Design Classics - Influential Design Examples

Pritzker Prize winner Sydney Opera House

A design classic is readily recognisable and elicits a range of emotions in individuals, including nostalgia and inventiveness.

Classic designs are frequently referred to as “iconic,” implying that they are of high quality and that their continued demand is not reliant on heavy marketing or advertising. However, this does occur to reinforce the status and remind new consumers of the intrinsic value of the classic design. The design is frequently reproduced, generally with cheaper variations, bolstering the original design’s prestige and its “pioneering” notion.

Before the Industrial Revolution, the term “classic” conjured up images of beauty and artisanship, such as classical architecture and furniture. The introduction of mass production and “designing for the masses” frequently resulted in product quality and poor design deterioration. However, when mass production techniques got more established, some designers saw the new processes and materials as a chance to provide people with well-designed items at a low cost due to the cost-effectiveness of production. Classic design was no longer the domain of society’s upper crust.

The following are some of the posts I have completed on objects, architecture that may be considered classic designs.

Penguin Book Covers (1946 – 1949) Designer: Jan Tschichold

Tschichold created new standards of text arrangement and style that inspired all of the British postwar graphic design, although only working for the publication for three years. Then, with the formulation of the “Penguin Composition Rules,” he was able to apply Modernist theory to the requirements of book manufacturing.Read More →
Longines Pilot Majetek Watch – Timeless Design

Longines Pilot Majetek is a modern update to its landmark timepiece from 1935. With a fluted bezel, and triangular indicator. READ MORERead More →
Million Mark Note – Design Classic

The Bauhaus was the most well-known design school of the 20th century. Herbert Bayer created notes in denominations of one million, two million, and two billion. The designs exemplify the ideology of hardline Modern Movement graphics.Read More →
Sydney Opera House – Design Classic

The design of the Sydney Opera House (1956-73), which he won in an international competition, was Utzon’s crowning achievement. He envisioned a solid sculptural building made of a series of giant interlocking billowing white ‘sails’ inspired by the ships of Sydney Harbour.Read More →
Alessi PSJS Juicy Salif Citrus Squeezer (Design Classic)

Alessi PSJS Juicy Salif Citrus Squeezer designed by Philippe Starck On a sunny day inRead More →
Poster for Nikon (1957) by Yusaku Kamekura

Yusaku Kamekura’s poster emphasises the brilliance and clarity attained with the Nikon lens and the technical perfection of his client’s camera by using brilliant optical patterns and powerful, white letter-forms against an intensely dark background. Read More →
Concorde a design classic

Concorde was developed jointly by British Airways and Air France. Concorde was the first and remained the only supersonic civilian aircraft to be put into commercial service. Read More →
The Osterizer is a retro classic

The Osterizer from 1953 is still a popular classic blender. Even though they were originally designed for home use, they now feel like high-tech caterers’ equipment.Read More →
The Moka Express (Design Classic) – simple ☕ coffee making machine

Designed and Made in Italy The Moka Express is a straightforward stovetop coffee maker. It unscrews in the centre, and water is poured into the bottom compartment. Read More →
Parker 51 Fountain Pen – The World’s Most Wanted Pen

This sleek, aerodynamic design with its recognisable hooded nib was the result of a research programme finished in 1939, and it was promoted as “a pen from another planet” and “ten years ahead of its time.” It was released to mark the Parker Company’s 51st anniversary in the United States and quickly rose to the…
1959 Cadillac Eldorado – Temple Rather than Automobile

The 1959 Cadillac is more of a temple than an automobile, a Gothic memorial to America’s glory years. It was overly long, low, and overstyled, and it’s the 50s’ final flourish. The 59’s outlandish space-age appearance, weird fins, and lavish 390 cubic inch V8 are fascinating, but the most striking aspect of the car is…
Sardine Collector’s Cabinet by Michael Marriot

This humorous, simple, and elegant approach proposed a different design agenda, harkening back to Victor Papanek and the Whole Earth Catalogue in the 1960s.Read More →
The London Underground Map – Design Icon

The London Underground is the world’s oldest subway, most people know it colloquially as the Tube. An engineering marvel and just as almost as famous is the map. The Tube map is instantly recognisable all over the world. It is a simple and elegant diagram of the 400-kilometre subway network. It is considered by many…
Cylinda Line Teapot by Arne Jacobsen

The Cylinda Line featured a close design connection among all aspects and the consistency of features throughout, including logo and packaging. It was designed over three years by International Style architect Jacobsen in collaboration with its manufacturer, Stelton. Read More →
Design Classic – Swiss Army Knife

The Swiss Army Knife, every schoolboy’s dream, was first manufactured in the late nineteenth century. The knife is more than a simple pen knife, with its distinctive bright red body bearing the trademark white cross: it is a compact household tool kit.Read More →
Tulip Armchair by Eero Saarinen (1957)

Saarinen faced the problem of trying to treat the leg structurally and visually as part of the reinforced-plastic moulded seat shell with the help of a research team from the Knoll firm led by Donald Petit. This issue had plagued him since he and Charles Eames conducted their first experiments with moulded seat shells.Read More…
Bloemenwerf Side Chair (1895) designed by Henry de Velde

