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1950-1970 seems like a local optimum in UX that we've yet to surpass. My personal, completely-unsupported theory is it was a combination of 3 qualities. (1) N

by ethbr0 3y ago

1950-1970 seems like a local optimum in UX that we've yet to surpass. My personal, completely-unsupported theory is it was a combination of 3 qualities. (1) New types of things, while unlike anything that came before, were still simple and understandable enough that someone without formal engineering training could understand their use and offer improvements. (2) Engineering was still seen as something that was approachable by anyone, and so more people availed themselves of the design tools it presented. (3) Manufacturing was physically colocated with design, increasing agility to implement improvements. Since then, we've moved into geographically disparate manufacturing of such optimized and tightly-packaged systems that as simple of an ask as "Could that light be red instead of green?" requires overwhelming machinations to design and implement, resulting in "Let's just leave it green." (Repeat for every UX component of a system)

gonzo41 3y ago
Also, everything was new. Now everything has been done, so people 'innovate' on silly crap in the UX space. Or they try and eek out margins resulting in intended obsolescence
ilyt 3y ago
I think for any long term products the designers of interface after they get to the optimum are just changing shit to keep themselves employed, while long time or professional users are just getting annoyed on having to re-learn stuff.
pikahumu 3y ago
(4) "Optima" is plural, "optimum" is singular. So, 1950-1970 seems like a local optimum.
- ethbr0 3y ago
  Fixed! Thanks. Sans coffee typing
user3939382 3y ago
There probably are a mix of factors. A big one that I see is that consumers moved away from "pride in ownership". Modern consumer culture weighs absolute price more than price per quality, so you get products that reflect that priority. Real inflation is also about double the rate of the official numbers IMHO, so the resources to invest in quality aren't as available.
- ffhhttt 3y ago
  > Real inflation is also about double the rate of the official numbers IMHO, It’s funny that one reason CPI hasn’t increased as fast as nominal prices in some cases is because it also factors in the quality of goods. e.g. modern cars are more expensive but also significantly better (they both have more features and last longer) I think this applies to a whole bunch of other products too.. I don’t know how accurate it is though, guess it depends on user preferences.
UncleMeat 3y ago
This fridge has an ice dispenser that requires you to use a tool to knock out a dozen ice cubes. My fridge has an ice dispenser that runs by itself until a big vessel of ice is full.
- ethbr0 3y ago
  If you've never had an ice maker break on a fridge, then you're a lucky person.
  - MichaelZuo 3y ago
    The expensive >$10k Sub-Zero fridges have very reliable ice makers, because the manufacturer offers 10 year warranties on them, That's the price equivalent of a $500 fridge from the 50s.
vsareto 3y ago
It's iterative vs. up-front design. Or agile vs. waterfall. Designers shouldn't be doing iterative development when the supply chain works best with up-front design. They might be forced to because of how the business operates though. Iterative design and quicker product releases are a quicker feedback loop for the business. Most companies don't do grand designs or long-standing flagship products meant to be advertised for years, but that may actually be on the consumer by constantly choosing the new thing. I don't think any car manufacturer has left a car design completely unchanged for longer than 10 years, for instance. Same for computer or laptop manufacturers.
- ethbr0 3y ago
  IMHO, the progression that explains the current state of things is: {vendor power decrease} led to {fierce competition on unit price} led to {consolidation of vendors and manufacturing cost minimization / volume maximization} led to {offshore lower cost manufacturing} led to {decreased design agility} Consequently, there's less appetite for the type of wild experiments that characterized 1950s and 1960s design. Low volume = not interested It used to be that tech was insulated from the phenomenon, but I think Google shows the same progression playing out. It just took tech longer to consolidate.

by ethbr0 3y ago

gonzo41 3y ago

Also, everything was new. Now everything has been done, so people 'innovate' on silly crap in the UX space. Or they try and eek out margins resulting in intended obsolescence

ilyt 3y ago

I think for any long term products the designers of interface after they get to the optimum are just changing shit to keep themselves employed, while long time or professional users are just getting annoyed on having to re-learn stuff.

pikahumu 3y ago

(4) "Optima" is plural, "optimum" is singular. So, 1950-1970 seems like a local optimum.

ethbr0 3y ago
Fixed! Thanks. Sans coffee typing

user3939382 3y ago

There probably are a mix of factors. A big one that I see is that consumers moved away from "pride in ownership". Modern consumer culture weighs absolute price more than price per quality, so you get products that reflect that priority. Real inflation is also about double the rate of the official numbers IMHO, so the resources to invest in quality aren't as available.

ffhhttt 3y ago
> Real inflation is also about double the rate of the official numbers IMHO, It’s funny that one reason CPI hasn’t increased as fast as nominal prices in some cases is because it also factors in the quality of goods. e.g. modern cars are more expensive but also significantly better (they both have more features and last longer) I think this applies to a whole bunch of other products too.. I don’t know how accurate it is though, guess it depends on user preferences.

UncleMeat 3y ago

This fridge has an ice dispenser that requires you to use a tool to knock out a dozen ice cubes. My fridge has an ice dispenser that runs by itself until a big vessel of ice is full.

ethbr0 3y ago
If you've never had an ice maker break on a fridge, then you're a lucky person.
- MichaelZuo 3y ago
  The expensive >$10k Sub-Zero fridges have very reliable ice makers, because the manufacturer offers 10 year warranties on them, That's the price equivalent of a $500 fridge from the 50s.

vsareto 3y ago

It's iterative vs. up-front design. Or agile vs. waterfall. Designers shouldn't be doing iterative development when the supply chain works best with up-front design. They might be forced to because of how the business operates though. Iterative design and quicker product releases are a quicker feedback loop for the business. Most companies don't do grand designs or long-standing flagship products meant to be advertised for years, but that may actually be on the consumer by constantly choosing the new thing. I don't think any car manufacturer has left a car design completely unchanged for longer than 10 years, for instance. Same for computer or laptop manufacturers.

ethbr0 3y ago
IMHO, the progression that explains the current state of things is: {vendor power decrease} led to {fierce competition on unit price} led to {consolidation of vendors and manufacturing cost minimization / volume maximization} led to {offshore lower cost manufacturing} led to {decreased design agility} Consequently, there's less appetite for the type of wild experiments that characterized 1950s and 1960s design. Low volume = not interested It used to be that tech was insulated from the phenomenon, but I think Google shows the same progression playing out. It just took tech longer to consolidate.