Why Some Designs Are Impossible to Improve: Quintessence

[@Design.Theory]

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[@devgirl9558]

😍😍😍

[@noway5096]

Shut the up

[@rawallon]

@@numberonedad who

[@1MadJack1]

this browser ain’t quintessential at all 💀

[@AsyncMusic]

isnt opera like a literal data harvesting scam

[@IanZainea1990]

Touch screen on a smartphone makes sense. Because you look right at it 95% of the time when using it. Touch screens in a car, do not make sense. Because you're not supposed to be looking at it.

[@johnwyles]

Agree. I don’t understand why they are still so prevalent. I owned a 2010 Lexus RX with, for lack of a better description. a mouse, that would lock the cursor with a bit of friction but not totally on menu items or buttons etc. It was the best I’ve seen but yet it’s not found in later models and I have no idea why. My eyes stayed more on the road, it was more intuitive to use, and it was the perfect marriage of using a computer in your car with simplicity and quick glances to only relevant sections. You could make the mouse larger as well but default it was large and borders around the thing you would be clicking on. Google 2010 Lexus RX Remote Touch for pictures and check out KZbin for how it worked.

[@alsonotraeon]

i think it makes sense because its very convenient. it even warns you not to look at it while driving. as long as it doesnt entirely replace physical controls, i dont think its that bad. edit: notice how i said "i think" before two of my sentences? thats because its my take and my personal opinion. you guys should also realize that i said "if it doesnt entirely replace physical controls." in my opinion, its convenient in some situations because you dont have to pull out your phone to do some things. audio controls and AC controls should instantly available anyway, if not a physical control. i also think that you should notice that about 50 people have replied to me the exact same thing.

[@spamcan9208]

​@@alsonotraeonI can't tell if you're being sarcastic but regardless the best design I've used so far is Mazda's knob thingy that is conveniently placed near the shift knob (especially helpful for those of us who still drive stick) with a nice tactile feedback. Usually all I need is a quick glance with my eyes. I do wish the quick launch buttons in front of the knob/joystick had Braille style bumps to you let you feel where they are. I LOVE that the volume knob is also down there and one push down will instantly mute the stereo.

[@Solitaire001]

The one problem I've found with a touch screen (not just with a smartphone but any touchscreen) is that since the touchscreen touches your face/fingers you end up with the oil from your skin left on the screen. Although this may be an issue with other devices that you touch, it seems to be especially noticeable on touchscreens. Another problem with a touchscreen is that you can't fully protect it. As an example, I had a Sony Walkman NWZ-A818 Walkman that had physical buttons. Due to that, I put a clear plastic case that covered the entire player including the buttons (it had rubber covers over the buttons so that you could use the player without having to remove the case). I could drop the player without having to worry about damaging the screen. It might damage the case, but the player itself would be untouched. Compare that to my current player, the Sony Walkman NW-A55, which has a touchscreen. Although I've put it in a protective case, I still have to open the cover to access most of the player's functions, although it does have physical buttons for the basic functions (volume, next track, play/stop, previous track, and hold) that I can access without opening the cover.

[@alsonotraeon]

@@Solitaire001 screen protectors:

[@MrRandominternetname]

My parents received a Sunbeam toaster as a wedding gift in 1961. It died in 2015. We were all heartbroken. The new toaster takes too long and don't toast as well.

[@dan_youtube]

Fix the old one

[@Radishals]

I think eBay or Mercari have those!

[@Broockle]

Wonder if u'd fancy a Mitsubish Electric Bread Oven.

[@sonidojamon]

Same story for me with my Braun "Citromatic". Bought by my mum in 1974 (before I was born) and still alive and kicking every morning 50 years later!

[@nordicest]

kitchenAid toaster seems similar and works fine :P

[@radanvasulin7921]

The "classic" toaster mechanism also allows for simple lifetime limitation: a thin steel spring that WILL break at some point. I kept noticing the toasters thrown away, so I picked one up, took it apart - and all it was the broken steel "pin" spring. Fixed in 5 minutes.

[@chrissedwick7748]

I think this comment touches on a larger point when it comes to design of modern products. Longevity and repairability. Of course there are just some designs and ideas that are just destined to fail. However is become more and more abundantly clear to me, that companies value quantity versus quality. It could be said (from a purely numbers view point). That quality actually loses profitability. And quintessential designs are affected by this. In this video he touched on the paper clip and the ballpoint pencil. Since that product is quite often broken or lost and is very cheap it's not an issue to buy another hundred of them. However let's talk about something a little bit more expensive like the vacuum cleaner (for example). Now this is just a thought experiment and a quintessential design for a vacuum cleaner does not exist, but let's pretend that it does. If a company were to make a vacuum cleaner that was quintessential, likely one of its aspects would be reliability and repairability (Somewhat like the Model T.) A large portion of the population could end up just buying one of these vacuum cleaners and never needing another one. What happens to the company when everyone owns that vacuum cleaner? They stopped making money... as I said this is a hypothetical and extreme example but I believe it underpins a larger issue when it comes to design of modern products.

[@CuteAnimalVideos2580]

My family has had the same toaster for like 25 years. German brand Severin

[@Matcc]

​@@chrissedwick7748 Thats called planned obsolescence and its been a problem for a while now lol.

[@TactfulWaggle]

@@chrissedwick7748 speaking of that last bit, a corporate entity, like google for example, its main goal is to keep expanding, i had thought about this before, like when you've expanded so everywhere that you don't have any where or any one to expand to anymore, then what happens next, the way they profit is to expand, but if they reach that point they are no longer profitable, will they start acquiring more and more companies under them, diversify their businesses? it's an interesting thought experiment, even for somebody that's not very fond of this system of economy

[@partisanapple5349]

@@CuteAnimalVideos2580 ive had one for my whole life

[@kyle7023]

Don't forget the classic wooden Pencil with eraser, and the Boston Pencil Sharpener. The helical blade sharpener is the quintessential mechanical sharpener design thats been used in every wall sharpener in schools and offices for the past 100 years.

[@DreamGaming12]

But more people have moved to those blade sharpeners

[@SteelsCrow]

Through elementary school in the 90s, I always felt like they jammed or took too much force to use. Almost everyone preferred ones run by an electric motor. I just expected sharpening a pencil to be simple and easy. Little did my little brain imagine sharpening a pencil with a KNIFE. One way or another, in middle and high school I was completely on board with 0.7mm mechanical pencils. I favored the cheapest ones because they're thinner, no rubber grips. I could keep each one lasting through most of a school year. By the way, does someone know if the blades inside electric motored sharpeners are the same?

[@sv650rider]

most people push the pencil WAY TOO HARD and the cutting faces end up taking too much material thus creating a poorly sharpened pencil

[@theodorgiosan2570]

​@@SteelsCrowYes the blades in electric sharpeners are identical.

[@Solitaire001]

@@sv650rider There are a number of manual pencil sharpeners that do a better job than the classic manual pencil sharpener used in schools. Some are designed to indicate when your pencils is perfectly sharpened and allow you choose the kind of point you want (long and thin, or a bit more stubby). The whole sharpening issue is the reason I moved to mechanical pencils. No sharpening, the pencil lead lasts a while, and my mechanical pencil (a Uni Turu Toga) automatically rotates the lead so that I don't get flat spots.

[@baldeagle5297]

I *really* miss my old flip phone; you couldn't kill the blasted thing. I lost it in the snow for hours and when I found it, it just worked.

