Design & Evolution

Man has seen evolution through different ages. We've had different eras where man has witnessed discoveries and life changing inventions. What's really interesting about the last couple of decades is the amazing evolution in design.

To start off, think about the amazing things Digital Technology does to us and how it has altered our lifestyles and how dependent we have become on it. Imagine one day with out your cellphone. I can't. I can't imagine a week or two of not being connected to the world wide web. Digital technology has in turn boosted the Design factors of our lives. As time passes, design becomes simpler and sleeker.

Look at the cars from the 1970s or even the 1980s and look at the cars manufactured now. Not only has the outward sense of design changed but also the inner workings of your car. Cars can now give you choice of traction, speed and other location based options. Like the Nissan GTR, that car detects when you are on a race track and turns off the speed limiter and at the same time the cars look like what people from the 60's thought would be alien ships from the another planet.

Another interesting factor in all of this is, the evolution of human thinking. The designs and concepts that are made today could not even be dreamt of as a concept a few decades ago. If you asked a product designer to make a concept of something he\she imagined 20 years from now it would be out of the world amazing for us. But 20 years from now that design would be prehistorically outdated. Our thinking process and perception evolves by the minute not by the years. At the same time, designs become simpler and more user friendly. People are bombarded by information from all directions now that the simpler things are designed the easier it seeps in our daily eco system. For eg. I over heard a person buying a cell phone at a store the other day and on making his final decision he asked the store owner if the phone had an "iPod". iPods have become the synonym for an Mp3 player. The buyer didn't ask if the phone had a "Zune" or a "Zen", he said "iPod". Why? because iPods became the most simplest and tactile gadgets to play music and it continued to make a significant progression, just like the iPhone became THE multi touch benchmark. On the similar lines, one doesn't say "can you search for this on the internet?" "Search" has been replaced by "Google". I know a lot of people, and myself, who are guilty of it and wishes we had a "google" in our daily lives.

The reason Apple's products and Google are so popular is because of the ease of use - simple user centric interface. This is a major step in Design Evolution. Design dictates strongly if your product is going to be a runaway success or if its going to drop down the abyss of criticism. The more the eye candy, the simpler the usage. Always keep the user in mind and look back and remember what we have evolved from.