We are car people and cars fill a need for transportation but also are objects of passion. As such they are designed to invoke an emotional connection thorough aesthetic and tactile feel. Many consumer products will undergo the same process molded and shaped by an industrial designer. Electronics, furniture, clothing all frequently are designed in this way.
But other products simply exist. Yes someone is responsible for making them have an aesthetic, but generally what is produced is tortured by the continuous cost optimization process and what results is simply a thing. Care will be given to touchpoints and colors but you know what you bought was just designed to consume and provide ROI to the manufacturer.
Sometimes though a product in that second group makes it through and the result is even better then what comes out of that first group. A consumer product that is so achingly evocotive because you know someone hidden in the bowels of focus groups and bean counters managed to sneak one through.
Today I present to you one such product. The Yamaha YT series lawn tractor. I spotted one of these while I was out for a run. I didn't even know they existed but now I must find one.
Something about the shape, the wheel sizes, the proportions, the color and the decal package intersect to much much more then a consumer grade lawn tractor.
I know I'm insane that is why I am here. Other products along this line that I've noticed are the classic KitchenAid Stand Mixer, or the Cortelco rotary phone.
What are some things you've seen like this?
Moka pot was my first thought.
They are obselete antiques of the mathematical and Vintage Rally world, but the Curta Calculator has been celebrated as one of The World's Most Beautiful Things (possibly by MOMA if I recall correctly, which I may not).
Duke
MegaDork
5/21/20 7:13 p.m.
In reply to Woody :
The past president of my car club has a Curta he uses on rallies.
In reply to 93EXCivic :
Dad's Chemex coffee filter carafe is along these lines for me.
In general my sense of timeless is rooted pretty firmly in art decor style design, but I got a set of Grace screwdrivers a couple years back for working on outboards. Glorious tools to work with.
http://www.graceusatools.com/item-details.php?item_id=31&category_id=2
In reply to 93EXCivic :
I was admiring my Bialetti earlier while washing it after enjoying a cup of the excellent coffee it brews. Spectacular bang for the buck on form and function with that thing.
For me, the old school original Orange-X citrus juicer always stood out as an everyday product that is elevated by function and form:
It does one thing, and does it very well, and looks cool doing it.
A lot of old cameras I think fall under this. Particularly Olympus
93EXCivic said:
A lot of old cameras I think fall under this. Particularly Olympus
Heck yeah! I love the look of the Yashica Electro 35:
I think that the original Simpson Bandit belongs here, but after half an hour of searching, I can't find a picture of an aesthetically perfect early one. I had one for a long time. Mine was silver.
I want that Yamaha now. Wow. Something about it is perfect.
mtn
MegaDork
1/11/23 8:32 p.m.
In reply to nocones :
Hey Nocones, want a Yamaha Mower?
Yammy
Only 2 hours from you!
Mid century modern furniture.
And Art Deco. All of it. The Auburn Cord Duesenburg museum building is amazing.