[@Solitaire001]

I agree about missing my old flip phone. It was so simple compared to my current smartphone. With my flip phone I could take care of all of the settings in about 5 minutes. With my smartphone I had to spend over an hour to go through all of the settings just to make it useable for me.

[@cosmosisrose]

I’ve been so tempted to go back to flip phones

[@eddwarriior]

I had a Motorola C115 in middle school that was passed down to me after years of use, a classmate gently tossed it out to me, i missed it and that thing went right through the windshield of a car that was parked behind me. it didn't even had a scratch

[@user-os7pm7fj7d]

My first phone was a Motorola bar phone that I had to get minute cards for. I dropped the damn thing right into a glass of coke. I fished it out, sucked the coke out through the headphone hole, and it worked just fine.

[@captainphoton1693]

I feel like most modern phones have started to get pretty resilient again. If you arnt going for the 1400 dollars ones. And rather the 300 dollars ones. Wich is baphling BTW considering what I'm gonna say. Past the screen most are actualy pretty sturdy. The screen is the only part I even broke. And with a proper protection it's even hard to do that. Water is the big weakness. But even then. A slight soak will not enter inside. And they come with sound that unlock water from speakers. I literaly called one of my old tactile phone "la brique" (The brick). As it was fucking indestructible. I kicked it around and even made a hole I a wall with it.

[@sirBumpyCase]

Something Alec Said in another video is "The only thing better than perfect is standardized." Sometimes in order to change to something better, you have to get everybody to change and that's just not possible in all situations.

[@ericfieldman]

Please don't stop making these videos man, this stuff is so interesting and applicable, and almost fundamentally something most people aren't meant to think about as much as they should

[@BlueTorchWeddings]

The content is so amazing

[@staticlee4287]

That’s exactly what I’m thinking, he’s showing first principles thinking executed properly. There was no point in the supply chain where anyone could intercept or shake Ford’s business. He controlled the basics of what his business was built on thus allowing him control of the fundamentals and ensure everything is going according to his pace and that is “as quick as possible”

[@tymorgan3549]

1000% agree!! This is basically a Ted Talk without the stage and audience. And you’d probably kill a Ted Talk

[@Humperd00]

You’d probably like the 99% Invisible podcast

[@ericfieldman]

@Humperd00 sounds like it, thanks for the recommendation! Is it on KZbin?

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

The reason for Mag-Lites success was that it was a weapon in disguise. While nightsticks could be banned in some areas for being a weapon, a flashlight would not. As noted, even when police where forbidden to use nightsticks they loved carrying a big ass Mag-Lite.

[@ericfieldman]

Very stupidly and coincidentally I was just watching a let's play of a cop game where one guy said his uncle was a cop who'd beat people up with flashlights, and I just thought it was part of the gaslighting and BS that comes with that territory

[@ZeeengMicro]

Yeah, getting slapped with a long aluminium rod filled with 3 to 5 D-cell batteries wouldn't be very fun

[@shhinysilver1720]

i've used some of those flashlights, and yea, they are basically clubs with a light - up function.

[@meepmorprobotcaptain]

As someone who briefly carried one as a paramedic: can 100% confirm OP's statement. My dad likes Mag-Lites for this reason, as did every auxiliary cop I ever met.

[@davidconner-shover51]

I used to have a 6 cell maglight baseball bat comes to mind

[@squiddler7731]

10:04 The Wii remote didn't quite replace regular controllers, but it did actually innovate in a way that's affected (nearly) every modern controller. The motion controls that started out as a gimmick ended up turning into gyro controls that were built into every future nintendo console. They allowed you to have just as much precision as a mouse and keyboard with the form factor of a controller, and the same gyro aiming was even added to Playstation controllers by the PS4. These days it's a standard feature, xbox controllers are the only ones that haven't adopted it yet.

[@SToXC_.]

i want to add that mobile shooter games also started to include Gyroscope aiming in the settings phones already had all sort of sensors etc, but game devs never thought about using them for games

[@SK-df1iw]

I don’t think motion controls give anywhere near as much precision as mouse and keyboard. Compare how long it takes to get a headshot with motion controls in breath of the wild to the fastest CSGO or Valorant flicks. don’t get me wrong though, motion controls are great for what they do such as making party games more erratic, giving more precise control over objects in 3D space on a controller (ex. BotW magnesis and TotK fuse), and giving more options when all buttons are used (ex. Super Mario Odyssey). they are also the preferred option in shooters such as Splatoon when keyboard and mouse isn’t available. I wouldn’t call them indispensable though, plenty of genres such as FPSs, fighting games, MOBAs, RTSs, and RPGs don’t have much of a need for motion controls.

[@yykakashi]

The PS3 had gyro as well. Wii remote definitely had an impact on TV remotes tho.

[@N_Nishi]

@@SK-df1iw Nerrel has a great video that mentions gyro called "The Life, Embarrassing Death, and Legacy of the Steam Controller" In it, he found that his gyro aiming outperformed his mouse aiming. Of course, this would vary by person, and I personally don't know if I believe gyro can beat mouse, but it seems to be worth considering. As a side note, your comparison of BotW and CSGO/Valorant seems a bit unfair as eSports players spend thousands of hours practicing whereas someone playing Zelda might spend a cumulative hour of game time aiming with the bow.

[@kirbyis4ever]

​@@SK-df1iwWhen it comes to third person or first person games gyro controls combined with another form of control (joystick, touchpad) give you an incredible amount of control and intuitive. You can get a rough adjustment with the stick, mouth, touchpad, then be precise with the gyro. If the Nintendo switch is anything to go by you can also get gyros into an incredibly small package. Having more options simply gives more flexibility, even if they're redundant -- 4 back paddles means you can use more fingers and gyro allows you to use your entire body to aim.

[@ZeeengMicro]

Maybe the 5th element is the friends we made along the way

[@TheRandomDave]

multi-pass

[@NenadKralj]

korben dallas 😅

[@astononline8845]

Plus 1

[@BuckingHorse-Bull]

anyone else here after watching Jerry Seinfeld on GQ

[@cavemann_]

It's true!

[@meganegan5992]

One of the things that applied to Fordlandia was that Ford took the Midwest house idea so seriously that he even made them all face South, as they do in America, and failed to consider that the reason you do that is to make sure the porch gives plenty of shade in the *Northern Hemisphere*, but Brazilian homes typically face to the North. His cultural jingoism went so far he wouldn't even consider the consequences of a round Earth.

[@honor9lite1337]

Ok

[@honor9lite1337]

Nice

[@RealGJZig]

Too many people hate the thought of a round earth.

[@SelfCareCharizard]

The implication here is absolutely hilarious

[@alextsitovich9800]

Very good that Ford did not found this. He would buy the Earth and make it flat.

[@andrewweisbrod4506]

One of my favorite quintessential designs is the codex, the bound book. By dividing a scroll into leaves, you can quickly access any part of the text, and writing on both sides of the sheet doubles the density of information. E-books are convenient for copying, transporting, and reference, but the march of file formats may render them unusable in a few years time, whereas the codex as a format isn't leaving us anytime soon.

[@andrewweisbrod4506]

Come to think of it, this is one of the differences between cassettes and DVDs. I remember when DVDs became popular and we no longer had to rewind after watching a movie.

[@null_pointer_deref]

What you say about the codex is true, however, e-books formats have a standard nowadays. You can find most of them in the epub format*, which is a open format, meaning that it can't be subjected to copyright. PDF is also a format that, although not open, has been used consistently for decades. I doubt the options will change much, apart from updates for those formats. *There's also the proprietary format from Amazon made for their books and Kindles, but every other e-reader uses epub, PDFs and a few other optional formats.

