12 Designs That Shaped the Gadgets We Love Today

The first Air Jordans set a course for modern marketing, while subsequent versions made product releases into cultural events.

Nike Air Jordan 1984

HOW IT CHANGED THINGS Made sneakers fashionable and transformed sports marketing.

When the first Air Jordans were unveiled in 1984, Michael Jordan was an unproven rookie and Nike was a small running-shoe company. The high-tops were summarily banned by the NBA. Sounds insane, right? Nike turned the league’s veto into a rebellious marketing campaign, rode Jordan’s unbelievable success, and changed the face of marketing forever. Superstars soon became brands by themselves, and the bold design of subsequent Air Jordans emphasized individuality over blending in with a team. Today, high-tops are high fashion in the hands of designers from Marc Jacobs to Alexander Wang.

Shelby Electric Company 60W Carbon-Filament Lightbulb 1897

HOW IT CHANGED THINGS Accidentally inspired planned obsolescence.

At a firehouse in Livermore, California, there’s a Shelby carbon-filament lightbulb that’s been on nearly nonstop for 112 years. You can’t buy one like it, because a lightbulb that lasts a century isn’t good business. In 1924, a gang of corporations — General Electric and Philips among them — banded together to kill off the Shelby and its ilk. Known as the Phoebus Cartel, the group limited bulbs to 1,000-hour lifespans, fined companies that broke their rules, and implemented industry restrictions on research and development. These strong-arm tactics unleashed the concept of planned obsolescence — and that ethos still infects everything from software releases to smartphone updates.