New Things Designed to Look Old: Emotional Design

This is a picture of a range designed by Elmira Stove Works.

Well, not completely designed by Elmira Stove Works, because they give their customers an opportunity to participate in the design process. Customers can choose the color of their range. They can also choose whether they want a decorative trivet or antiquing on their range. They can decide how tall they want the legs to be. They can even choose to have a "warming shelf" added, which, according the website, can be used for storing spices or simply for decorative purposes.

Not to mention that the customer can choose whether they want 6 or 4 burners, whether they want the burners to be electric or gas (or there's the "duel-fuel" option), where they want the controls located, and if they want to add a griddle or even a "work surface" to the range.

I find the whole idea interesting. All Elmira Stove Works ranges are designed to look "antique," but they are actually brand new, state-of-the-art ranges. They are self-cleaning and custom made. You can "create" your range purely based on your own visual preference, but you also have the chance to increase it's usability, based on your personal cooking needs. I think it's an interesting example of form and function brought together into one product.

I think these ranges operate on a reflective level also, because no matter what "extras" you choose, the range itself is always in this antique style. New things that are made to look old have been popular for years. Maybe it reminds us of the simplicity of times past. For those who have memories of an old stove from their childhood, it may provide a sense of nostalgia. Even if we're too young to remember original stoves like this, knowledge of history and culture may spark an idea or invoke a feeling about the past and what it represents to us.

Check out this article from Time Magazine on "retro" design and emotion. It's a few years old, but I think it has some interesting ideas on why we take interest in new products that are designed to look old.