[@brzt4256]

@@null_pointer_deref PDF is an open standard (ISO 32000).

[@hileutewie]

The flashlight gained popularity in Germany among taxi drivers, because it was so easily abused as a weapon for self defence. A club or baseball bat was considered a weapon - a massive flashlight on the other hand was just used to help finding houses at night. I know quite a few people that aren't taxi drivers, that had one of those in their car as well. As you say, it's just a confidence booster to know you could defend yourself if there is something happening. Skype during its early days wasn't just a (video-)chat software. It was used in companies to check in on employes too, due to the online status changing by default, if the user was AFK for too long.

[@Orwic1]

Yes: and I carry a big maglite in my car 😀

[@VesnaVK]

Not just Germany. I was a cab driver in the US. We all kepr Maglites on the front seat next to us. But... Why weren't they Kel-Lights? Shrug.

[@drewrobinson5562]

Ya. My grandparents both carried a mad light in there trucks. Useful for breakdowns and as a self defense

[@jeffreylittlewood6237]

The quintessential doorstop. Why have we never put a hard slippery surface like iron on the top and a soft high friction surface like rubber on the bottom? It works soooo much better.

[@salvadordollyparton666]

abused as a weapon for self defense... words matter, and i don't think those meen what you think they mean. and they were just really good flashlights at that. there were no other flashlights in that price range that would light up like a 5 cells mag lite. and work more than twice.

[@colindonoghue6120]

Favorite quote about the model T and its focus on simplicity was about paint color “Any color the customer wants, as long as it’s black.” Henry Ford

[@___Rick___]

Except the Model-T wasn't originally available in black but only in grey, green, blue and red! Ford only moved to selling black cars from 1914 because it was the cheapest colour to produce.

[@Ramonatho]

Ford also said "aerodynamics is for people who can't make power" and now ford can't make aerodynamics or power. What a guy.

[@Jesse-lv2yo]

I love that they used a clip of Spyro crashing into the side of a ledge as they were explaining how joysticks helped players navigate 3-D space more easily. That transition was such a learning curve for gamers and those few seconds summed it all up so perfectly.

[@bicivelo]

Interesting how you said people in developing countries only have smart phones for internet. This is very true. In talking with Joseph Jacobson, co-inventor of E-ink, he told me the biggest benefit of e-ink, and what he’s most proud of, in not the creation of the kindle /e-books but rather the creation of super cheap, mass produced smart phones that have a crazy long battery life using his technology. He said this has helped level the playing field in developing nations because they can get the same information that those in power do, ie, grain prices, news, etc. so it helps those at the bottom to rise up because as they say, “knowledge is power.” anyhow, I thought I would share. This is a fantastic video. Liked and subscribed!

[@Abby_Liu]

there is also however a learning curve in living with technology. if you skip steps as an individual, your life might get a little funky. if you skip steps as a society altogether, the whole society might get funky. as an example a lot of rural places in China skipped the TV and the PC altogether and went straight to smartphones. not to say it's good or bad but it's weird. my family didn't skip too many steps, but we did keep around a lot of old tech, I was using a cassette tape player and a walkman in late 2000s, and a button phone until 2016. it made me a little funky and my 'weird old phone' was a standout characteristic.

[@rodrigoperalta822]

​@Abby_Liu a big concern is that PC knowledge is dying out. Young people who have only used a smartphone or a tablet don't know how to navigate a regular computer since it doesn't have an easy curated user experience like a smartphone OS

[@rodrigoperalta822]

​@Abby_Liu a big concern is that PC knowledge is dying out. Young people who have only used a smartphone or a tablet don't know how to navigate a regular computer since it doesn't have an easy curated user experience like a smartphone OS

[@bicivelo]

@@rodrigoperalta822 like many things in life like records, cassettes, writing cursive, typewriters, word processors, and now PC computers like you mentioned. It’s all a progression.

[@scoobydoobies]

Shaving is funny example. The safety razor was perfect, and blades only cost a few cents each. The problem is it didn't make people rich, so we invented the Schik Quattro 5 blade + moisturizing blah blah and sell them at $5 a pop

[@Soundbrigade]

I got blades from an internet shop sent regularly to me, but I had to cancel the subscription as the blades (Wilkinson 2-blade with moisturizer) was to freaking good. After two months I can sense that the blades are slowly getting dull ….

[@pirobot668beta]

The good news is that there are many simple ways to sharpen the blades. Can expect 8-12 sharpens before the blade profile goes wonky.

[@udkudk]

A youtuber recently tested all shaving tools, their comfort, performance and lifetime cost. All of them except single-use razor was at same performance Safety Razor costed 700$ for a lifetime All others (including single-use razor, multi-blade razors, and electric razor) costed between 2400$ to 4800$ in a lifetime

[@ta_pegandofogo2988]

Yeah, but you won't be happy when your hands are full of soap and you're trying to shave your balls with a 19 century razor.

[@killingtimeitself]

@@ta_pegandofogo2988 skill issue frankly

[@a.p.2356]

Fun little fact about the design of the Model T: it did *not* use the control layout we are are familiar with today. Carmakers hadn't settled on a standard for that yet, and the Model T used what we would today think of as an *extremely* weird control layout; the brake pedal was on the right and the throttle was on the steering wheel alongside the manual spark advance. Rather than a hand shifter and clutch pedal, it had a weird combination 2 speed gear shifter and clutch pedal on the left, and a separate pedal in the center for reverse. Holding the shifter/clutch pedal about halfway put the car in neutral, and pushing it down to the floor would put it in 1st gear (you did this gradually while giving it a bit of gas with the hand throttle to start smoothly and avoid killing the engine). To shift into second, you pulled your foot off the clutch shifter, letting it move all the way back towards you. Basically, "clutch in" was the middle position, moving the pedal down disengaged the clutch in first gear, and moving the pedal up disengaged the clutch in second gear. Which caused a few slightly weird effects, compared to modern cars. For one, driving along at low speed required you to hold the fairly stiff clutch pedal down the entire time with your left foot. For another, driving at high speed actually didn't involve your feet on the controls at all. Also, you could immediately shift into reverse at any time by pressing the reverse pedal. The first car with a modern control layout was actually the 1916 Cadillac Type 53, and it just kinda stuck.

[@grievuspwn4g3]

The Cadillac's control scheme was probably helped by getting ripped off by people like Herbert Austin for the Seven, which in turn was licenced and ripped off by various others.

[@slugfiller]

The QWERTY layout key-jamming story is actually an urban legend created by Dvorak manufacturers to convince people that Dvorak should be objectively better. In reality, QWERTY is the result of incremental design improvements, which started with an alphabetical layout, and gradually moved various keys to locations that made more sense, like moving rarely used keys like Q, Z, and X to the corners. You can actually notice much of the alphabetical order remains, as, with the notable exception of B, the letters A through P are all very close, if not adjacent, to the letters that follow or precede them.

[@lwinklly]

Sholes, the creator of the Querty layout, proposed a better alternative with Dvorak-like improvements shortly after the first extremely popular typewriter, the Remington No. 2, entered production. Even by then it was already too late, and Remington refused the offer as they also offered typing courses, and typing teachers had already become familiar enough with the Querty layout.

