Posted on by Maggie McDonald

Thirty Days of Thanks – Thank Goodness for Good Design!!

Deconstructing Product DesignWe’re a Web Marketing company so of course one of the thirty things we are thankful for is good design!!

And we’re not just talking web design either… we’re talking about the design of all of your everyday things from the mundane to the magnificent.

To celebrate our love of design, we’ve got a super special giveaway for you this month!!

Our very own Search Engine Marketing Team Manager, Jonti Bolles, is a former professor of Architecture and we can testify that this gal loves her design… so much so that she was tapped to offer her expert design commentary in the recently published Deconstructing Product Design book by Will Lidwell and Gerry Manacsa.

Want a copy? Tell us what product you can’t live without and what about it’s design has made it integral to your life.

For inspiration check out my 5 Favorite Product Designs from the book!!

  1. the Motorola Razr V3: I had one of these babies. And yes I agree… the silver version pictured in the book was a step forward for phones, but the Pink Razr (with duct tape accents) that I personally owned was what I’d consider more of a giant leap. Razrs are risiliant little things and last for years!
  2. Aeron Armchair: I sit in a wannabe one of these (from Eurway) all day at work and I would never switch to a different chair. Commenter Carley H. Franklin calls it the “Rock-Star of the Seating World” and I wholeheartedly agree! Even if my chair is merely the pop-star version.
  3. the Chanel No. 5 Flacon: Ladies across the world will unanimously agree that this famed bottle of perfume is one of the iconic   symbols of all things womanly.
  4. POM Juice Bottle: I love pomegranates so by proxy I love this bottle. The design helps too.
  5. Glock G17 Semi-Automatic Pistol: I’m an Army Gal and so weapons of all shapes and sizes interest me. This one is a little smaller than the ones we used to tote around in basic training but I love that they featured it in a design book!!

And if you MUST have some Internet Inspiration, check out the Sew Crafty Houston Site or Gwen Bell’s Beautiful Blog. Both make me smile every time they pop open in my browser. I blame the monsters.

So one more time. How do you win this awesome book??

  1. Leave a comment below
  2. What product can’t you live without and what do you LOVE about its design
  3. We’ll pick a winner using the random integer generator on November 18
  4. Make sure you include a way for us to contact you when you win!!

9 Replies to “Thirty Days of Thanks – Thank Goodness for Good Design!!”

  1. Thanks for the love Maggie! YOU are a beautiful design. Agreed, two of my favorite objects from the book have to be the Glock and the Bialetti Moka coffeemaker. With a gun and a bit of caffeine, the day just seems like it will be okay. Joke, Ed!

    In all honesty, Gerry and Will did a great job on the design and production of the book. There is something for anyone who appreciates creative objects, elements and how good design relates to society and culture. They are stars in their own right and I am humbled to have been included in their project. Thanks guys!

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  4. In an attempt to be original (not) I HAVE to choose my Mac laptop.
    As a college student, being able to do so much from my dorm room really helps!

  5. My product I can't live without would have to be the Inova X5 flashlight. It's small, sturdy, bright, and runs for months on a pair of 123 lithium batteries. I wish I had bought this before Hurricane Ike; I didn't get it until about a week after.

    Honorable mention goes to the Zone Empire laser tag gear, particularly the phaser (gun) design, for being by far the least obnoxious design that requires two-handed operation of the ones I've played. (This is the gear Track 21 has, or at least had as of about a year ago.) Really, if I was naming examples of *bad* laser tag gear design, I'd run out of room.

  6. My Timbuk2 messenger bag (no idea what the specific model is–sad!) has been a trusty companion for the last five years. It has served me through art class, hurricanes, bars, the library, lunch, India, all across the United States, three internships, and much more. Sturdy, functional, and eye-pleasing with tripartite coloring, I really don't know how it could improve as a bag. It would take a lot before I gave up my man-purse.

  7. Yay! I love stuff. And stuff that has cool design is even better.
    My thing is my double-pane windows that open towards the inside to clean the outside.
    Two simple plastic clips is all it took to make a cruddy task so much more pleasant!
    And they’re super energy efficient!

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