Just normal, ducking sunglasses

DuckDuckGo made a thing. And the fact that these are “anti-pervert glasses” isn’t even the most exciting thing about them. “No camera. No AI. Just normal f***ing sunglasses. By DuckDuckGo.” This is, of course, a marketing stunt that’s been circulating online for a few days now. Sure, it’s maybe even a bit edgy. But for me, the most exciting part is the product categories it opens up. “The product categories we can only describe by what they’re missing. Just sunglasses” as Chris Cantrell aptly put it (thanks for the ideation). But what could be a term for this type of product category? Let’s apply product and design theory: Form follows absence. In product development, this is referred to as subtractive innovation. Instead of expanding a product with new features (feature creeping), its novelty value arises from the deliberate omission of complexity. So, in this sense, these categories could perhaps be called “subtractive products” or “subtractive innovation.” Or second attempt, from a…