[@finalformluigi]

QWERTY layout is still bad regardless. Just thinking simply, there are a lot of poor choices in the layout. Most if not all vowels should be placed on the homerow. They're easily the most used letters yet only 'A' finds it's way to the homerow on QWERTY. Also, why is 'J' on the homerow? How about ':'/';'? How often are you using colon/semicolon?? I am a software engineer and I still don't like that it's there.

[@cavemann_]

Keyboard layout designs break depending on the language.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@finalformluigi That's why I would probably go with Neo2 if I'd decide to change my layout. But I'm not on that level of typing speed that I need to optimise yet.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@cavemann_ which is why pretty much every language has developed their own "optimised" layouts. And even the "default" layout isn't exactly the same everywhere. Sure there is QWERTY, but are we talking US ANSI QWERTY, UK ISO QWERTY, DE QWERTZ, FR AZERTY, JIS 109 key QWERTY?

[@gavinmcknight9206]

I was literally thinking about this today. Almost every paper bag ive used in my life has the Duro logo on it, and that made me think about how lucky it would have been to invent a product that cannot by improved at all, so that person has the entire market on paper bags.

[@online12plus]

This guy looks like if John Travolta was Freddie Mercury's son

[@jermh]

I noticed the John travolta immediately. The Freddy mercury is what I was missing.

[@karolsobkowicz2633]

@jermh same😅

[@KAMBINGKANNYA]

who do you suggest pregnant😂

[@EannaButler]

👏👏

[@stephen_jc]

He looks like Ray William Johnson

[@presstoeject]

Nice work. I was a Design & Technology teacher for 20 years and I would definitely use your content in lessons if I still taught. You delve into design in a way that helps to explain and connect design as a cultural, psychological and personal issue. It would help to foster interesting discussions about the role of design in society. Keep it up.

[@Asdayasman]

I have a paperclip that was sent to me by Alicebooks. I bought a book of sheet music from Japan, and, seeing the address was in England, they translated the song titles, printed them out, and clipped them inside the front cover with a paperclip that (when clipped) looks like a quaver. It is my favourite paperclip, for sentimentality reasons as well as novelty. I also have so few uses for paperclips that one is plenty for me. Other designs are substandard.

[@TactfulWaggle]

japan is also home to one of the most sought after chalks out there, i guess in japan you have best of both worlds, standard, and quality

[@surajvkothari]

If only I had a dollar every time he said "quintessential". Amazing video by the way!

[@Metal00m]

kind of annoying

[@vicnox2360]

I'm going to turn it into a shot game. Take a shot every time he says quintessential

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

@@Metal00malmost as if that's the point of the video

[@sweetswing]

Microsoft had made the perfect paper clip, and they just killed it.

[@goliard20]

Should have become their voice assistant instead of cortana

[@unknown0soldier]

Lest we forget how they brutally murdered the poor clippy

[@paulcrumley9756]

I was so saddened when Clippie got straightened out.. .

[@knightbellstuff72]

Clippie!!!!! No!!!!! 😭😭😭😭

[@timsmith2525]

Thank God! I hated that abomination.

[@vwestlife]

Contrary to popular belief, the QWERTY keyboard layout wasn't just some random layout designed to slow you down. Except for S, the home row is alphabetical from left to right -- even moreso in the original version which had M on the end, next to L (later M was moved down to the bottom row). All the vowels except A are on the top row. And the two least commonly used letters, Q and Z, are placed at the left edges, since your left pinkie is one of your weakest fingers. Plus it was a marketing trick to demonstrate the ability to type the word "typewriter" using only keys on the top row.

[@chicagotypewriter2094]

Oh my gosh, I thought I was crazy for realizing FGHJKL was in order but didn’t realize why

[@timothyspool1399]

The design wouldn't be random if it was designed specifically to slow your typing.

[@lawschuelke]

Why is typing "TYPEWRITER" on the top row a marketing trick? You really think that played into a single typewriter purchasing decision? "...not only that, but you can type "typewriter" with just the top row!" "Oh man, I was on the fence before, but now I HAVE to buy this machine if it can do that!" I am quite sure that exchange happened exactly zero times.

[@vwestlife]

@@lawschuelke It seems plausible even if it sounds ridiculous. After all, one of the most common things people did to demonstrate a computer in the 1980s was to type in a small BASIC program to display the same word repeatedly on the screen, even though that obviously the ability to do that wasn't going to be a major factor in anyone's decision to buy a computer.

[@lawschuelke]

@@vwestlife I could believe that salesmen used that coincidence in their sales pitch. I would NOT believe that it had any bearing whatsoever on the layout design decisions.

[@Rob-qe3cg]

In response to the controller segment, the Wii mote *did* establish a new standard for motion controllers. Any VR controller today has the wii mote dna: a bar with a directional control under the thumb, a trigger, and some face buttons. That discounting that a Wii mote is just the NES controller sideways plus some extra buttons.

[@mitchelwilson5605]

Totally agreed. The video glosses over the N64 thumb stick which came out a year before the revision to the Dualshock, not to mention the rumble pack. But although the N64 popularized thumb sticks and rumble, thumb sticks and even wing handles had already been done in '89 on the Sega Mega Drive ... not to mention the Sega 3d controller with thumb stick also beating the N64 to market by a month or so (I don't remember which design was announced first).

[@TactfulWaggle]

@@mitchelwilson5605 the video would be unreasonably long if he covered everything tbh, or atleast that segment would be very disproportionally longer and make the video abit less focused

[@mitchelwilson5605]

⁠@@TactfulWaggle He wastes plenty of time on extraneous topics, like the QWERTY layout. The problem is he suggests Sony was the first to implement the thumbstick on console gaming controllers even though it was 17 months behind the N64 … which is not accurate and overlooks the iterative process.

[@TactfulWaggle]

@@mitchelwilson5605 fair enough

[@mbanerjee5889]

While the current smartphone design may be quintessential, I think the original Motorola Razr was the best functional design. It was sleek but also a comfortable phone. I hate the lack of ports and buttons on everything: phones, cars, laptops, etc. For example, replacing physical car keys with key fobs ...what is the purpose? I think we need to go back to more tactile designs.

[@BlueSparxLPs]

I think that comes back to the idea of reducing potential failure points. It takes less parts to access those functions via touch screen than to have physical buttons and keys. In terms of actually using the devices, I think whether or not to have buttons is purely a preferential decision, but in terms of manufacturing a reliable device I can see the argument to move away from the tactile stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if eventually our PC keyboards are all just long flat touch pads too.

[@Argomundo]

@@BlueSparxLPs The reason why they slam touchscreens into modern cars is because theyre cheaper than designing an actual dashboard

[@lainiwakura1776]

I had the Krzr, it fit better in my smaller hands.

[@Grim_The_Reaper]

​@Argomundo I think the fact that most people could replace a knob or button fairly easily by themselves but will have to take it in for servicing if any little part of their computer system fails probably plays a role in the death of tactile designs

[@MrDoboz]

@@Grim_The_Reaper more likely it's that they can disable features and change overall functionality far more easily. if your heated seats are directly controlled by a switch, there's nothing they can do. they could however have the switch as input for the computer and let the computer control the heatig element. but why have a switch if you can have it in software? also this makes the complete system ready for remote control features, such as turning on the AC from an app. if the car has a dedicated switch for AC and a knob for temp, then either all those must be a momentary button (that's lame), or the computer has to be able to toggle the switch or rotate the knob, which is a rather complicated task with many added mechanical and electrical parts. it would be cool tho, like grand pianos that can play a midi file and you can see the keys moving, but that aint happening for cars any time soon

[@yhubtfufvcfyfc]

I would say that the main selling point of the sunbeam toaster is the more consistent toasting since it basically detects the surface temperature of the bread to determine when its done.

