Ten Industrial Design Trends You Can't Ignore
Forbes indentified 10 deisng trends :
Design For A Cause
Companies including Herman Miller and American Apparel are promoting their ideals through design. Yves Béhar's leaf lamp for Herman Miller (shown) uses a biomorphic grid of LEDs, which consume 40% percent less energy than fluorescent lights and last for 100,000 hours.
Simplexity
Steve McCallion, executive creative director of Portland, Ore.-based industrial design firm Ziba Design, says there's a trend toward "simplexity," products that have many functions but are approachable, ergonomically correct and easy to use--like Apple's iPhone. The baby boomers have also propelled simplexity; as the generation ages, the need for easy-to-use, at-home medical equipment becomes greater. Ami Verhalen, director of industrial design at Madison, Wis.-based Design Concepts, says that in-home health care will be a huge driver for product innovation in the upcoming decade.
Personalization
From Nike ID shoes to Build-a-Bear teddies, retailers are adding a "build your own" element to brands. Do it yourself--or DIY--serves as an important element of this trend.
Globalization
Like other industries, outsourcing has affected international design.
Ornamentation
In fashion design, we're seeing a return to minimalism, but in home decor, ornate details are in fashion. For the first time in decades, wallpaper is in fashion, and the details are rich--brocades, velvets and jewel-tone colors.
Polarization Of Design
Big-box or luxury retailer? Many experts say that design has been polarized, with innovative products available at both the very high end (Neiman Marcus, Moss) and the very low end (Target, Ikea).
Pink Design
Gadgets are a guy's game, right? Not if you consider the latest products with feminine mystique. Motorola released a lipstick pink Razr cellphone, and more recently, LG released a Prada phone. More and more manufacturers are creating sleeker, feminized versions of their clunky, chunky products, and both men and women are biting. Want proof of the feminization of product design? Just check out Geeksugar.com, which rates several items a day as "Geek chic" or "Just Plain Geeky."
Mass Imperfection
Some designers are creating intentionally flawed pieces, like designer Jason Miller's duct tape chair or Bodum's Pavina glassware collection, which uses mouth-blown double-walled glass, giving each piece a slight variation in height, thickness and weight.
Craft
As mass retailers like Target become more design-focused, there's a countertrend of independent manufacturers and designers creating one-off, heirloom pieces.
Focus On The Other 90%
Anthony Pannozzo, vice president of design strategy at Waltham, Mass.-based firm Herbst LaZar Bell, says that well-designed products are available to only 10% of the world's population. However, more and more designers are starting to cater to consumers in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Source: Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/home/wallstreet/2007/08/28/industrial-design-trends-forbeslife-trends07-cx_ls_0828design.html