Economic Naturalism and Product Design

The economics of design are discussed in Tom Vanderbilt's article On the Squareness of Milk Containers, up now at Design Observer. For example, "Why, though the discs are exactly the same size, do DVDs come in such larger packages than CDs?" The article showcases Robert H. Frank’s new book The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas (sounds like a good read!).