[@dmitripogosian5084]

Well, what is perfect in the eye of the beholder. My wife likes lightly toasted, just basically warmed up, I like a bit darker, but even for me what is on a video is too burned. Plus nowadays breads come in different shapes

[@ruzho8899]

A design that hasn't changed in a couple hundred years, except for the materials used to make it, is the hair comb. I'm sure you haven't heard of it.

[@erictaylor5462]

I had a 5, D-cell MAG light when I was delivering pizzas in the late 80's and early 90's, then I continued using it when I worked as a security guard. My reasons for preferring it were the same reasons the police liked it. I did sometimes have trouble with cops who believed it was only available for police, but while it wasn't easy to find that model it was available on the open market and 100% legal to own. I like to put the receipt inside the product if I can, so if a cop ever asked I could remove the batteries and show anyone who asked.

[@baddreams0919]

I just found this channel, i'm a mechatronical engineer and i've always looked at the word pretty much the way you described it in the vid, i was the whole video saying: "yes, exactly" "of course it is" you've earned a new sub

[@ketakris]

Talking (kinda) about the controller layout, one thing i remembered is a video game review about Alien Resurrection, a First Person Shooter based on the movie with the same name, on the PS1 by GameSpot. In which, the writer critiques the game for using a "most terrifying element", the control scheme. Which is described as: "The left analog stick moves you forward, back, and strafes right and left, while the right analog stick turns you and can be used to look up and down.". This review was written on October 5th 2000 but that this way of moving in video games is quintessential as well. And a good laugh review to read.

[@TheKhopesh]

I think the best improvement to a paperclip that we could make would be modifying the cutting portion to slightly round the edges of the cut ends that scrape along the paper. As-is, paperclips kinda tear into the paper if they're holding a few too many pages, and you go to pull the clip off by sliding it (the normal way). If the edges of the cut wire ends of the clip were just a little less sharp at the paper-contacting area, it would drastically improve performance.

[@coool20]

Sorry. Not worth the manufacturing cost along with it not being an overly prevalent problem seeing as the work around to the tearing problem is just to twist it to one particular side. Im not saying its a bad idea or anything i just dont think most manufacturers would opt for it. If that were to become the new standard though i certainly wouldnt complain.

[@yvindbrkke9356]

maybe make it out of nitinol wire.

[@daemonspring]

If you want to hold thicker stacks of paper, then a bulldog clip is a good solution. I would consider the three part bulldog clip designs to be another quintessential design. I don't even use paperclips any more since I have a tub of bulldog clips of various sizes.

[@HenryLoenwind]

Those paperclips do exist, but they are hard to come by. Stores usually don't stock more expensive items without an obvious draw for the average customer. But you can find them in the supplier catalogues big companies and other organisations order from. Aside from rounded ends, there's material choice (copper, steel, copper-plated steel, ...), size, wire strength, ridging, triangular vs rounded, and many more features. I still have a wide range of different designs that came in over the decades, as my father would use one at work for personal paperwork and bring that home from time to time. I particularly like those 4-inch long, ridged, steel-core, copper-plated ones. You could probably clip floor tiles together with those ;). They were intended to hold together police case files, i.e. stacks of random papers, photos, and the like that could be up to an inch thick. Much cheaper than file folders.

[@chadcowan6912]

23:18 Congratulations on making it until 2019 in regards to succumbing to the near-necessity of the smartphone. I broke down and began my journey in 2018 because I needed Google Maps for work. My dad still uses a flipphone but he's retired. I have to say I love the appliance design of the post war era. I recently lost a late 40's/early 50's Philco refrigerator in a structure fire. The thing had curves to die for and it still worked. It ran on a 1/2 hp motor that would kick on for a few minutes an hour. It kept beer at the perfect temperature. I would say that it was from an age before planned obsolescence but I've heard the story of the light bulb cartel.

[@Design.Theory]

Interestingly, the reason I got a smartphone was also largely for the GPS function.

[@Dragonite43]

@@Design.Theory I still use a flip phone myself. XD

[@chadcowan6912]

@@Dragonite43 Keep it up! A flipphone is a badge of honor.

[@Gertyutz]

I use a flip-phone and bought a GPS for the car. No problems. My friend and I used the GPS program on her phone for a trip last week, and it was awful. All confused, with wrong info or lacking info.

[@chadcowan6912]

@Gertyutz Good call 😉. I'm beginning to consider this as an alternative to unhealthy and unnecessary electromagnetic exposure. Wi-fi stacks your blood cells.

[@robertmdel]

THANK YOU for not using the word "iconic" once in this video!

[@hepburndavis]

He replaced iconic with “quintessential” then beat it to death.

[@pseudoboss11]

One thing about that last bit. Almost all of us already have our phones on vibrate almost all the time. A lot of us turn off a variety of notifications. One thing I could see happening in this space is not a major shift, but a quiet change towards controlling what information is presented to us. This will probably not resolve the issues of miscommunication and disinformation. it might even make it worse. But that's the direction I think things will go.

[@lorettabes4553]

Oh yeah, back in the day we all had ringtones and now every phone is on silent (context: Dutch student who travels daily). My phone is always on Silent and I had to change my ringtone to a song only I know of to remember when I'm being called.

[@DaveLivesInACave]

This is pretty much a summary of the themes from the Metal Gear Solid games lol

[@RafaelMunizYT]

most of us keep our phones on silent mode, except for our parents who keep their phone's volume at 200% of the sound of a supernova

[@mohd.azharuddinmultani2182]

The way you potray your research, the accuracy of the background music, the things you didn't include and why, it almost feels like a well produced educational movie

[@YourAverageSoftmodder]

i really appreciate that you list your sources in the video, small detail that many miss.

[@Salimaleikum]

Now I want a video about your experience of getting a smartphone in 2019!

[@Design.Theory]

Oh man it was quite a transition. Also, working with tech clients, I got a lot of condescension. People couldn't even fathom why I didn't want one or how I lived without it.

[@Kutakura]

@@Design.TheoryTo be honest, yeah! How did you live without one??

[@RuffusJY]

@@Design.Theory yeah that blows my mind. And I thought I was late to the game when I bought my first smartphone in 2009.

[@edgarwalk5637]

@@Kutakura The same way people lived without them for most of human history.

[@JaroslawFiliochowski]

​​@@Kutakura Yeah, how did they? I know I was alive before the smartphone, and before even the Internet, but already can barely remember how we lived back then 😅

[@wumwum42]

29:40 that aged like milk... (it turned out the rabbit r1 is just a crappy overpriced android device - without the touchscreen - with an app on it)

[@Kage_Fur]

It actually has a touchscreen it just mostly doesn't use it

[@Design.Theory]

Yeah, the Rabbit R1 ended up being useless (go watch KZbinr Marques Brownlee, or Coffeezilla vids about it) and the Humane AI pin got similar destroyed by Marques Brownlee in a review. Daylight computer is the last one standing (for now).

[@T39Omi]

Fun Fact: The reason QWERTY was defacto was not only due to jamming issue but marketing team had also better typing speeds while typing the word "TYPEWRITER" because all the letters for this word are present in the Top row now.

