We’ve just come out of a time where, let’s face it – the conspicuous consumption of the last 10 years dwarfs what we saw during the 80’s. We’ve had reality shows that show young girls being chauffered in Lamborghini’s to “sweet 16 parties” that cost the same amount of money that AIG employees got (or now, might just get taxed out of) for bonuses.

And, things moved on at such a swift pace, that as long as it was “pretty” – people would buy it. 15 years ago, who ever heard of the term, “Do you speak Prada?”. Now, with budgets scaled back, and people actually taking the time to think about what they are buying – now is actually a great time for products that are built on the concept of “form follows function”.

I’ll use Chrysler vs. Ford as one example. Both companies have, over the last 15 years, built vehicles that are attractive. But design goes beyond “pretty”. Design isn’t just how it looks – it’s how it works. Good design means you don’t have to think about how to use it – you just use it. In the most recent surveys done by Consumer Reports, had both GM and Chrysler at the bottom of the list in reliability, with Ford fourth from the bottom. (USAToday – 27 Feb 09). And, yet, both design cars such as the Dodge Viper, the Chrysler 300M, the Ford Mustang, and even the now discontinued Ford GT – that are quite attractive.

Another example is Apple products compared to…well, just about any competing product. During the downturn, Apple has introduced the new “unibody” Mac’s, the iPhone, new iPods, and now the Shuffle. Sales may have dropped a little, but to hear that Lenovo (which makes great systems, by the way) has had to lay of people at their factories in China – seems to be showing that the combination of good visual design, good ergonomic design, and good mechanical design – are what are becoming key to sales.

Basically, it’s coming down to this – if people are going to spend, they want it to last, and they want to be proud of it. Architect Sarah Susanka has been a proponent for years of smaller spaces, with money spent on the details. Over the last “boom” – the goal seemed to be to buy bigger homes – yet, not necessarily better homes. Last year, for the first time in 10 years – the average square footage of new single-family homes actually fell from 2,629 in the second quarter, to 2,343 in the fourth quarter, according to US Census Data.

We’re seeing a return to common sense. We want more out of less. We want to feel connected to what we have spent our money on. Those who produce designs that help create a long-term emotional bond to the brand, to the product, and to the company that produced them, will be the winners once we rebound out of this downturn.

I realize that the Toyota Prius is the current “in” car - you can save the planet while driving a truly boring car - and now Honda has something that I think is not only far beyond the Prius in terms of “hybrid techonology” - it doesn’t look like a toaster on wheels!

When does the sports car version come out?

Over the course of the last few days, I’ve read a couple of different news releases and articles regarding recent company downsizings, in light of the current economic turndown. One of them concerns Microsoft. Beyond the train-wreck called Vista, it seems they keep making miss-steps that may be why they’ve announced some pretty extensive layoffs this week – 5000 employees.

One release describes  that some of these cuts include the disbanding of the ACES Studio team which is responsible for Flight Simulator, as well as other games. And another describes that even though the revenue stream from some of these games has been small, it has been positive – while the Zune player that’s designed to compete with Apple’s iPod – has been loosing money. And, we see another case of “We have to show that we’re better than XXX company – so let’s cut those areas that are profitable and use the money we save to throw at unprofitable business units!”.

I now read the following article from CNET- based on an interview with Steve Jobs when iTunes was only 8 months old:

http://tinyurl.com/bgazev

Hmmm…seems Steve was right! Now, this doesn’t mean that Steve is a genius. Yes, Steve believes in both his company, it’s products, and his ability to read the market (and understand his customer). But, that’s the point – he understands his customer! Too many companies spend their time – and their marketing efforts – on telling the customer what they need and want. But, I’d say that the most successful companies (at least for the long-term) – spend their time and efforts trying to figure out a better way to deliver to their customer what they ask for.

When you think of Apple’s designs – whether it’s an iPod, a MacBook, or the iPhone – they take the time to make sure that it’s not just “pretty” – it also delivers to the customer what they asked for.

With the upcoming bailout of the “Big 3″ Automakers, it’s got me thinking again about “bad design. Of the three, Ford is actually in the best position financially. GM…is in the worst. GM is also thinking of shedding a few of it’s lines, including Saturn, Buick, and Pontiac.

The funny thing is, with the exception of the Corvette, the upcoming Camaro, and the (of all things) – new Malibu, nearly all of Chevrolet’s products are, well, bland. Yet, the new Pontiac G8 (really a Holden designed in Australia) and the Solstice, the nearly all of the Saturn lines, and the newest Buick products – are actually attractive! With car sales down 37% or more over last year, it seems insane that GM would get rid of the lines that might actually have products worth buying, and keep the lines that, well, pretty much suck. Furthermore, they keep talking about the Chevy Volt – the car that will “save the company” when it comes out in 2010.

Speaking of the Volt, I’ve read complaints that the car is “boring” – not very exciting to look at. Now, it does look a bit less like a toaster than the Toyota Prius does, but here’s a chance for GM to show the world that a breakthrough automobile, that can go 40 miles on it’s batteries before kicking in a small gasoline engine for recharging them, can also be beautiful. Yet, they responded to the criticism by saying that people would buy the car not based on looks, but based on it’s technology.

I believe that this is additional proof that the movie “Idiocracy” was really a documentary!

Oh…and they’ve also announced that they expect that they won’t make a profit on the Volt, due to the enormous R&D costs they’ve incurred during it’s development.

And we wonder why GM is in trouble?

Hopefully, I’ll get this next one done in the coming week or so. Of course, I’ve been saying that for the last…week or so. I did make quite a bit of progress this past weekend – I think all I have left is to finish up the palm trees & kiawe at the extreme right, the surf around the rocks, and the sand at the very bottom right (which I’ll do last – since I have an unfortunate habit of dragging my hand through stuff I’ve just painted!) The photo of the painting so far…ok, not the best photo, but it’s just a quick shot with my iPhone of my work-in-progress.

Anyway, the view is from Wahikuli Beach Park on Maui, from a photo I took at sunrise the morning I left the island this past August. I already think I know what I want to do for my next painting, but it’s a little more extensive than this one – so this painting now is one that I figured I could knock out fairly quickly. Enjoy!