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Concept Design: Chris Labrooy for Braun Toasters
As a Product Designer and a Graphic Designer I can tell you that while
GOOD Design is not cheap, Poor design is pretty expensive. For society.
And eventually the Consumer. Which means you! And your Compact Lifestyle.
Poor design includes inferior components which fail sooner that you would
like. Cheaper, lower-quality materials break more easily. Requiring you
to replace the item: Another round of frustration. Another trip to the
shop. Another expense. All amounting to time an money.
If you have doubts about whether high-quality household appliances are
worth the money, have a think about these not-so-novel ideas. For example
- the replacement cost of a cheap product includes the cost of the original,
failed product. Add these two prices together, plus the cost of petrol
and driving wear-and-tear, and your lost time in doing the same job twice
and...
Well, you get the picture.
Kitchen and household appliances which have that “Luxury appeal” do not
emphasise the visual aspect of the products intent. They conceal it with
Beauty.
The “form-follows-function” dictum of Design has gradually been smoothed
out. And as material qualities have been changed and advanced and manufacturing
techniques have been improved upon, roboticized and become more ubiquitous,
what used to be “high-end luxury” has become attainable by many.
At the same time – the very rich can only cling to their luxury by surviving
on the most massive and expensive of toys. At the other end of the Consumer
class – the very same appliances are being produced with cheaper materials
– resulting in the plethora of “knock-offs”, as well as just cheaply and
shoddily produced appliances with life spans of just weeks.
Standard appliances often leave much to be desired in their overall design.
Budget appliances can get the job done. However, if you want to transform
your kitchen into a beautiful and impressive space, purchase top-quality
appliances.
Your Compact LifeStyle Guide
Introduction to Compact Living
Guide to Small Apartment Living
Choose Appliances That Fit
Best 'Must-Have' Appliances
Enjoying a Compact Lifestyle
Benefits of Buying Top-Grade
If You Have to Pay For It
Energy-Efficient Appliances
Energy Saving vs Time Saving
Ten Things to Consider
11 Storage Solutions
Advantages of a Small Apartment
Benefits of Ironed Clothes
Induction vs. Electric Hot-Plate
Other Things to Read
Meticulously-designed kitchen appliances by top-notch product designers
become very desirable as their overall appeal is elevated to that of art
objects. Simply stated: the two primary traits of kitchen appliances are
versatility and design.
If you cloak that versatility in Excellent Design, you can impress your
guests with your appreciation of the Art of High-end Kitchen Appliance
Design.
And if you imbue that versatility with high-quality materials – you will
reach . . .
Higher-end kitchen appliances have a higher price tag. But they last longer
last longer. A good mechanical appliance can run for 20 years.
Or you can buy something that you replace every 6 to 9 months. You can
always expect longevity and reliability from the best kitchen appliances
as they’re built with expert craftsmanship.
With a luxury kitchen appliance, you will be making a worthwhile investment
to augment your cooking experience.
Compared to budget appliances, luxury kitchen appliances are available
with extended warranties.
One of the key highlights of luxury kitchen appliances is their ability to save energy. If you’re on the lookout to lower your carbon footprint, investing in luxury kitchen appliances would be suitable. Most luxury appliances come with a five-star energy efficiency rating. They are a terrific way to support an environment-friendly way of living.
Here - I am talking about the actual device. Not the user. Which is you.
Device - Integrated. You! No Integrated.
A significant benefit that top-end appliances have over standard devices
is the integration of smart features. Some so smart that their operators
don’t know how to use them.
If you are not one to take the time and patience to learn to use what
you are buying – do not buy it.
It will be a waste of your money. And you will merely display your lack
of technological common sense.
And there is nothing wrong with that. Thousands of "smart features" feature
for no other reason that that The Designers Can. Feature-creep has passed
borderline absurdity to being a new sort of techno-disease.
While most standard or budget appliances come with basic functionalities
and features, high-end appliances boast the integration of smart features
that hope to “make your cooking experience intuitive”.
Don’t you love the Advertising Marketing Jargon that has raised fooling
one’s self to a conversational art form.
“Intuitive” cooking comes from practicing “cooking” – and no number of
“smart” devices will ever help you to cook better unless you are actually
learning to cook better by actually LEARNING.
For instance – this gem: “With high-end appliances, you can adjust and
monitor their settings. You can even operate them remotely via a mobile
app.” What? You’re going to operate some device? – perhaps one that will
cause an electrical short? – and because you are not there, your apartment
goes up in flames?
How about this throw-away line: “With these smart features, you can take
the guesswork out of your cooking and ensure perfect meals every time.
Create an entirely new dimension of ingenuity with the help of the best
kitchen appliances”.
“Entirely new dimension of ingenuity?” What can you say to that?
“You programmed this yourself? Amazing!”
Enough fun! When you go shopping for kitchen or house-hold appliances,
start off by looking for the ones with the most Stylish Looks, and compare
their prices. And compare these style/features/costs with the budget-end
products.
You will understand what I mean.
Setting the tone of your kitchen requires selecting the type of appliances
that will help set the flow, tone, and function of your space.
Your kitchen is the heart of your Compact Life,and you cannot afford to
have space constraints at the heart of your home.
I am a graphic designer and industrial product designer who has worked
40 years in the Advertising & Marketing Industry.
This article was originally written for my website
“A Guide to Compact
Living”and my foray into affiliate marketing.
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