[@Leanzazzy]

16:50 Damn, Henry Ford really took control to another level. But look at how well he did. 17:10 When you show how he could literally create an entire car from plain ore in barely a day, it really puts into perspective how insane his assembly line speeds were.

[@Keenath]

It's easy to make lots of money by exploiting and manipulating other people's work. The most cost effective form of labor is slavery. That's why "he did well" or "it makes money" can't be our sole determinant of what's a good idea.

[@Healermain15]

He was also a big fan of the Nazi's. Dude really was a piece of work.

[@Bobogdan258]

Seeing how much of a Nazi he is, I guess what he did in Fordlandia might've actually been a great success for him and his ideology.

[@amosbackstrom5366]

He took inspiration from the Nazis and the Nazis took inspiration from his manufacturing ideas...

[@rob585]

@@KeenathSlavery isn’t the most cost effective. You have to pay for their houses, food, days of rest, an overseer, and lots of prison-like equipment like fences, cameras, and watchdogs. Having slaves is very expensive, which is why only the wealthiest of the wealthy could have more than 1 at any time in history

[@somerandompersonintheinternet]

16:19 Dude was playing factorio on very early access

[@KaKarol]

Hello 😮

[@literallyjustgrass]

bro unlocked builder drone technology

[@Vorname_Nachname_]

Tldr; The reason why some designs can't be improved is because there's either no need for them to embody anything additional for the user, or because the hurdles to overcome, in order to implement a new design, would be too big. However: The Ford Model T, the iphone, the Playstation controller and the flaslight are all examples of products that are constantly improved by technological advancement. When i clicked the video, i actually expected products like the nail clipper, that don't heavily rely on technological advancements. I would be interested in products that can't be improved, regardless of technology. (Not just concepts, such as the button layout)

[@goldogwolly]

What an amazingly researched, scripted, presented, and produced video. Thanks for sharing it with us for free.

[@Design.Theory]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a nice comment. I appreciate it

[@luismiguel69able]

it is a bit mind blowing how this channel is better than most TV shows.

[@Design.Theory]

Wow thanks!

[@sonidojamon]

Plenty of channels worth watching nowadays. I stopped watching TV a long time ago, and KZbin is one of the few subscription services I'm paying monthly!

[@gaoxiaen1]

Not really. I stopped watching TV shows 35-40 years ago.

[@kingzach74]

You could say that about most KZbinrs. They often have far more passion and creativity than television producers since they have more love for what they do than those on TV. TV shows are all about making money. KZbinrs are about passion and the last thing is money although that is a factor as well.

[@oghaki5097]

>says Ford wasn’t “exactly the best guy” >hasn’t read what was in the newspaper Wouldn’t be a terrible idea to look a little deeper into why he bought the Dearborn independent and even taking a look at the 4-volume compilation, ‘…The World’s Foremost Problem’ before jumping to conclusions.

[@prithviboinpally2138]

John Travolta explaining product design to me, what a time to be alive

[@Pedynkuziego]

It's a bit strange though, can't focus on the toster

[@tedundercarriage8183]

don't point out that he IS jewish

[@lukechioatto9167]

"Up your nose with a rubber hose" comes to mind as I read your post 😂

[@Nova04550]

Literally thought the same thing 😂

[@tedundercarriage8183]

Don't point out that's he's jewish!!

[@jaredt.murphy8257]

Did I just watch a magazine? Every aspect of this video - the lighting, the volume, the pacing... gorgeous, informative, well researched. Masterful. Thank you. Also, I use the Punkt MP02! It's a Swiss designed minimalist telephone that I think you'll find cool!

[@viniciusaguiar8979]

I'm from Manaus - Brasil and my great grandfather worked at that rubber plantation from day zero, the exploration of rubber here created an economy that enriched a lot people and gave a lot of benefits to the Brazilian cities farther from the sea, like Manaus, they even call that era the Belle Époque (beautiful era in French) because of the economical advances the rubber exploration brought to the region. but the work conditions were precarious, and the workers were tricked to leave their cities in the northeast part of Brazil to work here, because they promised money and gains. but it was all lies, just like that "I owe my soul to the company store" song.

[@ihavekalashnikovyoudomath9275]

16:11 Ford over here pioneering the saying "Fine...I'll do it myself"

[@rhejamphi]

I'm working on perfecting a physical product design right now and preparing it for manufacturing. This video really gave me some ideas to consider, and brought to my attention some very specific things that need work. Thank you man!

[@puvendranpillay8802]

Sure what ever say bro

[@mordcore]

i actually changed my phone keyboard to dvorak one year ago, i had to push through one week of suffering and then it was fine. i have a chronic illness that makes me rather slow in general and gives me joint problems, so for me the increase in typing speed made quite the difference! now i only notice that it's dvorak and not qwerty when somebody else tries to type something on my phone :D

[@kingniik]

man, i almost never write into the comment section. But trust must be told. Everytime you drop a video, I get excited like a kid before christmas day. keep up the good work

[@NathanZipin]

Take a shot every time he says quintessential

[@yatorBl]

😂😂😂

[@timothy5480]

Liver is crawling on the floor

[@Travybear1989]

holy shit man like waoh read this and had vodka and liike gits hard man

[@octavioavila6548]

Weed is superior to alcohol. Therefore, take a hit of a joint instead

[@Steve-q6l4v]

My name is Steve I am an alcoholic, see you got me started.

[@guillermosemorile8563]

I've recently noticed my addiction to the quick satisfaction of the social media feed when I noticed one day, it took 3 hours to watch a 30 minute sitcom episode because I kept pausing it to look at my IG feed. Now I put the phone down in a drawer across from me to watch TV, work or read. (I'm watching this on my desktop) Having said all that, I am amazed you could keep me entertained and engaged for 30+ minutes on a design topic, and not just because you're gorgeous! jejejeje I can't wait to watch more of your content!

[@alwaysemployed656]

I can go for many years without typing a single word, lay my hands on a keyboard and start typing as if I never took a break from it. Once you learn QWERTY your hands will NEVER forget.

[@achimwasp]

Would be the same with a more ergonomic layout (e.g. Colemak).

[@MVAS-mp9oo]

@@achimwasp ergonomic factor lies in the physical form of keyboard(like using split keyboard and columnar stagger rather than row stagger) and your desk height proportional to your body rather than the layout itself. I am typing this sentence in crkbd keyboard with QWERTY layout and it'd be still ergonomically better than typing in your common 100% - 65% keyboard swapped with COLEMAK layout. However, COLEMAK is indeed more efficent layout than QWERTY for typing in english.

[@alwaysemployed656]

@@MVAS-mp9oo For me it would be impossible to learn a different layout without getting multiple layout mixed as I type. I learned QWERTY back in the IBM days as a kid and stuck with it ever since. And I love using shortcuts way more than point and click with a mouse.

[@Gertyutz]

@@alwaysemployed656 And I'm mostly a mouse person, and I'm incapable of using devices with a touchscreen. And after having computers for 30 years, I still type with my 2 middle fingers.

[@dreambotter6389]

You only explained why Mag-Lites succeeded but not why the competitor & original one failed

[@atrution]

Securing the market is the implicit reason, as what he is discussing is the quintessential item not the sole marketable item. There is one primary popular example of a product in many areas, and in the case of heavy duty flash light that is the one, so none of its competitors hold that podium.

[@raffiminasian7160]

Excellent video John. Always a pleasure to work with you. One thing that is important to remember about quintessence is its plasticity. When something is quintessential like the Model T it has impact that sticks fundamentally to successive generations as it flexes allowing for new technology to advance it. Like the way our brains absorb new information stacking on top of older data. That magic of transformative progressive imprinting is what advances our most lasting and continuously quintessential products.

