"Memphis" Design Process
(Scott) I'm catching up on some reading and just worked through an article titled "Innovating Through Design" in the December 2006 edition of Harvard Business Review.
The article describes the approach to innovation of Italian furniture, lighting and household goods companies, focusing on the firm, Alessi, and their work with Michael Graves to produce the model 9093 tea kettle.
Step 1: Absorb - Alessi brought together entrepreneurial designers to discuss trends, materials, technology and the future of design. The 11 designers then set off to work independently on tea and coffee concepts - contrast this independence / parallel tracking with the collaborative / multidisciplinary approach of IDEO and other ideation firms.
Step 2: Interpret - "Alessi knew that before ground-breaking products could be presented to the public, the gound itself had to be prepared..." Alessi organized exhibitions, and sold limited edition productions for $25K a pop to museums and wealthy collectors. This helped ensure the public would always associate these designs with Alessi, and that similar designs would be looked at as imitators. It also allowed Alessi the chance to gauge public / professional reaction.
Step 3: Address - Alessi organized more exhibitions and used discourse in the design community to promote the products (rather than advertise). At point-of-sale, each product comes with literature that describes how it came into existence and the qualities that make it unique.
It is also worth noting that in deciding which designs to produce, Alessi applies four criteria: Communicativeness, Evocativeness, Cost, Functionality. There's a lesson here I think - to understand what is at the heart of your brand or company ethos. Too often we change converge criteria by project. Companies could benefit from more consistent and enduring concept selection criteria.
Thoughts on the Absorb > Interpret > Address approach? How does it compare with a stage-gate innovation process? How could you expose early concepts to the public without running focus groups? Could you ask for the People's Choice (as does Kettle Chips)? Could you set up a street corner exhibition?
The article describes the approach to innovation of Italian furniture, lighting and household goods companies, focusing on the firm, Alessi, and their work with Michael Graves to produce the model 9093 tea kettle.
Step 1: Absorb - Alessi brought together entrepreneurial designers to discuss trends, materials, technology and the future of design. The 11 designers then set off to work independently on tea and coffee concepts - contrast this independence / parallel tracking with the collaborative / multidisciplinary approach of IDEO and other ideation firms.
Step 2: Interpret - "Alessi knew that before ground-breaking products could be presented to the public, the gound itself had to be prepared..." Alessi organized exhibitions, and sold limited edition productions for $25K a pop to museums and wealthy collectors. This helped ensure the public would always associate these designs with Alessi, and that similar designs would be looked at as imitators. It also allowed Alessi the chance to gauge public / professional reaction.
Step 3: Address - Alessi organized more exhibitions and used discourse in the design community to promote the products (rather than advertise). At point-of-sale, each product comes with literature that describes how it came into existence and the qualities that make it unique.
It is also worth noting that in deciding which designs to produce, Alessi applies four criteria: Communicativeness, Evocativeness, Cost, Functionality. There's a lesson here I think - to understand what is at the heart of your brand or company ethos. Too often we change converge criteria by project. Companies could benefit from more consistent and enduring concept selection criteria.
Thoughts on the Absorb > Interpret > Address approach? How does it compare with a stage-gate innovation process? How could you expose early concepts to the public without running focus groups? Could you ask for the People's Choice (as does Kettle Chips)? Could you set up a street corner exhibition?
posted by ROInnovation at 7:45 AM
1 Comments:
I couldn't agree more...
"There's a lesson here I think - to understand what is at the heart of your brand or company ethos. Too often we change converge criteria by project. Companies could benefit from more consistent and enduring concept selection criteria."
I think companies too often waste time trying to innovate in areas they should not innovate. It isn't just the Cost and Functionality that are important for Alessi the Communicativeness and Evocativeness aspects are core to their brand. These reinforce what Alessi stands for.
Corey
Post a Comment
<< Home