Core77

Let Us Make Things Clear

By Rain Noe - August 28, 2012

in Materials | Object Culture

The crystal clear Canon camera from last week is a novelty, but the transparent motorcycle gas tank above got us thinking: Wouldn't it be nice if we made more things transparent? One of the main tenets of interaction design is providing visual feedback. What better way to provide this than to give the eyes unfettered access?

Though done more for purposes of exhibition than interaction, GM was way ahead of us with their crazy Plexiglas Plymouth, unveiled at the 1939 World's Fair. At the same year's fair, Western Electric displayed one of their Henry-Dreyfuss-designed model 302s cast in clear resin. But these were, of course, mere exercises that went unrepeated.

We realize not everything lends itself to being clear: Those transparent backpacks on the market are a terrible idea for riders of the New York subway system, and those transparent Playstation controllers don't add anything to the gaming experience.

A clear Canon 7D would be cool to see in action, but would ultimately distract the photographer when he ought be focusing his or her visual acuity on the subject.

Clear seems great for storage, though. As I tried to wrangle the unruly, accidentally-gathered collection of vintage thread above, I looked into these cool polycarbonate drawers from Muji below. (Sadly, they proved too individually expensive for me to house the entire collection.)

Of several things around the house I've repaired, or attempted to repair, I would have greatly benefited during the "Fix-it stage one: Diagnosis" phase if the damn things had been clear. Locating a soldered connection that had worked its way loose inside a robot vacuum, and isolating an internal problem in a sewing machine were both maddening activities, but had the bodies been made of clear polycarbonate I'd have saved hours.

Back in '09 we wrote up the PermaFLOW, an awesomely transparent sink trap that lets you determine if the clog is there or inside the wall, and even provided an external knob attached to an internal clearing paddle.

James Dyson was famously told by marketers that end-users would be disgusted by his clear vacuum chamber, which let you see every last piece of dirt. He persisted and prevailed, and as a Dyson user it's one of my favorite features of the tool, letting me see when the chamber is still clogged after an emptying attempt. They've also wisely made the head transparent, so you can easily tell when hair has clogged up the rollers.

So... got anything you'd like to see come in clear?

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Clyde Hale

6 years ago

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I like the gas tank idea... I would buy a clear poly carb or poly tuff tank in a Harley Fat Bob Design.... steel tanks rust and require cleaning leaving one to use acidics, or shot blast or steam to clean out and then wait for repaint to use... I m waiting for paint now.... a nice alternative would be a tank ya can see dirt in and that does not rust....

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- Clyde Hale
  
  Clyde Hale
  
  6 years ago
  
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  hint.... I ve searched no one is making them yet... and even if only for interim use I think riders would buy them
  
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Tom Howard

12 years ago

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Too add for the Mechanical Design stage DVT 1 (Hard Tooling) samples are done in clear-shot which can also help to resolve tooling defects more easily.

A design advantage of clear-shot tooling from an aesthetic point it allows you to spray paint the clear-shot part from behind, creating an effect similar to a Double-Shot tooling (Think: Samsung TV style) This is of advantage when doing market entry product with a limited CMF budget.

When spray painting a plastic part to achieve a Vibrant Depth to the paint surface if the substrate is transparent plastic this can allow a limited light leakage through the substrate depending on the transparency of the plastic, thus allowing a more unique look. Although this is tricky achieve and will require a vendor willing to experiment on your behalf.
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Donald

12 years ago

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On many design programs first article injection molded housings are done in clear material to aid in assembly inspection for clearance or interference, wires, etc.
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jamie

12 years ago

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wouldn't pressure build up in the gas tank because of the sun? just "talking out loud" here, i haven't really researched about gasoline.

transparency is great for storage, fashion, and laboratory materials.
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Tim H

12 years ago

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The clear vehicle is a Pontiac. Plymouth was produced by Chrysler.
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Michael Aldridge

12 years ago

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The possibilities are endless, there are so many products that would be really cool or much more functional if they were to be clear.

Cool:
Speakers
Mobile phones
Plant Pots (see the roots)
Camera Lens (although would become completely useless)
Bike Forks

Functional:
Complex machines, in order to more easily diagnose problems

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Fangio Agostini

12 years ago

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"A clear Canon 7D" did you ever understoud the concept of darkroom? It's hard to take a picture without a way to select rays of light that reach the sensor/film... ... ...
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Richard Schroder

12 years ago

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At the airport, the transparent suitcase; At the farm, the transparent combine harvester; At college, the transparent attache case; In the staff restaurant, the transparent lunch pail; In the kitchen, the transparent Aga ...

This is too much fun, must stop.

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