[@Design.Theory]

All things must pass. Including quintessence.

[@declanbristol1957]

"Life is short. Nothing matters. Subscribe." Got me to subscribe. Keep rolling man.

[@trebushett2079]

The model T Ford used about ten times as much copper and magnet steel in its trembler coil ignition system than if they'd used the high tension magneto for ignition - very efficient!. And so they obviously didn't get everything right.

[@Design.Theory]

The Ford Model T was awful in many ways. But it's still quintessential.

[@PR-cj8pd]

But a magneto has to be powered, no? So this system is simpler and more failsafe, no?

[@bontrom8]

There was a military concept that helps to target quintessential design. Military gear designers want to field a perfect design but perfecfion is too time consuming and expensive. Therefore in order to get useful items into the hands of Soldiers on the front line they decided a certain percentage of perfection that was good enough as well as arriving on time to fight the battles. Hearing your video makes me understand more of what goal they were shooting for in terms of a trusted product. ​@@Design.Theory

[@gaoxiaen1]

@@PR-cj8pd No, and yes. It generates its own current. It works without an electrical system except for plug wires.

[@dielaughing73]

​@@bontrom8as a design engineer, let me tell you: perfection is not time consuming and expensive, it is unattainable at any cost. Every design project balances form, function, cost, durability and many other variables against the available time, budget and resources.. and ends up as a compromise based on factors beyond the designer's control. Wartime production just brings that tug-of-war into sharper relief.

[@HunterMann]

Does he ever finish the complete list of the “five key points“ that makes something quintessential? It’s his role in the editing process they got carried away with so many other topics in editing that they simply forgot to go back to the basic bullet points. I’m not asking them to make this a PowerPoint presentation but it would be nice to see the complete list rather than having to somehow extract the other three bullet points that were left out of the left. Overall really excellent video it’s almost like an extended TED talk in a way. Cheers

[@Dodgers564]

3rd point 14:28 4th point 21:52 But never listed a 5th

[@iSchmidty13]

As soon as I saw that Technology Connections video I went out and bought a Sunbeam, best toaster I’ve ever owned BY LIGHTYEARS I own two now, just because they’re so cool and effective and stylish

[@sullivan3004]

Great video! The part about Apples control on manufacturing is interesting, hadn't thought about it that way. Also I had no idea Ford started a Fordlandia, that stuff is insane. There's also a whole other discussion to be had about how Apple has done their design and maybe especially marketing to turn a luxury priced product into something everyone buys. It's really fascinating to me how they have managed to sell the Iphone as a "must have" to so many people.

[@fastica]

0:02 You forgot the umbrella.

[@ipohertroyanov464]

It is difficult to state that umbrella design is perfect though

[@Gertyutz]

Despite the fact that a heavy wind can still destroy it.

[@fukpoeslaw3613]

It wasn't raining.

[@keylanph]

You are my new favorite channel. Incredibly detailed explanations delivered in easily digestible verbiage. Please keep making these awesome videos!

[@pacifico4999]

I love how much research you put into your videos

[@beefjerky5708]

Ask your grandfather how he used to change a tap washer. For a few generations it was a small piece of rubber about the size of a penny. Too many designers redesigning, just for the sake of it. Now you have to throw away the whole tap because you can't buy replacement parts because that model isn't available anymore.

[@EmmaLongley-d1f]

I'm a history student, not a designer, but when doing an assignment on propaganda a few months ago the KZbin rabbit hole eventually took me to your design & marketing mind control video and I found myself subscribed before the video was over. I'm glad I found the channel a few years in with plenty of videos because now I get to start the mornings learning something AND I get told to have a nice day.

[@RichardPolhill]

Back in the 70s I used to visit somebody with my grandmother who had a machine in her living room that she would use to make paperclips. Presumably it was a job but I was always fascinated by this machine that was all cast iron and brass with a load of levers.

[@j.f.christ8421]

Probably a job, that sort of "work from home" arrangement was pretty common, sort of like cottage industries. I've not heard of paperclips, but making switches and the like used to be done that way. The factory would supply the tools, and in the morning drop of the "raw materials" and at the same time pick up yesterdays competed items. I guess once automation got good & cheap enough to make fiddly stuff those jobs went away. Of maybe the mangers want the workers in the office so they could 'manage" them properly (a familiar concept these days).

[@RichardPolhill]

@@j.f.christ8421 Yeah I should've said "obviously a job" really but it's from so far back in my memory I'm not sure how to describe it. Also, I think she was actually a member of my family but I'm not sure how.

[@j.f.christ8421]

@@RichardPolhill To be honest, I'd love to have a hand-cranked paperclip maker in my living room. The closest thing I have to that is a jump-ring maker, and they're not very complicated.

[@eloimumford5247]

One thing is missing from any smartphone : clock always visible unless the phone is fully closed , like a real watch . Good topic , well presented , thanks.

[@jooshozzono7249]

Bro the clock is above all the things on the screen, near the battery 🔋 indicator XD

[@eloimumford5247]

@@jooshozzono7249 , i mean to have the clock when the screen is off , even when the phone completely off , with a sshut-off when the battery is under 5%.

[@Gertyutz]

I have a watch for that.

[@eloimumford5247]

@@Gertyutz , cause you are an old timer.

[@MrDada120]

I would be interested to see why collared shirts and suit jackets have been quintessential as well.

[@Hopscotchlemonadespritz]

What we think of as the modern suit jacket were actually cutaway morning coats, as of the 1920s. They eclipsed the high frock coats of the 19th century and early 20th and the justacorp of the 18th and mid 17th centuries before then. Each successive generation of dress could be seen as less constraining and simpler to wear, but I'd say we've also lost a measure of elegance. I once asked a friend with an applicable education what the purpose of a collar and tie was. She explained that it acts as a "frame" for the wearer's face! Thinking about this, decided it made perfect sense and it was the only explanation needed for even relatively casual clothing, such as a flannel shirt or the classic biker jacket.

[@Rubysh88]

Id say it’s because they are aesthetically pleasing while staying professional and comfortable (if tailored to you). It also helps the fact that you can be obese or extremely thin and the design can help thin or bulk your body shape. Really the only people who look kinda bad with a suit are the biggest bodybuilders but they are a minority.

[@timfisher77]

I recognise the ancient roots of the modern shirt collar and jacket lapel in old portraits of the scottish

[@jermtse]

The Nintendo 64 controller was the first one to introduce the thumbstick when it came out in 1996 - NOT the Playstation 2 (although the latter did add a second one on the right side). Also, the Playstation 2 didn't start actual production until 2000, so while the design of dual thumbsticks may have been announced before then, that's arguably not the same thing as actually "introducing" something to the market.

[@Design.Theory]

It was introduced in 1997 for ps1. Never said ps introduced analog sticks, I said they popularized the double analog stick format

[@maximeteppe7627]

to keep going on game controllers; I'm still bummed out that the gamecube controller didn't have more of an influence. As someone who games infrequently, I really liked the variation of the action buttons shape and size as a way to make memorizing the position of game actions quicker ans more intuitive. (for those who never saw one, the main A "action" button was twice as large as the others, and surrounded by a smaller b button and two bean shaped x and y buttons they surrounded the A button. Of course it's a design that has several disadvantages: several button shapes means more different pieces of plastic to build. also it nudges all games towards being more hierarchical about their design verbs, because instead of four equivalent buttons in a circle, you have one big main button and three secondary ones. Still, I feel to this day that this design philosophy deserved a better chance.

