Is design important to you?

[HandyNick]

Good design is very important to me. I see the beauty in all things that are well designed for their form. Functionality though is seen as something different to me, yet I do appreciate things for how they work, they just don't have as much meaning. Take for example the Aston Martin DB5 which is a beautiful looking car, one that I could sit and look at, and just appreciate its beauty, but I wouldn't enjoy driving it as much. Similarly, I enjoy a good painting but couldn't care less who the painter was. I rarely buy something for its function only.

What do others think? Do you buy items for function or form?

 

Most things for function especially cars,unfortunately it seem a lot of modern cars sacrifice function for style.I.E poor visibility and harsh ride.

In areas like home decoration style has a more important role.

 

[FIZIX Agency]

I'm a creative, so I do kind or gravitate towards design and style. I'm the nightmare customer who wants utility, quality and it's got to be shiny!

 

[Barnie]

love design, trained as an mech engineer myself and did 3 or 4 years design to. do love function over form design, this "boring" cars you see now have a huge amount of design in them, you just have to look deeper.

love interior design though, function over form this time, 20'-60's amazing.


however clothing is where i hate design. function over form for me no matter what it looks like



the best design is accidental design, some of the best past designs were to just fill a criteria with no design intentions yet today look amazing

 

[mobyme]

I'm into design especially Italian design. The very first time I saw an Alfa Romeo I was in love and I love the way Italians put flair into something as functional as a household appliance or furniture. They seem to have a gift for it.

 

[stockdam]

We're discussing aesthetic design here and not functional design.

I generally will spend more money for good aesthetic design but good functional design is also important as a product must operate correctly, easily and also last a long time.

So a product must have good engineering design (functional design) and also have good aesthetic design. I don't like cheap that looks cheap and doesn't work correctly or breaks easily.

Cars.......I drive Alfa Romeos.

 

[Matt1959]

Relatively modern Alfas are the only cars of affordable means I've ever looked at and thought wow isnt that pretty from an asthetic design point of view.....

yep the Italians seem to get their car design just spot on...

oops just realised I havtn answered the OP question - I would buy on both counts - it has to look good and has to function well also...

I wonder how many people buy a car that looks fantastic but is a pile of sh*t to drive (many I suspect!)

 

[HandyNick]

A few years ago I had an Alfa GTV. I loved its looks and I even spent some time on the interior too, which made me infamous on the Alfa forum. But the car itself was a pile of sh!t. But it didn't matter, because I loved the Italian design. In the end I had to opt for function and bought a rugged German machine.

One of my favourite brands that usually cover both form and function is alessi.

 

[internetspaceships]

I like a balance between the two Nick.

I too had a GTV2000 many moons ago too btw, looked great but the "sud" drove much better, as did the 75 3.0 I had.

Alfa really seemed to lose their way recently though, and now I'm an Audi guy because I like the styling, the way they drive, and the build quality. I must say though I've always preferred a bigger car to a hot hatch.

 

[Nuno]

Sadly I'm all design. Even my wife is white and shiny, and hardly ever goes down.

I think new Alfas only look good from the front, from the side the are same old same old high waisted euro boxes.
Did you ever see the Alfa BAT cars?
Used to be an Alfa freak. Had the 1600 junior GTV, the 1750, the 2000 and an old boat tail spyder.
Now a boring, functional Wolwo.

 

[internetspaceships]

From a young boy as a rally fan I always wanted an Audi Quattro. The shape, the flared wheel arches, the 4 x 4 and the overall design knocked me out.

The concept car on this link looks lovely, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If it came out then I'd put my name down for one, and that's something I've never ever done before.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/08/report-audi-building-business-case-for-limited-edition-quattro/


For now, I'll have to make do with the car that the concept car is based on.

 

[HandyNick]

That's a great looking car.

This is my dream car. If I should ever have the opportunity, then I would have this made for me.

http://www.handynick.co.uk/image.jpg

 

[bensmoa]

Every little thing in this world drives attraction due to its initial looks then people move to the internal features. So design is the most important aspect of everything as human nature tends to like the outer appearance of everything, it doesn't mean don't focus on the internal quality it should be good as well.

 

[zcarter682]

Design will always be an important factor - its partly why apple have had big success in recent times. Their products look smart and are designed in a way that is easy and fun to use.

 

[Benchmark Windows]

I'm ashamed to admit I go for form over function every time. if there were 2 products that did exactly the same but one was double the price because it looked nicer, I would pay the extra to have the nicer one!!

 

[MoritzL.]

I think design is kind of a user experience and therefore quite important.

For example the Porsche 911. Years have gone by and almost no other car, stayied so close to its original design. That's because they just nailed it.
If something is well designed it seems to be timeless.

Personally I'm also totally into design. It changes everything.

 

I think design is kind of a user experience and therefore quite important.

For example the Porsche 911. Years have gone by and almost no other car, stayied so close to its original design. That's because they just nailed it.
If something is well designed it seems to be timeless.

Personally I'm also totally into design. It changes everything.

Nope invention changes everything.

Design is just the icing on the cake.