5 designs that change the world

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, once said: "A blueprint is considered beautiful when you want to lick it." But according to CNN News, an exemplary design really not only admires admiration. , but it also needs great social impacts.

From hundreds of products that meet that criteria in the past 100 years, CNN has chosen the best design year, which is considered "changed the lives of millions of people".

Volkswagen Beetle car

With 21.5 million vehicles sold worldwide in 65 years (1938 - 2003), the Volkswagen Type 1 - more commonly known as the Volkswagen Beetle - has truly asserted its position. Which competitors can compete. It is the most produced model, the longest time in the history of the car industry.

When it first appeared, many people criticized the Beetle for its peculiar design, weak engine, high noise . and forecasted it would be a heavy defeat by Volkswagen. However, it was the small Beetle shaped like a bug that helped restore the German economy after World War 2. Millions of Beetles appeared in every country in the world, brought to Germany. a huge export profit.

Right from the start, the Type 1 Volkswagen was quickly nicknamed the " Beetle " (beetle). It wasn't until 1967 that Volkswagen officially used the Beetle name for its unique product.

Volkswagen cars

Leica camera

Leica is not the world's first portable camera or photographic device. However, it is probably the most influential camera brand in photography history, and has become a typical design for all types of cameras since its introduction in 1925. .

The first Leica was a 35mm camera, built by German mechanic Oscar Barnack. The robust design of the camera body, the accuracy of the lens is the advantage of bringing Leica into the "professional photographer" line. Barnack's greatest innovation with Leica cameras is a small negative concept that can create a big image.

Before the arrival of Leica, cameras were often cumbersome and very annoying to use. Leica is also less noisier than all other devices. Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the most famous photographers of the 20th century, once described Leica "expanding my eyes".

Leica cameras allow photographers to take pictures in quick succession, which in turn leads to the birth of today's newspaper. In 2006, photography enthusiasts voted the Leica M3, produced in 1954, the best device of all time.

Leica M3 Camera (Photo: cosmonet)

Ballpoint pens

Absolutely not exaggerated when claiming anyone can write at least once in their life using a ballpoint pen. Cheap, convenient and maintenance-free, ballpoint pens have revolutionized the way people write.

The world's first patent application for a ballpoint pen was an American tanner named John Loud in 1888 but was not allowed to trade. By 1938, a Hungarian editor, László Bíró, was so frustrated with the use of pens (time consuming ink, long-lasting ink, too sharp pen heads .) created a kind of pen using newspaper ink is very fast. This pen contains a solid ink cartridge, the ink written on the paper is due to the rolling movement of a small ball attached to the cartridge that contains the ink. Ballpoint pen truly appeared that.

Experiencing many ups and downs before the competition of pens, in 1950 the ballpoint pen truly confirmed its worthy position thanks to the new design of French inventor Marcel Bich. Currently, every day, 14 million ballpoint pens are sold worldwide.

IPod music player

When Steve Jobs announced that the iPod was the " 21st century Walkman " in 2001, many people believed that the Apple founder had "sung my mother praises". Six years later, 110 million iPods were sold worldwide. It turned out that Jobs's statement was somewhat humble.

The genius of the iPod is the iconic design combined with simplicity of use. The unique touch circle allows users to explore this device easily, while iTunes software is ten times faster than any software on the market when it first appears. The development of iTunes allows music lovers to compress massive CD collections into a device not much larger than a pack of cigarettes.

An important contribution of iPods is to turn MP3 players into universal products worldwide, and contribute to the transformation of music lovers' habits: from listening to CDs to listening on the device. number.

Map of London subway system

The map of London subway system in 1933 by Harry Beck was compared with CNN's definition of Goethe's genius: " Set the shape for the infinite things ".

Beck has shown a system of glitches like a plate of Italian pasta into a line of straight and diagonal lines, like a diagram of a circuit, much simpler and clearer. Beck's point is that the train passengers are not so concerned about the geographical accuracy as the old maps show, but want to know how to get from one station to another, where to transfer . Beck's map instantly became a symbol of London and was recognized worldwide.

Thanks to Beck, Londoners can travel in the world's longest and oldest subway system easily without fear of being lost. Beck also continued to perfect his design until the 1960s. Modern metro maps today have a huge correlation with Beck's design.

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