[@grandsome1]

​@@maximeteppe7627The Gamecube controller still has descendants, every non Sony controller uses its layout. Sony keeps their design because it's almost good enough in comparison, but mainly because of marketing and mindshare. They're still traumatized by the debacle of the boomerang controller when they tried to change the form factor during the PS3 era.

[@dodg1123]

My grandparents got a used sunbeam toaster back in the 1970s and it lasted them for 40 years. It started to only toast one side of the bread so they got a new one, but we still have it on the shelf because it's so cool.

[@Brickswol]

I'm living under a rock. I've never seen a toaster do that.

[@UserUnknown07]

Marketing, that's the fifth element.

[@manuelenriquenoaccorosende5954]

When I clicked on a video about design, I didn't except so many sensible remarks on the impact it has on social, economical and cultural aspects of society. Awesome video

[@arpandiablo]

31:52 - "Maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way" ahh quote😭🙏

[@SimGunther]

Ironically, the Opera sponsorship demonstrates quintessence in that the modern web browser design in Chrome has not changed too much from 16 years ago, which didn't change too much with what Netscape had in the 1990s, as every other big web browser has a similar design because of either the Chromium base or the main design language of search bar + settings + tabs at top with the rest of the page just being there is all people ask for in a web browser. Xanadu sure looked better back in the 1980s, but because it was the wrong time when "web browsing" wasn't popular, the project didn't captivate people in the same way Netscape did. As wonderful as Xanadu is, I keep asking myself "what problems are the Xanadu project hoping to solve that these other web browsers hasn't solved yet?"

[@CsendesMark]

Opera had a better briwser engine, but they never had enough marketshare, since the bug-tech will always push it's own crap. MS with IE once had 95%, but it was the worst. Chrome isn't much better. I used to love opera, but changed to Vivaldi, yeah - sadly still chrome based...

[@davidbourke6211]

As a trained designer, who currently works in a process driven environment, I love how these quintessential ideals also apply to processes and procedures completely outside of the manufacturing industry.

[@KayGreylai]

So Henry Ford played IRL Factorio - peak efficiency obsession.

[@monad_tcp]

30:08 That can be fixed by the user owning the software, not by changing anything on the hardware. And to own the software, a severance with the network is required, at least to the network of the manufacturer of the phone. The smartphone needs to become more like a personal computer, which gives much more control to the user (but that would be at the cost of some convenience, that's why it doesn't happen), or, ironically what we had before : "pocket computers". Another thing that would greatly help is if we just destroy the data broker industry with stronger laws like the EU is doing. The data is owned by the user, it can't be captured from the device, end of the question, that would change the incentives.

[@Design.Theory]

It's ironic how you can customize every micro-feature on a phone down to wallpaper and button colors, but you have absolutely no say in how you want it to integrate into your life

[@saralang9677]

Excellently researched, professionally presented, and, for once, very well narrated with perfect pace. Well done. I will watch future videos of yours. I learned a lot from this short one.

[@durrellsg]

Just gonna skip over the N64 huh

[@Noisy_Cricket]

Yeah. The Nintendo fanboi in me was pissed 😂

[@francescopessina9400]

Despite all the sentimental value, I wouldn't consider the N64 quintessential - or _any_ console, really - because no element of its esthetic design survived the test of time. Iconic? Yes! Quintessential? Well... Ironically, the Nintendo controller is much more quintessential than any (of their) consoles. You could make the same point about the controller, except he doesn't talk about its design as a whole but the button layout only. I mean... Look at how little iPhones change from gen to gen compared to game consoles.

[@carsongarrett7707]

Nobody still plays 64.

[@durrellsg]

@@francescopessina9400 analog stick?

[@sensitiveecoterrorist]

Despite everyone’s nostalgia for the N64 controller, the design was ass

[@ctrl-alt-bingo]

The porsche 911. Only changed because the government mandated it, and it barely changed

[@Dragon-xd9em]

Wait what? I didn't know about this, can you explain more?

[@TheDennys21]

​@@Dragon-xd9em what's there to explain? All 911's look pretty much the same.

[@greentoby26]

That's bullshit. The 911 was changed because a design from 1963 could not keep up with 1973 expectations, and it was succeeded by the 964 in 1989 due to plummeting sales.

[@activ8me3]

You got a strong channel here. Design but not superficial. Nice.

[@GogiRegion]

The fact that Hitler called Henry Ford the best American should tell you a lot about Ford and how influential he was towards expanding the dehumanization of the most vulnerable.

[@AnonymousGamerDB]

Brokies always complain. That's why we live in gated communities. Leave all those problems out there.😂

[@AnonymousGamerDB]

Without hating any race of people I quite admire people like Henry. Cold Stern decisive and effective. Y'all like to waste time and under achieve that's why the best ppl like that can do is complain

[@fishofthepeople]

​@@AnonymousGamerDB what a simple world you live in...

[@AnonymousGamerDB]

@@fishofthepeople grateful👍

[@jcmcgee1573]

@@AnonymousGamerDB Imagine seeing a comment about dehumanizing the most vulnerable, and thinking it was an amble opportunity to flex. Do you not think the amazon slaves were working hard enough champ?

[@RaffiDiranBassclef]

Here I am watching this too early in the morning and you say you talked to Raffi, i was seriously trying to recall if that happened. Then figured out i'm not the only Raffi...note to self, coffee first 🤣

[@whyamiwastingmytimeonthis]

Wow, you talked to him? What was he like?

[@DiegoSeb]

I never heard the word Quintessential in my life and here I am listening a dude using it ever 2 seconds

[@lc7ineo]

Fun fact: most people don't know what quintessential means, they jus say quintessential because they like how quintessential sounds.

[@Gertyutz]

I believe he does; he's a designer.

[@jevans84]

I need to understand how you made it to 2019 before purchasing your first smartphone, that is absolutely fascinating. Also I don’t think I’ve ever subscribed to a channel as quickly as this one, nice work.

[@gameeverything816]

Probably was in prison 😂

[@heythave]

An iPhone 12 Pro was my first smartphone also. Before that, I had a Samsung flip phone.

[@Dragonite43]

I still use a flip phone, and it's 2024.

[@heythave]

@@Dragonite43 Good for you!

[@giannelli4843]

@@Dragonite43 just saying when u use that thing people are thinking its a burner phone

[@LudmilaT.]

Also the click of pushing the toaster down is satisfying, i don't think a lot of people want to skip that step.

[@Jrakula10]

damn didnt realize ford was literally a game of factorio

[@DRakeTRofKBam]

exactlyy, eventhough he played it backwards

[@Shut.Eye.Cinema]

The TRIZ method allowed for a rendition of the familiar toilet structure.

[@amargasaurus5337]

And thus, Maglite stands as an example of how government enforced monopolies hamper competition from giving better products at lower prices. Patent warfare may give an incentive to innovate, but it's evident that the benefit of said incentive is beaten down by just how much IP restricts competitors from improving on existing products.

[@steepslopesmm2]

"he realized it was too expensive to buy storage facilities so instead he bought the entire economy"

[@monkpeak5258]

at 23:13 he says he didn't buy a smartphone until 2019 either that cant be right or bro was living under a rock for a decade

[@PutRandomNameHere]

Sources?? ON the SCREEN???? Instant sub, I might cry