How to Ruin A Great Design
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/arts/14iht-design14.html?src=me&ref=arts&_r=3&

     In the article, "How to Ruin A Great Design" by Alice Rawsthorne, she told of 3 major "crimes to design." First, using her traffic design example, she said was the "crime of poor design." For example, making a part of stand out more than the rest, thus deterring from the true purpose through distraction. She gives an example of a sign where the "D" in "Diverted Bikers" stands out much more by being so much larger than anything else on the sign. She also provides an example of a symbol that does NOT distract from the original intended purpose with her "Congestion Change" example. The second crime she told of was with "Citroen" cars and their decision to go to an, "unoriginal" design. Taking away from the brands ability to stand out. The final crime is the betrayal of history. With vintage chairs being sold in bulk to McDonald's for their restaurants, and taking their 20th century "classic" look, and replacing it with something to simply eat nuggets on. Alice made several strong points with her theory, and in many ways she is correct.