was happening during the time period?

  • Post war 1950’s and 1960’s

  • Rebuilding projects after WW2

  • Brutalism died out in the late 1970’s because of the energy crisis 


Who designed it?

  • Alison and peter smithson 


Pros and cons?

  • Concrete doesn’t age well

  • Buildings were imposing 

  • Buildings we cheap and strong 

  • Signs of power 


Summary

  • Anti-bourgeois

  • Honest approach to architecture





(THX1138, 1971)


Why was it designed?

  • Rebelling against a society that wants everyone to obey and serve their purpose

  • Commentary on totalitarianism (people should have individuality)


What affected its design?

  • Dystopian future 

  • People know longer have names 

  • Sustainment of the city is more important that an individual thing

  • Government sees citizens as a disposable resource 


What else was happening during the time period?


Who designed it?

  • George lucas 


Pros and cons?


Summary

  • Rebelling against society

  • Commentary on totalitarianism


















(Meddle, pink floyd, 1971)


Why was it designed?


What affected its design?


What else was happening during the time period?


Who designed it?


Pros and cons?





What happened in the 1950’s?

Short answer: Post war boom/ civil rights movement 


 


What happened in 1971?

Short answer: Inflation

Wealthy people started to buy hard assets, real estate and  stocks.


Unsurprisingly, the US government became free to print and spend money recklessly by decoupling the dollar from gold


In that year—1971—facing depleted gold reserves and a dollar facing increasing inflationary pressure from government expenses, Nixon made a critical decision: he “temporarily” paused gold redemption.




TIMELESS DESIGN 


  • HONEST 

  • EMPATHETIC 

  • AVANT-GARDE

  • EVOKING






Study the evolution of car design over the years, identifying pivotal moments, design movements, and their impact on the industry, as well as analyzing the successes and failures of past designs.