Much of what is mass produced by industrial designers can go unnoticed. The spoon for example may have a different design on the handle but the fundamental shape must stay the same because in this case form fallows function. The light bulb however, is a great example of a mass produced object that can often go unnoticed, that is until you don't have one and aren't able to see where your going. The shape of the light bulb has varied only slightly over the many years since it has been a part of our daily lives and the most iconic shape is that of the typical globe style with an upside down pear shape. This is a case where form does not fallow function and actually has very little to do with it. The components of an incandescent light could be fit into an array of different shapes yet the same one is used and accepted over and over. Along with the rise of florescent bulbs and their energy saving technology comes shape of their two coils of glass tubes spiraling together and meeting at a fused point at the top. The shape is cylindrical and even rectangular. It seems masculine compared to feminine curves of the traditional bulb. These "bulbs" have been manufactured on a huge scale in this form and until recently it seemed like we had all but forgotten the upside down pear. But while walking the isles of the local hardware store I saw someone had designed a florescent bulb encased in a incandescent-style bulb housing. Apparently people could not get used to the new shape as easily as the new technology. So while bills have been written to ilegalize the use of incandescent light bulbs all in light (no pun intended) of our efforts to conserve energy and help balance the environmental cost of our lifestyles, humanity may not be willing to give up our ides of what a light bulb should look like.
Much of what is mass produced by industrial designers can go unnoticed. The spoon for example may have a different design on the handle but the fundamental shape must stay the same because in this case form fallows function. The light bulb however, is a great example of a mass produced object that can often go unnoticed, that is until you don't have one and aren't able to see where your going. The shape of the light bulb has varied only slightly over the many years since it has been a part of our daily lives and the most iconic shape is that of the typical globe style with an upside down pear shape. This is a case where form does not fallow function and actually has very little to do with it. The components of an incandescent light could be fit into an array of different shapes yet the same one is used and accepted over and over. Along with the rise of florescent bulbs and their energy saving technology comes shape of their two coils of glass tubes spiraling together and meeting at a fused point at the top. The shape is cylindrical and even rectangular. It seems masculine compared to feminine curves of the traditional bulb. These "bulbs" have been manufactured on a huge scale in this form and until recently it seemed like we had all but forgotten the upside down pear. But while walking the isles of the local hardware store I saw someone had designed a florescent bulb encased in a incandescent-style bulb housing. Apparently people could not get used to the new shape as easily as the new technology. So while bills have been written to ilegalize the use of incandescent light bulbs all in light (no pun intended) of our efforts to conserve energy and help balance the environmental cost of our lifestyles, humanity may not be willing to give up our ides of what a light bulb should look like.
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