PickVidsBest Product & industrial design Videos
The 37 Product & industrial design videos here were recommended by different people across different months. Choose by who it is for: 1 introductory, 0 intermediate, 36 for a general viewer, and 0 for someone who wants the harder derivation. Most of them are an explainer. What they share is that one picture or analogy is used to supply a missing concept. Channels you will keep seeing include Technology Connections, TEDx Talks, Kirsten Dirksen.
The Ingenious Design of the Aluminum Beverage Can
Bill Hammack of Engineer Guy explains the engineering behind the aluminum beverage can: why it is cylindrical, how it is manufactured, why it narrows at the top, the double seam, and how the pull tab works.
The Grille Trend that Kills 509 People per Year
FortNine looks at the data on why newer pickup trucks with tall, blunt grilles kill so many pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
Steve Jobs Insult Response
A clip from Steve Jobs's 1997 WWDC session, in which he answers a hostile question from an audience member about Apple killing OpenDoc.
British Plugs Are Better Than All Other Plugs, And Here's Why
Tom Scott explains the design of the British BS 1363 plug and socket, including fuses, shutters and safety features, and why he thinks it beats other plugs.
Microsoft Re-Designs the iPod Packaging
A 2006 parody made by a Microsoft team that shows how the company would redesign iPod packaging, with a box piled with feature claims, logos and clutter in contrast to Apple's clean design.
Segmented Displays
Posy explores segmented displays, from the seven-segment display to alternative designs with fewer or more segments, with patents and history.
Steve Jobs Insult Response - Highest Quality
A clean-audio clip from Apple's 1997 WWDC where Steve Jobs answers a hostile question from a developer about OpenDoc.
Nokia Morph Concept (long)
A concept video from Nokia Research Center and Cambridge Nanoscience Center showing Morph, a flexible, self-cleaning, shape-changing phone imagined through nanotechnology.
So... the minute hand shows progression — apparently we think of time in wildly different ways
A Technology Connections video essay on how analog and digital clocks shape different mental models of time, with the minute hand acting as a progress indicator.
5 steps to designing the life you want | Bill Burnett | TEDxStanford
TEDxStanford talk by Bill Burnett, executive director of Stanford's design program, on applying design thinking to your own life and career.
Steve Jobs Content vs Process
A three-minute clip of Steve Jobs arguing that great products come from people who care about content rather than process.
Meeting my hero! Sailing legend Sven Yrvind
Sam Holmes Sailing visits sailing legend Sven Yrvind and tours his boat, covering the man and his small-boat design philosophy.
The Antique Microwave Oven that's Better than Yours
Technology Connections examines an old feature-rich microwave and shows how it uses a humidity or steam sensor and lookup data to cook food well, arguing it beats many modern ones.
Find your primal posture and sit without back pain: Esther Gokhale at TEDxStanford
Esther Gokhale's short TEDx talk argues that the natural human spine is curved rather than straight and teaches a 'primal posture' for sitting without back pain.
Extreme transformer home in Hong Kong: Gary Chang's 24 rooms in 1
Kirsten Dirksen visits architect Gary Chang's 32 square meter Hong Kong apartment, which he has redesigned over decades.
Everything is a Remix Part 3 (Original Series, 2011)
Part 3 of Kirby Ferguson's Everything is a Remix series, using Apple and the iPhone to show how invention builds on copying and combining prior ideas.
1993 interview re: Paul Rand and Steve Jobs
A 1993 interview in which Steve Jobs talks about designer Paul Rand, who created the NeXT logo.
Thomas Thwaites: How I built a toaster -- from scratch
Designer Thomas Thwaites describes his attempt to build a toaster from scratch, from mining ore and deriving plastic from oil.
Why Western Designs Fail in Developing Countries
A design essay on why products designed in Western contexts often fail when deployed in developing countries.
Conventional Keyboards Are STAGGERINGLY STUPID!
Ben Vallack compares finger movement on a staggered keyboard with an ortholinear grid keyboard, using an Anne Pro 2 and a ZSA Planck EZ.
The Senseless Ambiguity of North American Turn Signals
Technology Connections explains why North American tail light rules, which allow red turn signals and flashing brake lights, make signals ambiguous.
Apple - iMac G4 "Lamp" ad (2002)
Apple's 2002 television ad for the iMac G4 "Lamp", showing the adjustable-arm design in a playful way.
How to design an actually good toaster with lessons from the 1940's
Technology Connections praises a 1940s-50s Sunbeam toaster and explains what makes a toaster well designed, drawing on a vintage Sunbeam video.
Steve Jobs on Microsoft
A 1996 clip of Steve Jobs saying that Microsoft lacks taste and is not a creative company.