The Aesthetics of Design
What Makes a Good Design
Quality
Cost
Time
Function
The priority of these has changed over time.
Design for X (X=Manufacturing, Assembly, etc.)
Fitness to:
Standard (1950's)
Use (1960's)
Cost (1970's)
Latest Requirement (1980's)
Coporate Culture (now and future)
Societal and Global Environment (now and future)
Design Example: Videocassettes
There are 1 billion cassettes manufactured each year by seven major
manufacturers (25cents per case = $500 million)
- one type, VHS is licensed by JVC to major manufacturers.
VHS specifications include shell dimensions and functions (e.g. hub lock, door latch), tape transport inerfaces (e.g. splined hub, roller positions), and guidelines regarding magnetic medium (e.g. minimum particle density)
Individual manufacturers can design within specifications, choosing mechanisms, springs, fasteners and also production/assembly methods (winding technology, manual vs. automatic)
Quality dimensions include: tape "drop outs" (caused by dust during manufacture), tape degradation (caused by roller and pin roughness), robustness to general use and abuse
What is the advantage of this? Design Standard.
Disassemble several brands of videocassettes (with small (#0) Phillips
screwdrivers). Examine design and count parts.
How might design change over time?
How difficult is it to assemble?
How might you improve the design?
How many parts are there? Most have 28-38.
hub lock alone can be made with 1-5 parts.
Color coding? (to avoid confusion with mirror-image parts during assemply)
Number of springs (which are difficult to install)?
Extreme Case of Number of Parts: Global Zero
- 6 parts: case, two springs, two one-piece hubs, one leader
- G-zero's niche is direct mail promotions. Why?
cheap
easily colored
easily recycled (made of recycled recyclable polypropylene)
rapid response
but not as durable (during reuse or higher temperatures)
Is there any way to change G-zero to remove 1 cent of cost? Why not do this?
Patents or Trade Secrets (but innovations still transfer quickly)
Tooling
It's good enough
Many Thanks to Prof. Steven Eppinger of the MIT Sloan School of Management for developing the videocassette design study and allowing us to use it.
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