Appliance Design - January 2008 - (Page 5)

EDIToRIAL ® www.applianceDESIGN.com publishing staff Fern Sheinman Publisher Richard J. Babyak Editor Larry Adams Managing Editor Daryl Delano Economics Editor Amy Alef Production Manager MaTT Britcher Art Director (858) 259-4585 sheinmanf@bnpmedia.com (440) 886-1210 babyakr@bnpmedia.com (773) 467-8590 adamsl@bnpmedia.com (508) 746-7986 ddelano@adelphia.net (248) 244-6409 alefa@bnpmedia.com (734) 354-1874 britcherm@bnpmedia.com circulation Christine Baloga (248) 244-8262 Corporate Audience Development Director balogac@bnpmedia.com Amy Schuler (920) 231-4932 Audience Development Manager schulera@bnpmedia.com Alison Illes (248) 244-1730 Corporate Fulfillment Manager Illesa@bnpmedia.com Catherine M. Ronan (248) 244-8259 Audience Audit Manager ronanc@bnpmedia.com Robert Liska 800-223-2194 List Manager robert.liska@edithroman.com marketing Danielle Kimble Marketing Director Paul Dykstra Trade Show Coordinator (248) 244-8257 kimbled@bnpmedia.com (248) 786-1609 dykstrap@bnpmedia.com editorial advisory board Mark Skaer, Senior Editor, The News Susan Sutton, Editor, Ceramic Industry Roy Sakelson, Editor-in-Chief, Circuitree Tom Williams, Publisher/Editor, Quality Magazine Darlene Brezinski, Ph.D., Editor, Paint and Coatings Industry Don Hegland, Editor, Assembly BNP Media Helps People Succeed in Business with Superior Information BNP Media 2401 West Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 48084, (248) 362-3700, Fax: (248) 362-0317; www.bnpmedia.com For subscription information or service, please contact Customer Service at: call (847) 763-9534 • Fax: (847) 763-9538 or email: AD@halldata.com APPLIANCE DESIGN (ISSN 1552-5937) is published 12 times annually, monthly, by BNP Media, 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 48084-3333. Telephone: (248) 362-3700, Fax: (248) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $116.00 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in Canada: $145.00 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $156.00 (airmail) payable in U.S. funds. Periodicals Postage Paid at Troy, MI and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: APPLIANCE DESIGN, P.O. Box 2148, Skokie, IL 60076. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2007, by BNP Media. GST account: 131263923. Change of address: Send old address label along with new address to APPLIANCE DESIGN, P.O. Box 2148, Skokie, IL 60076. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. For single copies or back issues, contact Ann Kalb at (248) 244-6499 or KalbA@bnpmedia.com. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40026999. Send returns (Canada) to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON, N6C 6B2. or many years, the color of consumer electronics has run the gamut from charcoal gray to silver gray, unavoidably reminding us of that apocryphal Henry Ford quote about color options for the Model T. To be fair, there has been some tentative dipping of the toes into color here and there, and a tiny few brands offer white as an option. But, for the most part, gray has held sway. It seems incongruous that a field bursting with cutting-edge innovation got stuck on a color traditionally associated with conservatism, as in “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.” (The dictionary also associates gray with old, dull, dismal, and gloomy.) There may be a number of reasons for this, with the most obvious one being that adding carbon to polymer materials is the cheapest method to imbue a plastic housing with EMI shielding. Another possibility may be a still lingering overreaction to the once-popular wood-grain phenomenon. When makers of televisions, radios and stereos switched from wooden cabinets to plastic laminate, they tried to preserve the look with faux wood-grain finishes, something that disturbs a modern designer as much as brick-patterned wallpaper. It may also be that gray is perceived to represent the aesthetics of high tech, with a gray exterior serving as a metaphoric extension of the gray silicon brains within. Whatever the reason, one can’t help but notice that, in an average home, these gray plastic blocks seem strangely out of place in a sea of pastels and earth tones, woods and fabrics, tiles and vinyls, brass and glass. In the realm of televisions, there has been a recent stampede from dark gray to black, a great leap indeed. But that only aggravates the incongruity rather than mitigating it. Cubes of gray or black may work nicely in contemporary minimalist decors, but such scenes are found more often in magazine ads than in the real world where traditional, casual, and eclectic collide. Should the designer care? Good design should reflect harmony. But that begs the question: harmonious with what? The narrow answer focuses on the object in isola- F Probing the Gray Matter tion, that its design should be congruent with its function and original design intent. This perspective judges the product by itself, sitting on the conference room table. A somewhat broader perspective places the product’s design in a market context, examining it on the retail shelf lined up against its competitors, trying to snag the passing shopper. Then there’s the panoramic perspective, which views the product in the environment in which it will ultimately reside and determines whether it acts as an intruder or welcome guest. Which of those perspectives should rank first? And are they necessarily mutually exclusive? Some electronics designers may argue that, given the odd mix of colors, materials, and styles in the average home, their gray and black products are no more incongruous than anything else, that harmony is something found only in the pages of Architectural Digest. Others may argue that standing out is precisely the point. It’s the best way to differentiate one’s product. Either way, I doubt that the Model T approach to color in electronics looms high on anyone’s agenda. I can only suggest that it should, and offer home appliances as a model. For decades, appliance designers have had to design their boxes to fit between and under the boxes made by kitchen cabinet makers. They understand how to design products that fit in, literally and figuratively. And one of the coolest things they ever did was to roll out the bisque/biscuit color, an appealing hue that offers warmth and neutrality. With flat screen televisions now hanging on the wall like paintings, it’s a good time for consumer electronics designers to reconsider their color paradigm and how to frame that picture. It’s a perfect time to find a biscuit. < Richard Babyak, Editor E-mail: babyakr@bnpmedia.com | HVAC | Majors | Water Processing | Housewares | Commercial Appliances | | Vending | Medical | Lab | Test & Measurement | Lawn & Garden | Electronics | | Computers | Communications | Business Equipment | applianceDESIGN January 2008 5 www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.appliancedesign.com http://www.bnpmedia.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Appliance Design - January 2008

Appliance Design - January 2008 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Makers of Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Turn to Variable-Speed Motors to Improve Energy Efficiency. New Motor Design and Control Scheme Makes Brushless Motors More Economically Feasible for a Wider Range of Applications. External Gas Molding, a Relatively New Technique, Solves Many of the Challenges Associated with the Injection Molding of Large Plastic Parts. Plastic Housings Offer Many Benefits: EMI Protection Isn't One of Them. But, New Materials and Techniques are Solving that Problem. Choosing the Optimal Strategy for Effective EMI Shielding Depends on Both Mechanical and Electrical Requirements Ethernet-Enabled Microcontroller Makes Networking Schemes Easier and More Cost Effective to Implement The Ever-Changing Array of Microcontroller Memory Options Makes it Imperative to Keep Abreast of What's Available to Determine the Optimal Choice for an Application. A Vast Range of Components and Finished Products will be Exhibited at the Country's Preeminent HVAC/R Show, AHR Expo, which is Scheduled for Jan. 22-24 in New York. Advertiser's Index Association Report: PRBA

Appliance Design - January 2008

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