Design & Innovation

One of the things I have been thinking about since returning from our tour is how cool the office space was at some of the companies we visited. IDEO in particular has a great space but so did some of the other firms. I work from a home office a lot of the time so I do have control over what my office has in it. Generally I take a pretty utilitarian view of this space- it has what it needs, not much else. I’m curious to see what other people’s office space looks like or what ideas other people have on what could be or should be in a home office. I’m looking for some inspiration here! I’ve included a “before” pic of my office space. Once I collect some ideas (and determine a budget) I would like to redesign my space so that it is more conducive to producing inspired work.

I got a little sidetracked this week and haven’t posted what I gained from days 2 to 4 from our trip. I know its late but figured it would still be applicable.

Day 2: SAP was awesome and I think it was because I had no idea what to expect. Everyone did really well on the design challenge presentations and it was interesting to see all of the different ways the project was approached and presented. Professor Yoo’s and matt Halloway’s presentations were good overviews of design and business and Professor Yoo’s example of digitizing real world experience to create other experiences with the mens urinal was awesome. Innovations like the mens urinal with the buzzing fly that keeps score is a perfect example of bringing the human experience into technology and then using technology to create another positive experience.

I found Neutron’s approach to branding unique in that they considered themselves the shrink to companies going through change. This is interesting because change is probably the hardest thing for companies to manage, which could be why many unconsciously choose not to change and eventually die off. I still left that day kind of curious how Neutron approached their clients and the process they use to be effective change agents, but I was intrigued by their overall approach.

Day 3 - Stanford and the D-School were awesome. How can we get a D-School experience here now, is how I felt. I found the fact that the first class students in the D-School focused, Extreme Affordability to be very appropriate and I like how it challenges the traditional notion of design as something that looks good and is expensive. Anybody want to create a D-School?

Ideo - Ideo was the quintessential design firm. It was great to see their space and see how they actually have fun and organize themselves to be creative. The support for such an atmosphere from the top of the company is so refreshing and made me envious. I found Peter’s examples of transformation by design to be very powerful and pertinent; the cue cards for nurses and hospital administrators to begin talking to patients and the color coded name tags to differentiate between patients and visitors in the waiting room both seem so obvious but when implemented change the lives of the people who use them. Also the framework Peter presented at the end of his presentation was a good visual representation of the process for integrating design.

Stanley Saitowitz/Natoma Architects Inc. - The most insightful part of this visit was seeing the transformation of an idea into a design for a space. The example he gave was a client that said they were looking for a space that represented the idea of “water”. It was interesting to see how that idea was represented as a space and how different constraints, such as budget, would need to be take into account to design that space.

Day 4 - DeSimone - Seeing the structural engineered perspective of Gehry’s buildings really showed how he forced all of the people involved with his projects to be innovative. It was also cool to see how involved Marco would get with the final design because of how much it relied on the structural engineering. The presentation really spoke to the need for collaboration between all disciplines in a project.

I recently went to a bridal shower and was speaking with the mother-to-be about some of the items they have purchased for their first child that’s on the way.  She mentioned that her husband just bought their stroller and it was totally unique and state of the art with lots of features and gadgets.  Then she noted that it happened to be designed by two Stanford grads - I immediately thought, this HAS to be an IDEO product in some way!

So I immediately searched and found that Orbit Baby IS actually born out of the IDEO thought process by two former IDEO workers.  The concept for Orbit Baby was to develop a superbly engineered, lightweight, and high style transportation system for children.  As we know from what we have been studying, the two masterminds behind Orbit Baby, Joseph and Bryan, did extensive research with what people disliked about their current strollers, researched child transportation safety, and pulled together information from their own experiences to develop a product that is truly unique.  Check out some of the features here ….

The Orbit Baby’s style, safety and functionality (despite the high price tag of about $1,000 for the basic unit of stroller, car seat and the “orbit” base) have quickly launched the company …  Yet another IDEO product (well, almost an IDEO product) that is revolutionizing an industry!

Orbit Baby Video

Unconference? Is that like an unbirthday? Sounds like just the type of amorphous, chaotic experience Frank Gehry or the folks at IDEO would be fond of.

I’ll admit, as someone who hates disorganization, vague ideas, and unclear objectives, I was a bit skeptical of the unconference at first. How could you possibly run a successful conference without watertight logistics and a predetermined agenda? That’s insanity.

However, after reading more about the growing popularity and effectiveness of these so-called unconferences, I realized that they are the perfect antidote to those mundane, completely uninformative conferences we have all paid good money to attend. Instead of sitting (or in some cases, snoring) through another conference session that has absolutely no relevance to your current job, why not present something yourself? Have a great idea that popped into your head mid-flight and can’t wait to share it with your colleagues? No need to wait til next year’s conference, present it at the unconference!

