Design and Innovation Final

8/8/2019 Design and Innovation Final

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/design-and-innovation-final 1/9



Part one – Personal reflections

In today’s world, design needs be considered an integral part of a business if it is tosucceed in the globalised market place. Close your eyes and think about three businesses

which immediately come to your mind, which you personally like and think aresuccessful. Most probably the companies you have thought about provide innovative

products that are profitable, sustainable and offer you good experiences almost everytime you use them. These companies are employing a successful strategy. They have

value.

To design innovative goods and services which people will use, you must first spend time

with them and experience their lives and their culture first hand. Until recent times,

shaping a company’s strategy was thought of as a serious, intellectual job where theywere thought and brought forward by simply gathering in a quiet environment and

brainstorming and exploring and analysing markets exhaustively. Is this really the right

way about going about designing something innovative that the consumer will want touse? How can we in a classroom at the University of Malta design a snow shovellingdevice for Sweden, when we have never experienced or seen snow? It seems essential

that the most important factor is to not just study a market, but become part of it. The

designer must feel what he wants the user to feel. One cannot imagine how one will feelif he does not experience it himself. Life does not work as we imagine it; we have to live

the experience.

Another important aspect is that strategies should not be formulated by management and

then imposed on designers. There must be a coalition. This is the only way a firm can

progress. If the top management plans all the strategies, then the firm is not progressing

as the strategies will be based on aging needs and perceptions. Thoughts have to beinterchanged to get the best possible output. Strategy describes an ‘underlying logic

beneath the flow of decisions which create future’.

A strategy (and hence the future), isn’t always successful. Before it becomes a final

decision, there needs to be a strong probability that a strategy will create value to the

firm. When value is created it boosts a firm’s competitive strength. Designers cannot beneglected when creating value. So how can designers help create a good strategy and a

bright future which will increase value of a firm?

When we think about good design, we mainly think of it as ‘looking good’. However, this

is only one facet of design. Where would a firm be without understanding the customer?As discussed above, we must understand the customer when designing and hence this is

another important facet in good design.

Some goods and services don't represent the creation of a lasting value, because they are

based on fashion where they are hip today but passé tomorrow. To thrive, a business mustunderstand that fashions come and go and must be flexible enough to reinvent itself.

Look at MTV, which in the 80’s and 90’s placed its business model around just showing



music videos. Nowadays, it seems its strategy was based too much on a fashion trend,

where it now has to reinvent itself, since nobody wants to watch music videos on

television anymore because it’s more convenient and comfortable to watch them ondemand on the internet. Design, should help avoid creating strategies which lead to

failure in the future.

Maintaining a green image is becoming a growing trend amongst companies. The design

thought process is seeing that people are more aware of the environment nowadays and

the green image has become an important aspect in creating value in a company. This promotion of green image has already started to be clearly seen in car manufacturers but

we are also seeing it in the fashion industry. Puma has recently developed an innovative

shoebox design, braking away from tradition by using 65% less cardboard, using no

laminated printing or tissue paper, and taking up less space in shipping.

Earlier you were asked to pick 3 successful businesses that immediately came to your

mind. The likelihood is that they are firms with excellent branding and marketing

strategies. It's no accident that many of the world's top brands are also excellent in design.Marketing and branding boosts value and consumers who purchase these items often

select them because they can associate to them and feel a part of them inside the product.This can almost be intertwined with understanding the customer. A customer must feel

comfortable with the product they are buying and feel certain emotions when buying a

good or service.

A company which offers a real world example of having excelled in understanding the

power of design in its many facets and exploiting it to achieve a successful strategy has

been Apple. Apple’s creates products are beautiful to look at, it has a powerful corporateimage with a sufficient loyal customer database, provides superior value products and is

making billions of dollars in revenue. Apple have innovatively thought how to

manufacture, deliver, sell, support, and retire them in ways to meet the people's needsefficiently and hence satisfy them. Take the Ipod as a case in point. Before the Ipod other

manufacturers had failed to create successful mp3 players which could penetrate the

portable audio device market. Apple in 2001, managed to provide to the customer adesire to actually want an mp3 player. Through successful design and understanding its

potential customers, the Ipod gave Apple a distinctive product which stirred up

excitement, admiration and loyalty towards the company. The product gave Apple value,

a competitive edge where it has become a leader in the electronics world and has beenable to even branch off successfully into other markets such as the smartphone market

and tablet market.

This value obtained for the company is the result of good application and importance

given to design. Design has helped shape a winning strategy and ultimately a bright

future. That’s the power of design. That’s great design.



