…why some design icons don’t last the test of time
24 October, the anniversary that marked Concorde’s final flight (2003)
It’s been 22 years since the legendary supersonic aircraft Concorde made its last commercial passenger flight amid emotional scenes at Heathrow Airport. Retired after 27 years of service, its departure marked the end of an era in aviation design – one defined by ambition, beauty, and human ingenuity.
Some designs change the world. Others change how we see it – even if only for a short while.
Think of the Concorde, the DeLorean DMC-12, and the Sinclair C5. Each was a design vision of the future: sleek, daring, and utterly original. Each promised to redefine how we moved, lived, or travelled. And yet, each burned out as quickly as it blazed in.
So why do some icons shine brilliantly, but briefly?
Concorde wasn’t just a plane; it was a statement
Sleek, slender, and impossibly fast, it could cross the Atlantic in just over three hours – half the time of a conventional jet. Its pointed nose and delta wings became symbols of engineering excellence and design ambition.
But perfection met its limits. High operating costs, noise restrictions, and limited accessibility made Concorde a masterpiece that few could experience. When Airbus ended maintenance support in 2003, the dream grounded.
Concorde proved that even when a design is flawless, it must still be sustainable to survive.
The DeLorean was cool before cool was cool
John DeLorean’s gull-winged car looked like it had driven straight out of the future – and then it did, immortalised by Back to the Future. Its stainless steel body, sharp lines, and rebellious spirit captured an era’s imagination.
Yet behind the style, practicality stumbled. Build issues, underperformance, and financial chaos made it impossible to sustain.
The DeLorean remains iconic precisely because it dared to dream big – a symbol of what happens when creativity races ahead of commercial reality.
Before Teslas and e-bikes, there was the Sinclair C5
A lightweight, affordable electric trike designed to revolutionise urban mobility – decades ahead of its time. It was a stroke of genius from a British inventor who saw the future before the world did.
But the world wasn’t ready. The public worried about safety, the weather, and the image. Without infrastructure or acceptance, innovation faltered.
Today, though, the C5 feels almost prophetic – a glimpse of the electric age long before it arrived.
When design vision outpaces reality
What connects these three icons is not failure, but foresight. Each was bold, brave, and beautifully designed – but the world around them wasn’t ready to evolve at their pace.
The line between visionary and viable is thin. To endure, great design must marry imagination with implementation – creativity with commercial reality.
Designing for longevity – Not just legacy and reward
Visual Identity believes the best ideas do push boundaries – but never at the expense of purpose.
We design for scalability, flexibility, and longevity, ensuring innovation is supported by structure. Because true creativity isn’t about design for design’s sake – it’s about ideas that work, evolve, and last.
We don’t design for ourselves, prestige, or awards. We’re not here to look clever – we’re here to make our clients stand out, convert, and grow.
Concorde, the DeLorean, and the Sinclair C5 remind us that bold thinking changes everything – but timeless design balances vision with viability. That’s where creativity really takes flight.
What makes VI different: we start with strategy and real user insight, then craft distinctive design systems that scale across brand, web, and content. We prototype, test, and iterate; we fuse high-end creative with technical rigour (performance, accessibility, SEO, analytics) to deliver measurable outcomes. It’s this blend of originality and practicality – brave ideas, beautifully executed, engineered to last – that makes Visual Identity stand out. Vi knows design vision shouldn‘t outpace reality.
