Perhaps as in “supremely boring and expected”?
Reference: see “Apple design”. See 99% of smart phone design.
Since this is a thread about an 8-bit computer render, I will limit the design discussion to the topic of home computing. Also because the scope of product / visual design as an entire topic yields useless discussions (for example: the 80s represent a golden age in terms of music and film design).
The final years of the 70s and throughout the 80s were a quite experimental era for industrial product design in home computing. But for the typewriter based keyboard that influenced all designs, a lot was in flux and product designers were trying out new things, which resulted in both beautiful and also at times zany visual product designs.
Rick Dickinson’s designs of the ZX81 and the revolutionary ZX Spectrum (based on Bauhaus design principles) were extraordinary. And other quite beautiful designs are seen in the physical shapes of the Elan Enterprise, the ZX Spectrum 128K and QL (also Dickinson), the original Mac, Memotech MTX, the classic Gameboy, as well as certain Japanese MSX models like the one rendered here, with distinct Japanese stylistic characteristics.
Even quirky designs such as the Commodore 64 ‘bread-bin’ still represent iconic shapes. Almost every new generation of home computer and console design featured unique physical designs in the latter half of the 70s, the 80s and part of the 90s.
I am not saying it was all successful; yet far more interesting in terms of industrial design since the variety (in particular in the 80s with many different companies trying to get a piece of the home computing pie) and experimentation led to some outstanding and outlandish stuff.
It was an interesting and exciting time in that sense.
And while it is completely understandable that we no longer live in these times of the early Wild West of home computing, still current main-stream industrial product design in computing is rather…
…well, boring for the most part. It certainly lacks visual excitement.
This, at least, is my opinion.
[[Similar to how cars are designed nowadays. And on that topic: I wonder why all car designs look so ‘angry’ and aggressive these days? As if they are intent on killing every pedestrian and cyclist that gets in their way?]]
@crowbringer Really nice work. A friend of mine had one of those.
I am personally still on the lookout to get my hands on this Sony MSX2 machine:
Most MSX machines had a dark colour scheme. This one was released for the European market, and sports a light scheme.