Part two - Application

SCAMPER TOOL

Consider a product: the stool. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a stool is aseat usually without back or arms supported by three or four legs or by a central pedestal.

The SCAMPER tool will be applied in the coming pages which will help think of

changes that can be done to the existing product; the stool. This stool will be our datum.

The stool’s basic function is to provide rest from standing up. It tends to be more portable

than a chair and is usually lighter to carry. Its main disadvantage lies in the fact it doesnot usually provide back support, and hence makes it uncomfortable in certain

environments. Also, you are not able to spend long periods of time, as you would do on a

chair. Stools are usually used for short spans of time rather than long, which could have

its advantages in areas where you are not wanted to sit for long.

SUBSTITUE

One of the basic necessities of a stool is to seat people comfortably, usually in a social

setting like at a bar, or church. What would happen if the basic function necessity of seating is substituted or completely removed?

Would this function? What would a stool that can’t provide seating function as? Are theresituations where you can use a stool that may function without providing seating?

What if the issue of comfort was no longer considered? What would happen if comfortwas substituted with its opposite, discomfort? What would these stools function for?

There may be instances where these issues become valid. An uncomfortable chair would

be ideal for punishing a naughty child or discourage people from sitting down for long periods of time in places such as waiting rooms.

Whilst keeping the comfort of the stool, one may substitute the materials used to createinteresting and innovative designs. Nowadays stools are made from old and trusted

materials like wood and metal, to more technologically advanced materials or even

recycled material. Could a stool be created from used plastic bottles or maybe even an old

appliance? Another idea could be the use of material derived from construction waste.Materials such as steel could easily be moulded to serve as a stool.



COMBINE

A stool’s main function is traditionally to sit down on. However its shape and design may

be done in such a way so as to permit further uses. An example would be to use the stoolas a step to provide you with further lift to maybe change a light bulb.

Another idea would be to make advantage of the stool’s long shape, and double it up to alight fixture, where it could function just like a lampshade. This could be switched on

either when the stool is not being occupied, or even when it is being occupied, by lighting

up the immediate floor area with down lighting from the top of the stool.

The nature of a stool mainly rests in the fact that it has no backrest. This could be used to

the designers advantage as the stool could also serve as a workout tool. It could

intentionally be designed to be unstable where it will require the user’s constantcorrection and use of his or her leg and back muscles to keep it sturdy, much in the same

way as a gym ball works.

Other uses include the use of the stool as a laptop table. The seat can be combined withan internal fan which can be switched on to cool down the laptop while it rests on it, or

even use the space beneath the stool as storage space. Small objects such as children’stoys could be kept under the stool hence reducing clutter.

ADAPT

Different components collectively make up a stool. These components may be set up invarious ways which change the functionality of a stool. For example a hydraulic system

in a stool can change its height. This makes the stool adaptable to its environment ranging

from high bar counters to low desks for children

A stool does not necessarily remain in one specific environment throughout its use. Any

one stool may have to withstand both controlled internal environments as well as theoutdoors. Therefore the stool must be flexible to withstand any given environment. When

outdoors it must resist the elements and be durable, whilst when inside adapt to the new

environment.

On the other hand of durability, a stool may be needed to serve only a very limited

timeline. Here the idea of a disposable stool comes in. This type of chair may prove

useful if the user only needs to use the stool for a predefined short period of time. It is

possible for this type of stool to be made out of light materials such as cardboard and thisalso enables the material to be recycled, or even to be made of recycled materials in the

first place. This concept was also used recently in a high profile event; the Pope’s visit toMalta.

Its manufacturing process can also be adapted to today’s needs of reducing carbondioxide emissions and manufacturing waste. Imagine a stool being grown naturally

without using any electricity and being grown directly in the location where it is going to



be introduced, thus eliminating transportation costs and rises in carbon footprint of the

product. Trees are self-generating, and the only energy needed is that from the sun. So

why not have a tree which grows in a desired shape to form a stool?

MODIFYErgonomics is not the only important aspect of stool design, but many other elements

constitute to create a good design. However it depends on the designers vision; whether the chair is going to place the user or aesthetics as the most important element.

What if we change the size of the stool for the sake of visual impact irrespective of its

functionality? By changing the size of the stool, it can be inserted in differentenvironments to suit varied uses. The simplest of size variation is used to accommodate

both adults as well as kids. Unconventional shapes may also be introduced.

Other modifications include the use of colour. A stool with bright colours may be

associated with kids and younger generations, whilst conventional stools may beassociated with adults. The use of colour can stimulate moods as well as change moods or condition them. What if the stool changes colour depending on the age of the user or even

reflect the mood the person is in.