Bloemenwerf, Henry Van de Velde’s property outside Brussels, is the inspiration for this chair. Van de Velde planned and built the house and the interior—from the furniture to the wallpaper—resulting in a holistic design that exemplified the concept of a Gesamtkunstwerk “total work of art”. Read More →
Fiskars – Oldest Industrial Company in Finland

Fiskars – Oldest Industrial Company in Finland. It was formed in 1649. Fiskars can be traced back to Peter Thorwéste’s ironworks. READ MORERead More →
Predicta the World’s First Swivel Screen TV

Advertised as the “world’s first swivel screen television,” Philco’s Predicta was the first American model to break away from the standard cabinet format of a box with a window in it—a bold step for such a corporation. However, a similar idea had already been produced in Italy by Phonola (no. 249) and in France by…
Mezzadro Chair – a nod to Italian Agriculture

Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni were not the first twentieth-century designers to consider the tractor seat in relation to sophisticated furniture production: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe used it for the Conchoidal chairs he conceived during the early 1940s. Read More →
Staub Cookware – Benefits of Cast Iron Cooking Pots

For over 2000 years, cast iron cooking pots have been used. They have long been valued for their durability and heat retention capacity, and it is not uncommon for these valuable items to be passed down from generation to generation. The addition of enamelling is now a significant advancement in this traditional material.Read More →
Alpine Eagle XL Chrono – Design Classic 🥇

The Alpine Eagle collection of sporty-chic timepieces stretches its wings, embracing a flyback chronograph in a new 44 mm diameter case for the first time. The Alpine Eagle XL Chrono clock with the integrated bracelet is inspired by the might of the eagle and the beauty of the Alps, as is the complete series.Read More…
Safety Bicycle for 19th Century Women

The “safety” bicycle, initially introduced in 1887, propelled the late-nineteenth-century bicycling mania to new heights. While the regular bike needed great skill due to its giant front wheel and small rear wheel, safety bicycles could be ridden by anyone.Read More →
Tea and coffee set by Marguerite Friedlander

She designed the Hallesche Form tea and coffee set for KPM in 1930, which was a huge commercial success, especially with Trude Petri’s gold rings (1931) decor.Read More →
Paul Getty Center designed by Richard Meir

Paul Getty Center was designed by Richard Meir. It uses cutting-edge technology for book conservation, storage, and retrieval. READ MORERead More →
Robo-Stacker early example of ‘Recycled Design’ Movement

Robo-Stacker early example of the ‘Recycled Design’ Movement. Whirlpool washing machine drums were used to create general-purpose storage.Read More →
No. 22 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia

No. 22 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia. Many would argue that this is more of a sculpture than a chair. READ MORERead More →
How High the Moon armchair (1986) by Shiro Kuramata

Shiro Kuramata’s inventive transformations of everyday industrial materials, including steel mesh, terrazzo, corrugated aluminium, and steel cables, pushed material technology to new design limits. Read More >Read More →
Red and Blue Armchair by Gerrit Rietveld

The Red and Blue Chair’s visual impact has ensured that it will always be a staple image in any history of twentieth-century design. It has become a metaphor for the Modern Movement along with the Schröder home.Read More →
Mona Lisa Clock – Antique of the Future

Mona Lisa Clock – Antique of the Future which features a close-up photo of the famous face.Read More →
Sofa, Borge Mogensen, 1945

This sofa’s straightforward execution and regular silhouette reflect characteristics that were considered essential for advanced design at the time. Nonetheless, the turned spindles, stretchers, and exquisite details owe a lot to Borge Mogensen’s use of the lexicon of traditional furniture forms—especially American Shaker and English Windsor—in his wRead More →
Swatch Watch a Design Classic

Swatch has revolutionised the watch industry over the previous four decades. The Swatch became the fashion item of the 1980s thanks to its combination of Swiss technology, design, and low price. It is the first watch that has become a classic look, with a black plastic band and a basic watch face.Read More →
The P40 articulated lounge chair

Osvaldo Borsani Armchair (P40) 1955, articulated chaise longue. The rubber-armed chair was a sophisticated ‘machine for sitting’ that could it was claimed, assume 486 positions.Read More →
Treforchette Table Lamp (1997) Designer: Michelle de Lucchi

This sofa is designed in a so-called minimalist style that is basic and unadorned. Throughout the late 1980s, this emergent style had a significant impact on design in Europe. The sofa in question results from a significant collaboration between a talented young designer and a manufacturer committed to promoting new design.Read More →
Sofa (1988) Designer: Jasper Morrison

This sofa is designed in a so-called minimalist style that is basic and unadorned. Throughout the late 1980s, this emergent style had a significant impact on design in Europe. The sofa in question results from a significant collaboration between a talented young designer and a manufacturer committed to promoting new design.Read More →
Rolodex 500-Card Rotary Card File | (Design Classic)

There are few office equipment products more iconic than the Rolodex (the name comes from a combination of the words rolling and index). In the past, companies organised their contacts in Rolodexes. Rolodex is constructed as a cylindrical rotary card file on a tubular metal frame that contains A-Z index cards to store business contacts.Read…