Connection?
- Jan 17, 2024
- 4 min read
We all have emotional connections to products. Just think back for a minute... what was the first teddy bear you got? did you have a musical instrument you loved? or was it that first football shirt? These connections are all around us, not just in the products we use but, in the food we eat, the music we listen to, and the films we watch. They are all influenced by our nostalgia and the connections we develop over time. While it is great to look back on these things, they can often cloud our judgement.
The product that I believe I have the strongest connection to is this.
Can you guess why I have such a strong connection to it? Well, I am named after it! Yes, the humble Dean Quinn is named after the Ferrari Dino (Dean sounds like Dino, for those of you who are struggling a bit here). Not only am I named after this car but I have been consistently told, by my dad, since it was born "This is the greatest car of all time!" and "Ferrari is the greatest car manufacturer there will ever be!". Now that is going to cloud your judgment.
So why am I telling you this? Well, I want to look at this car completely objectively. No influences. No dad. Just me and my thoughts. Ready? Let's do it!
Let's first look at the interior.
First, I want to address those seats. What is going on there? Why is there that stupid zebra-looking, black-striped design going on? It ruins the consistency of that beautiful tan leather running throughout the car. However, if we could rip that out, I believe the interior is designed well. I love the brushed aluminium dash and steering wheel. It is bound to make the driver feel as though they are in an old-school racing car.
I also really like the switches across the front of the dash. It reminds me of an old Bond car with his ejector seat switch. The interior also gives a real 60's feel and the door panels show this the most with their soft angles and shiny chrome door handles.
While there is an obvious element of high thrill and racing pedigree in the car, it is also extremely luxurious. That tan leather is gorgeous, and the black cloth used across the dash looks reasonably high quality. This is a far cry from the Ferraris of today with their hard carbon fibre and plastic panels making the cars feel like you are sitting inside an Ikea shelving unit. Luxury interiors should use leather and metal exclusively!
So lets talk a look at the exterior. To start, I want to take a look at some of the colour options.
Now I want to be very clear about something. My dream goal in life is to own a red Ferrari. So, if I was to buy a Dino it would be red. However, this post is all about removing emotional connections from design and looking at them objectively. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart I say that my favourite is the yellow Dino. The orange one looks like it has been rusting since it came out of the factory so that gets immediately discounted. I prefer the yellow for a few reasons. The first is that a flashy sports car like a Ferrari must have a bright colour that makes it stand out against the rest (both the yellow and red models accomplish this). However, the Ferrari emblems in the centre of the alloy are yellow. Therefore, in the red Dino, there are two bright colours at play in one product. I find this harsh on the eye. The yellow body colour allows for more continuity over the car, removing this harshness.
It's now time for the final bit of objective design analysis, so, let's look at that exterior again starting with that side elevation view seen above.
The overall body shape from this viewpoint is very smart and most of the lines used flow well. My only concern would be the headlights. They stick out vertically and disrupt the line flow across the bonnet. This was probably done due to limited manufacturing processes at the time. If I was to re-design the headlights, I would use pop-up ones. These would preserve that line across the bonnet while keeping the required lights on the car. I think this Mazda Rx-7 explains my headlight idea well.
Now that we have talked about the side profile lets look at the elevation view of the Dino.
Wow. I wasn't expecting that. It looks so much narrower from this angle. I think this is because the cabin isn't as wide as the wheel arches. That would be my first criticism from this angle. I also think every car has a face and for a sports car the Dino has quite a cute face, I was expecting a more aggressive angry face. I believe this is because of two things; the front grill being too small and curved and the circular headlights. It looks a bit like a wide-mouth shark.
I am being quite negative here so let's talk about some great design in this view. The chrome bumpers under the headlights look great and very timeless in my opinion. They add another angle for the onlooker to consider. I also strangely like the 3 air ducts on each side of the bonnet. Initially, I thought they looked a bit tacky, but I now think they give the car real personality while being practical.
That was probably the hardest analysis I have done so far. To be able to look at a design for what it is rather than giving an opinion based on an emotional connection is hard. However, this is a crucial skill all designers must have. Imagine you have been working on a project for ages, pouring your heart and soul into it, and you finish it. You must be able to look at it as if you have never seen it before.
Named after a car ! great post, showing thibnking objectively about the design credentials of the Dino.