Watches Tell More Than Time

by Del Coates

Book Overview

From Audis to iMacs, Beetles to palm-tops, the design secrets behind some of the biggest business success stories of all times "Del Coates has written a definitive playbook for product managers on how... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071362436
• ISBN13: 9780071362436
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.6" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

one of a kind

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?

What it takes to have a Wow product!

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 DunbarSugar Land, TX

What makes a product great?

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.

Design Theory

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.

"Watches Tell More Than Time" is outstanding

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.