Since then, some designers have embraced the thumbnail and crafted logolike images that serve as mnemonics for the band. The tiny JPEGs displayed on iPod screens demand simplicity, bold color, stark imagery, and unadorned type. The sneering smiley face

An aerodynamic shape was essential for maximum efficiency: It requires less energy to propel a streamlined car. But the Volt was designed to wow crowds, not slice through the air; there was no guarantee that it would ever see production. "Aerodynamics was not a consideration," GM design chief Bob Boniface says.

Since the dawn of the white-collar age, office designs have cycled through competing demands: openness versus privacy, interaction versus autonomy. Here's a brief history of how seating arrangements have reflected our changing attitudes toward work.