Rating: 
Summary: Excellent content that needs some condensing
Review: "Watches Tell More than Time" is about how industrial designers influence the emotional responses that their products create. (Note: it's primarily concerned with physical objects, as opposed to computer software, which gets a lot of design press these days).It explains these responses in terms of evolutionary psychology. And, in what I consider to be the reason to read the book, it tells you how to measure and optimize them. That is, it lays out the theoretical underpinnings for a small set of attributes (contrast, novelty, objective concinnity, and subjective concinnity) that are fundamentally responsible for our emotional responses to objects, then describes a systematic process by which you can strengthen the responses that you consider important for a given product, and to measure your success (using a semantic differential scale) and find out you whether you have simultaneously weakened other desirable responses. There is some jargon, but it's well defined and to the point, and anyone interested in design should have no problem understanding it. It's at its best when the author delves into specific examples. Many are from his experience in the car design field; others are everyday items that everyone can relate to. The detailed deconstruction of a "simple" Corelle cup is outstanding -- I wish the book had a dozen more like it. The book's major weakness is the amount of time devoted to relatively elementary concepts, such as contrast and novelty. (How many times and in how many ways do we need to be told, for example, that new things command more of our attention than familiar ones?) I finished several chapters in a row thinking "OK, now that's he's got that out of his system, he's about to get to the good stuff." Eventually he does, but the repetition beforehand is why my rating is four stars, not five. Note: The book is _not_ about what I might call the "mechanics of aesthetics". How is it that Curve A feels dull while Curve B -- a subtle, almost unnoticeable variation -- seems taut and alive? Why does this union of materials and forms seem exactly right, even inspiring, but that one fails to catch the eye? For example, the author calls SUVs outwardly "robust", "rugged", and "militaristic". That feels right, but what makes it so? What is it, exactly, about the shapes and lines of an SUV that evoke such a different reaction than is typical for a minivan ("bland", "boring", "utilitarian")? Each is, after all, more like the other than like a sedan. Yet no one would have trouble identifying the type from a picture -- even without telltale backgrounds of the Rockies vs a youth soccer field. Each time I think I've got it nailed down, I see a counter-example on the road. I think it's mostly a matter of the angle between the hood and windshield, and the height of the grille. But that just begs the question: why are the more acute angle and higher grille more aggressive in the first place? A lower grille and gentler angle are considered more aggressive in a sports car. "Watches Tell More than Time" tantalizingly dances around such questions, but fundamentally doesn't attempt to answer them. But it leaves you better equipped to wrestle with the answers yourself. (A sports car has different emotional goals than an SUV.) So the book won't make you an industrial designer any more than a trip to the art supply store will make you an artist. Instead, it introduces you to a fundamental chunk of an industrial designer's toolkit. If you've already internalized "talk to your users" and "keep it simple", and you want a deeper understanding of how some products are able to become beloved icons, you'll probably find very interesting material here.
Rating: 
Summary: one of a kind
Review: A book that addresses what many know but fail to acknowledge. This book brings the importance of design, which is a result of the power of the human senses, to the mainstream without dumbing down the material. The decisions people make in regards to buying products are largely based on unarticulated(Subconscious) reasons. Studies report that 80% of human communication is non-verbal and that visual communication is one of the oldest and most important forms of communication. In todays marketplace where most products are commodities, possesing similar features and functions, design is one of the most powerful forms of differentiation. This book details the importance of design and the key attributes that make one design stand out from another. Take notice of the "irregular" or different size of this books binding. Do you think some thought went into that?
Rating:
Summary: one of a kind
Review: A book that addresses what many know but fail to acknowledge. This book brings the importance of design, which is a result of the power of the human senses, to the mainstream without dumbing down the material. The decisions people make in regards to buying products are largely based on unarticulated(Subconscious) reasons. Studies report that 80% of human communication is non-verbal and that visual communication is one of the oldest and most important forms of communication. In todays marketplace where most products are commodities, possesing similar features and functions, design is one of the most powerful forms of differentiation. This book details the importance of design and the key attributes that make one design stand out from another. Take notice of the "irregular" or different size of this books binding. Do you think some thought went into that?
Rating:
Summary: Design Theory
Review: I entered the field of industrial design about 40 years ago with a shiny new degree from Art Center, considered then as now, a top school in the field. I was taught nothing worth mentioning about design theory, and indeed there seemed little in print at that time that was worth knowing . It's difficult to write down a set of rules that can be used to understand and create good design. Del Coates has taken a good bash at it. I wish I'd had a book like this when I started my career. Better yet, I wish my bosses had read such a book. I hope others will build on what Del has started.
Rating:
Summary: A review of Watches Tell More Than Time
Review: I will admit to being prejudiced. I've known Del Coates for about four years now through Western Automotive Journalists.
He is a true gentleman who has always been willing to chat with me and help me to understand why I really liked a cetain car I was reviewing. Del's book not only provides brief and clear analysis of why objects around us are made the way they are, but gave me a far more complete tool set with which to judge. What I learned will allow me to be a better writer who can now "make sense" out of what I am feeling. I have not only told my friends about the book, I went out and purchased about a dozen and sent them to fellow writers and editors. And being the cheapskate that I am, this even surprised me. This is simply a superb book and will be cherished by anyone who really wants to understand how Industrial Design developed
and grew into something that touches us every second of every day whether we recognize it or not.
Rating:
Summary: What makes a product great?
