Core77

The latest essay on Design Observer, by Thomas de Monchaux, is a bit of a mash-up. Some very nice points, but then gets sucked into a vortex of formal critique. Or a cortex of vernal fatigue. Well, you decide. Here's a good bit:

The problem is, of course, complicated. First, there is the corruption of the word "design" itself, as it's generally applied to an Apple object. What distinguishes your iPod from your brand-x MP-3 player is not design: that brand x machine also is distinguished by design. By bad design. What is unique to Apple is more accurately called "style": a clear signature vocabulary of forms and materials, superabundant to the mere requirements of function, that convey a certain sensibility, atmosphere, association, vibe. Of course, all those rounded corners may aid in manufacture and structure, but they also say in a comfortingly Jetsonian way: "I'm from the future, and so are you."

Read the entire article.