• Dieter Rams at Braun — the 60s line of radios, turntables and small appliances, with his famous “less but better”, is the obligatory reference point against today’s generic minimalism.
• Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper — Italian appliance design (Brionvega, for example the Algol TV).
Contrast with today
Today the equivalent would be studios like Pininfarina (which now draws the Battista electric hypercar), or within the brands, very large in-house design teams (BMW, Hyundai) where the individual designer’s name almost disappears from the public story — in contrast to personal signatures like Giugiaro’s or Gandini’s.
[!NOTE] Editorial brief Idea: why do modern cars all look the same? → regulation + aerodynamics (and maybe that’s good). Link to retro nostalgia (games) + ethics (the 70s polluted/were dangerous = bad design). Sub-threads: brand consolidation (a shared art direction); trends; Jony Ive / myth of the solitary genius (genius or surrounded by people? iOS flaws?); why a Ford Mustang is “damn good” and a modern SUV isn’t. Research so far: homogenization = regulation (lights/emissions/pedestrians) + aerodynamics (“hostage to the wind”). Do not treat lightly — add the Wences Sanz framing (regulation as something good). Audience: critical thinking / taste. 🟠 homogen·craft. Link to
high fidelity and retro gaming+High_Seriality_Prototyping.