The idea of user interaction could also be used and the stool acts as an interface. What if the user can change the properties or dimensions to suit its use at that particular moment

in time? What if the materials could be changed at ease and not predefined. What if the

stool moves? You just sit down and it takes you from place to place.

PUT ANOTHER USE TO

As we enter the age of recycling and reusing, as an environmentally friendly attitude, thestools we design could also be used after their primary use is exhausted. They may be

used for their structural properties or for completely unrelated uses.

Modern day light fittings, no longer consist of the conventional bulb and shade. With a bit of imagination, a stool which is made out of a translucent material could easily

become a lighting fixture. The wackier the design, the more attractive the light fixture.

Another reuse related to hollow stools is the possibility of using the hollow section as asand mould for children. Just as plastic moulds are made for sand castles, the hollow area

within the stool could also be done in such a way.

What if the stool was designed in such a way to encourage the user to stay? The stool

could have the dual function of seating as well as massaging. This could serve as an

incentive for the user to stay for longer spans as the issue of discomfort is practically

eliminated.



What if the stool could store energy whilst in use? A system may be developed whereby

energy is stored within the stool due to the heat transfer between the user and the stool.

This renewable energy may be stored in a battery like system where the energy will beused at a later stage for charging laptops or lighting a bulb.

ELIMINATE

The first thing to come to mind when eliminating is removing the legs. One can reducethe number of legs and strip it down to the bare minimum. Another alternative would be

to sit on the leg itself. What if there is no distinction between legs and the seat? Imagine

removing the seat of the stool where only the legs remain, rendering it useless to sit on.

Will these legs be able to provide any sort of function? There may be situations where theowner of a place wouldn’t want you to spend large amounts of time sitting down, hence

using an uncomfortable stool. The legs can simply provide a place to rest on.

On the contrary, the whole stool could be removed, and the user sits down directly on thefloor, or on some low wall. Is this not a form of stool? The stool can also be part of the building with extrusions in the building or depressions where one may sit. The user may

also sit directly on the floor and everything comes down with him. Objects such as the

table can be brought down with the chair.

Another alternative to sitting on the floor when removing the stool is to have some form

of air pump or magnetic forces keeping you off the ground. This will also help the

environment visually as the place would seem larger and cleaner.

REVERABILITYThe issue of reversibility has been applied vastly in other sectors such as the clothing

industry. This idea could also be employed with regards to stools. A stool may have asplit personality; a soft side and once flipped over, a hard side. What if the suitable side

used is chosen depending the user or environment it is used in? The user may also flip the

side after a period of time depending on his mood.

What if the stool could come apart depending on where it is used? The stool may be

made up of many small parts which as a whole form a chair, but can be easily pulled

apart to become toys or serve other functions. A larger bench could be made up of manysmall stools put together. When it is not needed as a whole it may come apart and work

independently. The issue of versatility is the most important when it comes toreversibility.



Pugh Method

After some discusion the followoing were deemed as insignificant parameters:

• Size

• Suitability in environment

• Number of elements

Important criteria added to the list were

• ease of manufacturing

• sustainability

• durability

• practicality

Original list criteria:

• Ease of assembly

• Affordability

• Aesthetics

• Ease of maintenance/ cleaning

• Comfort



Reflections

From the Pugh evaluation we were able to get a clearer indication of the strengths and

weaknesses of our concepts in comparison to a standard stool as a datum. This analysis

highlighted certain weaknesses in the concepts but also highlighted that some of them

have potential and can be taken to a further stage of design.For instance, the workout stool proved to be rather weak in certain aspects, such as

comfort and practicality, and therefore would have to be reconsidered. On the other handthe tree stool shows a lot of potential. Despite the fact that there are a number of negative

aspects, the design could be further improved to reduce these impracticalities hence

improving its use. For all the stools mentioned, the concepts could be further explored to

strengthen the design resulting in fewer negatives and more positives.Thinking tools, such as SCAMPER and the Pugh Evaluation strongly aid communication,

idea generation and prevent costly mistakes. They help designers to consider all aspects

of the product and people involved right from its production to the end user. Moreover,such tools promote teamwork and so result in better ideas being thought up through

members of the team feeding off each other’s ideas; the strongest concept clearly beingidentified in the end.

Overall it is clear that these thinking tools prove to be extremely helpful in designing a

solution and continually coming up with new and exciting concepts.

Design and Innovation Final

Documents

Transcript of Design and Innovation Final