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Extreme makeover: Dell edition

Here's the lede for Wired magazine's article on Dell's snazzy new PC designs:

Dell has been long been the Ugly Betty of the PC industry–functional, smart but severely lacking in the looks department.

But over the last two years, the company’s consumer-targeted PCs have gotten a design makeover that would make Tyra Banks proud.

I understand the journalistic strategy of including cultural touchstones that will draw readers into an article, but comparing product design to fashion makeovers really underscores the point from Frog Design's Max Burton, quoted in the Wired piece:

"Dell needs to treat design as something that is not superficial," says Max Burton, executive creative director for Frog Design in San Francisco. "What they have right now is more of applique design — [it's] more about finishes than real change to the materials and process."

Buried further down in the write-up, Dell acknowledges that design happens beneath the surface, too: Ed Boyd, vice president of consumer products, points out that a Dell Studio hybrid desktop launched in the last year uses 70 percent less material and power than older desktop models.

The focus of the article encourages you to believe that it's only the cosmetic changes that garner attention, create desire, and produce results. The fashionistas that Wired mentions probably want a good-looking computer, true--but what about function? No one wants a beautiful plastic brick (at least, I'd hope not). For products to truly evolve, design needs to consider materials, manufacturing processes, new technologies and thoughtful interface design. And as any Ugly Betty fan knows, true beauty is on the inside, anyway.

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