The unconference is the exact type of “structured chaos” that IDEO’s David Kelley champions. The traditional conference structure leaves little room for participant interaction, brainstorming, and idea development. Typically, conference goers may pick up one or two tidbits of knowledge during a week-long seminar. Conference attendees at this month’s Startup Weekend unconference in San Antonio; however, will create one or more companies from scratch in just a few days.

I recently came across a well-timed article in the May/June issue of The Penn Stater.  In “Factory Approved,” author Ryan Jones follows a group of Mechanical Engineering (ME) students as they work through ME 440W: Mechanical Systems Design, a capstone course required of all graduating seniors.

The design process followed by these undergraduate Penn State engineering students almost completely mirrors that which we - graduate business students - have been instructed to follow.  Ask questions, listen intently, establish customer needs, prototype early and often, form vs. function (which comes first?)   In the end, the Penn State team came up with a product prototype that pleased the client and their ideas will be used by the company in developing future models.

The prototype that the mechanical engineers ended up with is a tanglible result of the design process, their work, and their progress.  As MBA students in the “new economy,” however, many of us provide a service or knowledge/expertise, not a tangible product.  While it is interesting and fun to read about IDEO’s product innovations and Gehry’s sketches come to life in the form of post-modern architecture, the end results have largely been tanglible, physical objects.

As a marketer/public relations officer in the business of ideas, knowledge, and customer service, how does the design and innovation process apply to me?  What types of intangible deliverables can I offer my current employer and future clients as a result of taking this course?  Does the design process change at all when innovating in a knowledge rather than a manufacturing economy?

Going forward, I’m hoping to learn more about how marketers, public relations staff, editors, etc. use the design process to their advantage when developing messages and communications strategies in the New Economy.

Silicon Valley has many rags (aka media outlets) that are constantly keeping up with the trends. I recently stumbled upon a cool article on valleywag about the top 10 workspaces. I’ve also been reading The Art of Innovation by IDEO’s Tom Kelley, which describes how their working enviorment breads their creativity and innovation.

 I’ve worked for several creative agencies working in PR, Marketing and Advertising and I always thought it was kinda of funny that working in that type of environment can actually help you do the work you do. Now that I work in a more professional environment, which is out of our client’s office space ( They are a real Estate banking firm and almost all males that wear suits each day), I can see how much I actually valued the laid back environment that I was used to.

Check out those office spaces and let me know which one you like. I’m looking forward to seeing other spaces like it during our travels in a few weeks.

After seeing the IDEO video in class on Friday, I stumbled upon an interesting design for shopping carts. The product is called the Hook and Go and is sold at Sur La Table. The product is probably used more for urban shoppers who don’t drive to the market and need something to transport from the store to their home. It goes along with the same hooking features that IDEO came up with, however it only supports about 70 pounds and may not be as asthetically pleasing. It is a little expensive for the average shopper, especially with rising food prices, however it’s compact design makes storing fairly easy.

I spent some time at Reading Terminal Market this weekend and noticed how many people struggled with their bags, especially those that were buying a lot of produce, meat, bread and other products. For those like me that do all their shopping at similiar markets, this product is great. For those that live in suburban environments where they can pull up to the curb and load their groceries, I wouldn’t reccomend it.

I also wanted to respond to the IDEO video that we watched in class on Friday. The unique office environment immediately made me think of Google’s work environment. We went to visit Google’s site in NYC this spring during career week. They gave us a tour and later on a small presentation about the company. Google’s offices, as well as the hallways and meeting rooms, are colorful and playful. They have whiteboards all around the hallways and meeting rooms for people to write anything that comes to their minds. People are dressed in casual clothes and can ride scooters down the hallway. It’s all part of the innovative and collaborative culture Google has mastered over the past few years.

In this week’s business week there is an article about Google and its innovation: “How Google fuels its idea factory”. One of the things that stood out for me was the part when it talks about the obstacles Google faces right now. Since it has about 50 locations right now, the biggest problem it is facing is the difficulty of having face-to-face contact. As we saw in the IDEO video, teams are formed for a particular project for a specific amount of time, after which the team splits, and new teams are formed. The success of the project seems to be dependent on the team work and collaboration being done in the same room. It will be interesting to see how Google can manage this issue while it continues to expand rapidly.

Here’s an interesting video that features a talk by Timothy Brown of IDEO, on “Innovation through Design Thinking”, delivered last year at MIT.