Ugly But Successful Products

[Guest csven]

I think the Citroën may only be considered ugly in NA. I've often read that it is considered a beautiful vehicle in European journals.

On the DS:

 

Again, I think the design and the aesthetics were ahead of their time, which is why I liked and defended it. However, like most forward-thinking designs it was probably considered as odd, unusual and ugly by a significant number of people (an unaccepting attitude that is the bane of most designers). The Europeans I knew in the 60's still thought it odd-looking ten years after its introduction ... but admittedly they weren't French.

 

Now if the Germans I knew thought it was ugly but still worth buying for the engineering innovations, it seems reasonable to wonder if the French bought it for those reasons as well as because it was an innovative French product. At this period in France's history, I could see that level of support. But I don't know. I can only say that back in the mid-60's, in western Germany, it was still too weird for some people; the Porsche's awkward sibling, if you will.

 

What I'm trying to find now is how well the cut-rate version sold, since it used the same body minus the innovations. But I'm not finding much on the Citroën ID (which seems to indicate it wasn't especially popular).

[Guest csven]

Urinals - I've seen/used some nice ones (including in a Stark-designed restaurant), but most urinals are butt ugly.

 

Drain plugs - Again, there are some nice ones, but they're rare and not what you'll find in most hardware stores or hotels.

 

Wheelbarrows - there are some old-style wooden haulers which aesthetically put metal and plastic ones to shame.

 

Lawn & Garden Compression Sprayers - there are a few that look like a real IDer did the work, but far too many look like they were done by the engineer with the most (read: No) aesthetic sensibility.

 

Storage bins - having designed this kind of stuff, I understand the severe constraints, but even so there's some ugly stuff out there. And it sells.

 

Lawn Chairs - I took a tour of a roto-molding facility last Fall and happened across something designed by frog; nice piece. But it was a "lounge" and as a group they seem to get more design attention than chairs. Much more.

[parel 2]

No-one discussing Urine Gone ? Thanks for this post csven. I always feel like you learn more from your mistakes and oddball successes. It seems like a lot of the case studies you see want to fit some kind of ideal formula. it would be nice if we could see a less varnished version of the development process. ID doesnt seem to study the exceptions to the rule as you are trying to do.

[engio 1]

[Guest csven]

No-one discussing Urine Gone?

 

Those urinals I linked are as close as I want to get to Urine Gone, parel.

 

Meanwhile, I was thinking about the Citroen DS and it occurs to me that it potentially falls into an interesting subset: Ugly by virtue of being too forward-thinking. So I removed it. I'd like to save it for another day, because I think that issue - designs/aesthetics that are too advanced for the average consumer - is an especially relevant one to us.

[Guest csven]

Here's one I think should be obvious: PC enclosures.

 

I forget which design firm (PDG?) came up with the idea to use inserts on the plastic fronts of the ubiquitous gray box, but they contributed to what can only be called "viral ugliness".