Do we demand good design?

I just returned from my latest European trip, and while staying with parents, I decided to enjoy the Crisp English evening by offering to mow their yard. "Mower's in the shed" my dad said - and upon entering, there it was. No, not a shiny new mower, but the very same Flymo hovering lawnmower I used to mow that very same yard when I was 12! Wow! I may not have appreciated it then, but now, as a designer, I was taken aback. If this mower were sold in the States as a new model, we would marvel at it's futuristic beauty - but this thing is 20-years old! It's sleek, bright orange, aerodynamic, and the thing has no wheels - it freakin' hovers!

But it doesn't end there, it's Dyson Vacuums and Bang and Olufsen Stereos. The Europeans are just simply further down the evolutionary design chain! Nowhere is this more clearly defined than in the automobile market. We are so content with our bland Japanese sedans, and in Europe, their cars are fashionable! Like Clothing! I took two examples - America's Beloved Camry, and a run-of-the-mill European family car (Citroen C4 pictured).



America, let's wake up and demand good design. It's un-American to be boring!!

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