Review: The reason I initially read this book was to better understand why particular products are outstanding and become classics. Del explains how to design both practical and emotional appeal into great products. The big surprise to me was designing to stir an emotional appeal. Del explains the details of outstanding design by first laying the groundwork by defining the terminology. Then presents the details of a successful product design process. This bottoms-up approach makes the book easily readable by a wide variety of disciplines. Below is a list of professionals I believe would benefit from reading this book and the relevant questions this book addresses. Engineers-What makes a great product? How engineering influences the process? Historians-How culture influences products? Industrial Designers-How to take a wide variety of constraints imposed by engineering, business, manufacturing and the customer then combine them into an outstanding product? Artists-How do you get your work enjoyed by the widest audience, plus get paid well for it? A limited few people have the opportunity to view most traditional art. However, art expressed by product designers is enjoyed by the masses. Marketing professionals-What key practical and emotional needs must be in future products? Why a competitor's product attracts so much attention? Sales professionals-What image do you project both personally in what you wear (yes, even your watch) and the products you sell? This should be required reading by anyone interested in what makes the design Apple Computer products great.
Rating:
Summary: What makes a product great?
Review: The reason I initially read this book was to better understand why particular products are outstanding and become classics. Del explains how to design both practical and emotional appeal into great products. The big surprise to me was designing to stir an emotional appeal. Del explains the details of outstanding design by first laying the groundwork by defining the terminology. Then presents the details of a successful product design process. This bottoms-up approach makes the book easily readable by a wide variety of disciplines. Below is a list of professionals I believe would benefit from reading this book and the relevant questions this book addresses. Engineers-What makes a great product? How engineering influences the process? Historians-How culture influences products? Industrial Designers-How to take a wide variety of constraints imposed by engineering, business, manufacturing and the customer then combine them into an outstanding product? Artists-How do you get your work enjoyed by the widest audience, plus get paid well for it? A limited few people have the opportunity to view most traditional art. However, art expressed by product designers is enjoyed by the masses. Marketing professionals-What key practical and emotional needs must be in future products? Why a competitor's product attracts so much attention? Sales professionals-What image do you project both personally in what you wear (yes, even your watch) and the products you sell? This should be required reading by anyone interested in what makes the design Apple Computer products great.
Rating:
Summary: "Watches Tell More Than Time" is outstanding
Review: This book is very rare in that it presents a theory of aesthetics and applies it to product design and marketing (in the sense that it explains why and how designs "work" with customers). The central thesis - that products communicate directly with the heart and soul of consumers - is merely the starting point. How products communicate is related to well-documented principles in the psychology of perception and emotion. You will not find another book that links psychology and design so seamlessly. My job requires that I understand how an expensive durable good (automobiles) will be received by customers in the future. This is also addressed in the later chapters of the book. The notion of concinnity (somewhat synonymous with simplicity) is a guiding force of the book and of good product design. I recommend this book, not just for designers, but also for business minds who want to understand how to take advantage of the magic that is found in a product's design. The book is also very easy to read while also being well grounded in academic evidence. For a book on this topic, illustrations are very important, and the author has made sure to document all his points with thoughtful illustrations and photographs. I recommend this book without reservation.
Rating:
Summary: "Watches Tell More Than Time" is outstanding
Review: This book is very rare in that it presents a theory of aesthetics and applies it to product design and marketing (in the sense that it explains why and how designs "work" with customers). The central thesis - that products communicate directly with the heart and soul of consumers - is merely the starting point. How products communicate is related to well-documented principles in the psychology of perception and emotion. You will not find another book that links psychology and design so seamlessly. My job requires that I understand how an expensive durable good (automobiles) will be received by customers in the future. This is also addressed in the later chapters of the book. The notion of concinnity (somewhat synonymous with simplicity) is a guiding force of the book and of good product design. I recommend this book, not just for designers, but also for business minds who want to understand how to take advantage of the magic that is found in a product's design. The book is also very easy to read while also being well grounded in academic evidence. For a book on this topic, illustrations are very important, and the author has made sure to document all his points with thoughtful illustrations and photographs. I recommend this book without reservation.
Rating:
Summary: What it takes to have a Wow product!
Review: You will learn how humans react to a product - particularly great ones. I appreciate that the author has given me a new way to look at products and the effect of their designs. The author describes from a neurological and pyschological point of view how you react to a new product the instant you see it. I am talking micro-seconds here. Then, he discusses how you come to like it or reject it (a few microseconds later). This was truly interesting. He relates it back to Information Theory -- yet the book was not about bits and bytes. He describes how various shapes communicate differing amounts of information. Too much results in an over load. The author presents a simple model to analyze products. To help with this he discusses how he uses semantic difference surveys. I found this material very interesting although I wish that he had included samples of the survey documents. I didn't understand how the prospects visualized and then specified the ideal product to compare your product to. This is truly a great book but it does requires you to slow down when you read. The author carefully defines his terms - which unfortunately have to deal with cultural abstractions (like 'zeitgeists', 'daimons'). To keep up with the author, you need to understand these terms, as the author defines them. I will now go back a second time and try to make his framework more permanent in my brain. The author sleeps and dreams about great design. He has been a great designer (cars) for some time and now teaches out in San Jose. If you develop new products, or are a CEO of a company, or if you just like design... this is a required book. I looked at the book at the book store several times and put it back because the abstract terminology turned me off. Later I went and sat down in the book store and read it more slowly. It was then that I realized what a jewell this book is. I'd love to sit in on one of his classes. John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX
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