Designs around us — II

Last week, I started with defining design as details which make us comfortable. (Designs around us — I)

Whenever someone says ‘design’, our mind instantly wonders to how beautiful it looks (or how aesthetically pleasant is it), some people see how product can be used, but normally, Engineering is considered separate as design.

I believe Engineering is backbone of any good design.

This week’s example will perhaps highlight it for you. Yes, its again on Indian Railways. (No, I am not Indian Rail fan, neither I have Sheldon-Cooper love for trains.)

Did you wonder why do we sleep easily on trains?

Lets hear it straight from horse’s mouth. Tanmay Mehta (Engineer at Railways):

Whenever we design coaches we try to bring the resonance frequencies of the suspension as close as possible to 72 bpm or 1.2 Hz. Why, because it’s the frequency that the human body is most comfortable with — it’s one of the most fundamental frequencies of your body (your normal heartbeat!).

Source: Tanmay Mehta’s Quora Answer

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

Steve Jobs