> Jeans of all brands still have antiquated watch pockets, now too small to be useful<p>I disagree. They make great coin pockets, which also helps keep my phone from getting scratched up by the coins.<p>Things can still be useful for reasons other than their original purpose.
> Though electric cars don’t need cooling grilles – batteries don’t get as hot and they’re chilled in a different way – many have them anyway to avoid looking weird.<p>This actually isn't true. Electric engines do indeed release a lot less waste heat than internal combustion engines, but they also can't tolerate nearly as high of temperatures. And since heat dissipation is proportional to temperature, their cooling requirements (ie radiator) tend to be similar. Perhaps a bit less, but comparable.<p>Teslas actually do have radiators; they're just mounted low, so they're less obvious. The same could be done in most other cars, although admittedly the electric engine might allow for easier flexibility of layout to accomplish this.
> The result: the controls of modern aircraft look very similar to those from the 1930s.<p><a href="http://magazin.lufthansa.com/content/uploads/2016/07/A380-800-Blick-ins-Cockpit-360-Panorama-Startbild-980x653.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://magazin.lufthansa.com/content/uploads/2016/07/A380-80...</a><p><a href="http://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/5/1/1/0898115.jpg?v=v40" rel="nofollow">http://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/5/1/1/0898115....</a><p>LOL. The "explanation" in the article is mostly poppycock. Modern avionics are based on engineering of human factors. There's no inherent desire for skeuomorphism or even traditionalism. Control modalities that have been tested to work better than potential modern replacements tend to stay, that is all. In military tactical aircraft the differences are even more stark. On the smaller GA scale of aircraft, it isn't so much traditionalism, as economics.
"the cockpits of the most high-tech airplanes are still laden with analogue dials, levers and knobs" , too bad car manufacturers aren't so careful with their infotainment consoles.<p>I'm lucky I still have knobs/buttons on mine, but the more expensive console option did away with all of that and uses an infuriating touch screen slider for the volume... that even must be navigated to to operate.
There is an incredible subculture for denim, distressing jeans the old fashioned way, no skeuomorphism here. The pre-WW2 production methods produced a higher quality product (surprise?) but the small looms couldn't produce it fast enough or cheap enough and were sent overseas. The Japanese have carried on producing proper American work wear, while American brands largely produce a simulacrum of American work wear. Sad fact, Cone Mills is shutting down after more than a century, last of its kind in the US.
Architecture is full of further examples of useless design features, from facades to fascia, to non-load bearing columns. There are entire books (even novels) on this subject.
The history of GUI icons is full of this stuff...<p>A pencil for "edit" even though you have a computer now.<p>A floppy disk for "save" even though they went out in the 90s.<p>Manila file folders for files/directories even though few people use them anymore.<p>Wristwatches, and even more old-school: hourglasses, for wait time.<p>...
Don't forget designs that provide <i>negative</i> value. Mobile micro-payments, addiction-forming designs, "subscribe to our spam" pop-ups...<p>Aside, there's no evidence that DVORAK is better than QWERTY, and the origin story of QWERTY presented here is a common misconception.
Can't wait for my next phone to come with tail fins.<p>(This article could have been better titled by the BBC as "vestigial traces of older products in the design of newer ones.")<p>And for those lucky enough to never have seen them: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_tailfin" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_tailfin</a>
> In the United States, wagons were increasingly common on the roads. Drawn by up to 20 animals, they were a popular way of transporting goods over long distances – and the men helming these vehicles liked to drive on the right. They’d sit on the rear leftmost horse, so it was easier to make sure oncoming traffic didn’t get too close if it was also on the left.<p>Why did drivers sit on the leftmost horse?
Love this:<p>> This new material [copper] was much more versatile, since it didn’t have to be painstakingly chipped into shape. It led to a whole range of elaborate inventions, from crowns to ornamental sceptres. But many objects created in this era retained a decidedly stone-age look.
I like the fact that a part of the space shuttle's design can be traced back to Roman times:<p><a href="http://www.astrodigital.org/space/stshorse.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.astrodigital.org/space/stshorse.html</a>
>But the public like cars to look a certain way.<p>Meh, this isn't all that true in my opinion. A properly designed "grill-less" car can be just as popular if not moreso than a design that adheres to the status quo. Just look at every Corvette from arguably the C2* through the C5. The C4* definitively removed the grill from the design but the C2 and C3* worked them into the nose in a way completely unlike that of a traditional "grill". Then you have the case of the Citroen DS* which has been lauded as one of the most beautiful/cutting edge designs of all time.<p>The lasting popularity and perception of these cars proves that "grills" aren't necessary, it just takes more artistic skill to design a pleasing shape without them.<p>>Though electric cars don’t need cooling grilles – batteries don’t get as hot and they’re chilled in a different way.<p>Now this just isn't true at all unless I'm unaware of some new design that diverges entirely from the Tesla/Nissan/GM school of electric vehicle design. While the radiator of a Tesla Model S*, X, or 3 may be much smaller than that of a typical ICE powered car, it is still large enough to require meaningful airflow through the front end/underbody. The issue with consumer perceptions of the "grill-less" designs isn't that they are innately undesirable, it's that all of the current mass production electric cars are either woefully bland or amateurishly designed. I personally think Tesla's design language is unimaginative and would carry the perception of being 10 years out of date if made by any other brand. Also, even if it was possible to passively cool the battery and motor of an electric car (while still meeting modern expectations of performance), the HVAC system still needs airflow for the AC condenser.<p>Sources:
C2: <a href="http://www.usedcorvettesforsale.com/img/icons/c2-corvette.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.usedcorvettesforsale.com/img/icons/c2-corvette.jp...</a><p>C3: <a href="https://fthmb.tqn.com/gmQGeIVkCGfb6anH9CTM6jBmLuA=/768x0/filters:no_upscale()/W89HV_CH003-56a1ca5b3df78cf7726e05ff.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://fthmb.tqn.com/gmQGeIVkCGfb6anH9CTM6jBmLuA=/768x0/fil...</a><p>C5: <a href="http://image.superchevy.com/f/9271396+w640+h640+q80+re0+cr1+st0/corp_0405_how_to_buy_c5_corvette_z_1%2B2002_c5.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://image.superchevy.com/f/9271396+w640+h640+q80+re0+cr1+...</a><p>Citroen DS: <a href="https://www.classicdriver.com/sites/default/files/styles/two_third_slider/public/cars_images/citroen_ds23ie_1.jpg?itok=_BoBZTtz" rel="nofollow">https://www.classicdriver.com/sites/default/files/styles/two...</a><p>Tesla Model S Radiator: <a href="http://www.r8talk.com/gallery/data/500/Front_Radiators.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.r8talk.com/gallery/data/500/Front_Radiators.jpg</a>
> Though electric cars don’t need cooling grilles – batteries don’t get as hot and they’re chilled in a different way – many have them anyway to avoid looking weird.<p>s/many/all the ass-backward archaic car companies/<p>Is Tesla is the only one that doesn’t have a grill?<p>I don’t know if my volt actually has openings but it does have the grill. Totally cool looking -_-
_design features which are included because we value them (apparently) but they serve little or no purpose_<p>well.. sure. I mean, once you have Helvetica and Times, all the other roman fonts are basically wasting my time.<p>I would argue the rivets still serve a purpose. Maybe its how I wear them, but I have torn the pockets off jeans.<p>The Iconography of Instagram and the resurgence of Polaroid style cameras..<p>The iconography of the floppy disk as 'save to disk' icon probably won't last much longer mind you.