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10 Iconic Product and Technology Designs

Every now and then, a product or technology comes along that’s so well designed and crafted it completely disrupts the market. In the motoring world, it was Henry Ford’s ultra-popular and highly disruptive Model T, followed by the Volkswagen Beetle. These cars had design so perfect that it changed the way consumers viewed their industries. In short, they changed the world.

These ten product and technology designs have done the same. From revolutionizing markets and boosting sales to completely killing current products, each one of these products has been designed with a specific purpose. If you’re a designer looking for inspiration, let these ten ultra-disruptive and highly iconic product and technology designs fuel your ambition and future design success.

1. Twitter

The internet’s hottest startup is also one of the most elegantly designed. A small message box, ultra-simple follower and following lists, and a clear divide between active content and sidebar navigation make Twitter a very classy design. It’s also got character in spades, from the cute mascots and background characters to the personalized error messages and options.

Of course, what makes Twitter iconic is the way design and purpose fuse into the technology. While some online services feature slick design, few feature it in the way that Twitter does.

2. The Segway

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While an utter failure in terms of sales and popularity, the Segway scooter is one of the most well-known and distinctive designs of the 21^st century. Sure, it’s been around for longer than ten years, but it didn’t become a design icon until the last decade. Despite some obvious control limitations and serious business problems, the Segway is an enduring icon of technology and product design.

3. Google

Google is slick, simple, and very easy to use – everything that search engines weren’t in the late 1990s. Back then there was Yahoo – a cluttered beast of a search engine – and MSN Search – an all-purpose search tool that just wasn’t that effective. Search engines lacked focus, and divided attention away from where it should be: the search box.

Google changed all that. Rather than distracting people with homepage news and pointless features, it stripped searching down to the bare necessities. Users knew exactly what to do, and the design was so seamless and slick that anybody could pick it up and appreciate it.

4. The Apple iPod

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Apple have a knack for taking complex technologies and creating user-friendly devices out of them. Their early 2000s mp3 player, known to virtually everyone as the iPod, is one of those user-friendly devices. An mp3 player with a focus on simplicity, usability, and slick design, the iPod threw the mp3 player market on its head, and after several revisions, is still the most popular portable music device in the world.

5. Converse All Stars

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Converse All Star shoes are one of the most well-known and enduring icons of the 20^th century. Initially popular amongst skaters, punk stars, and general layabouts, the shoes underwent a renaissance period over the last decade, experiencing huge sales and massive popularity in cult music circles, indie communities, and general hipster wardrobes.

Whether you’re a fan or not, it’s hard to deny the design’s enduring value. Numerous copycat manufacturers have popped up, but none have managed to topple Converse’s near complete market domination.

6. Coca Cola

The Coca Cola bottle goes beyond iconic – it’s a symbol that’s recognizable to everyone. While the McDonalds arches may be considered the most recognizable and valuable global branding resource, the Coca Cola bottle design is one of the most valuable and important product designs around. Everyone knows the differences between a Coke bottle and a regular cola bottle, right down to the curves and slightly different shape. This long-term design effort certainly paid off.

7. The Dyson Vacuum Cleaner

The Dyson Vacuum Cleaner is a triumph of slick design, very smart engineering, and incredible marketing. Frustrated by his vacuum cleaner’s weak power delivery, James Dyson set out to make a vacuum cleaner that operated without bags, giving it greater suction power and significantly less resource usage.

He succeeded. After trying to market his innovative vacuum cleaner to UK firms, Dyson took it overseas, offering it in Japan via mail order. The cleaner took off, became a leading product worldwide, and Dyson eventually toppled the competitors that once refused to produce his product.

8. Nike’s Waffle Sole

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Legend has it that the Nike waffle shoe was made in quite a predictable fashion: by pouring shoe rubber into a waffle iron. While the beginnings sound slightly simplistic, the Nike waffle sole’s enduring popularity has made it an iconic style amongst shoe designers. When it comes to determining what’s ‘iconic’ and what isn’t, it helps to look at the imitators. Nike’s waffle sole has generated thousands of them, from ultra-cheap Chinese imitators to more subtle Reebok and Adidas knockoffs.

9. The Apple iPhone

Just like the Apple iPod threw the mp3 player industry on its head, the Apple iPhone changed the phone industry from obsessed with technology to healthily obsessed with user experience. The first mass market phone with an all-phone touch screen, the iPhone drew thousands of orders within the first minutes that it went on sale.

Now available in a variety of different versions and flavors, the iPhone is an example of product design gone very right. Love it or hate it, this product design revolutionized the phone industry, and could become an enduring icon of the 21^st century.

10. The Tivoli Audio Radio

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Tivoli consistently survive, despite their much higher prices and smaller radios than competitors. Why? Because their products are, to put it bluntly, absolutely beautiful. Just like the iPhone justified a high purchase price, Tivoli’s range of audio equipment demands a high price not just because of its quality, but because of its incredible design. Design buffs and audiophiles everywhere agree – if you’re getting a radio, you’re getting a Tivoli.

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