Deconstructing Product Design

Rubik’s Cube

Erno Rubik, 1974

1. Few puzzles have managed to combine the formidable difficulty (just over forty-three quintillion possible combinations) with the prima facie simplicity (one solution no more than twenty-five rotations away from any given configuration) of Rubik’s Cube, which may explain why it has become one of the best-selling toys of all time. More than twehty-five years after its introduction to the West, the original Cube and numerous variations continue to sell well, and Rubik’s Cube solving competitions, called speedcubing competitions, are increasing in popularity. Of this writing, the world record to solve the Cube is 7.08 seconds, set by Erik Akkersdijk at the Czech Open 2008. How does one go about creating such a ...