What's So Great About Product Design?
- Date: 2007-07-04 - Word Count: 423
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Well, here's my response...
Product Design can be compared to the birth of a child - your own child. It's a moment of pure creation. Before there is nothing and then there is something. One minute you were thinking, "wouldn't it be nice if…", and the next you are holding your baby (your product) in your hands and can appreciate him or her for the rest of your life.
And similar to a real baby, it's not a brief "eureka" type moment of conception or creation or discovery that has you giddy with excitement for a short period of time. It's a creative process that involves reflection, hand-wringing, and incubation, over a period of time. Perhaps unlike pregnancy, it also involves careful evaluation, study and countless iterations!
Moreover, bringing a product to life is different than becoming a parent; its a little more like playing God. After all, you get to choose every element of your baby's makeup. You choose its internal organs (product components). You choose how it will behave (interact with its surroundings). You choose the colour and texture of its skin, its voice, its overall appearance and the intricate details of each feature.
Imagine a time in the near future when medical technology might make it possible for couples to make choices regarding physical, and mental characteristics of their baby.
You might start off by completing a long questionnaire regarding physical appearance…Male/Female? Height? Weight? Build? Skin type? Hair colour?, etc,
This is called Product Design.
Then, there would be a lengthy section on how does it react to external stimulation? Above average intelligence or "normal"? Happy or reflective? Shy or outgoing? Assertive or wishy-washy? Aggressive or timid?
This is called Interaction Design.
If you don't have kids or haven't tried to conceive one yet and can't follow what I'm going on about, remember the time when you bought your iPhone or Razr or Wii and took it home and how you felt about it for the first week or so after purchase? Well, the pride being involved with the creation of a new product is similar to that pride of ownership but 10 times greater.
Naturally, like having a baby, there is risk. The DNA mix of the product development team may lead to odd results; your "baby" may have some annoying personal habits or, from certain angles, remind people of Richard Nixon. Risk is always present. In fact, one could say that the inherent risk somehow augments the final moment of creation, and all the successful product launches we have orchestrated more than compensate for these unfortunate occurrences.
Product Design can be compared to the birth of a child - your own child. It's a moment of pure creation. Before there is nothing and then there is something. One minute you were thinking, "wouldn't it be nice if…", and the next you are holding your baby (your product) in your hands and can appreciate him or her for the rest of your life.
And similar to a real baby, it's not a brief "eureka" type moment of conception or creation or discovery that has you giddy with excitement for a short period of time. It's a creative process that involves reflection, hand-wringing, and incubation, over a period of time. Perhaps unlike pregnancy, it also involves careful evaluation, study and countless iterations!
Moreover, bringing a product to life is different than becoming a parent; its a little more like playing God. After all, you get to choose every element of your baby's makeup. You choose its internal organs (product components). You choose how it will behave (interact with its surroundings). You choose the colour and texture of its skin, its voice, its overall appearance and the intricate details of each feature.
Imagine a time in the near future when medical technology might make it possible for couples to make choices regarding physical, and mental characteristics of their baby.
You might start off by completing a long questionnaire regarding physical appearance…Male/Female? Height? Weight? Build? Skin type? Hair colour?, etc,
This is called Product Design.
Then, there would be a lengthy section on how does it react to external stimulation? Above average intelligence or "normal"? Happy or reflective? Shy or outgoing? Assertive or wishy-washy? Aggressive or timid?
This is called Interaction Design.
If you don't have kids or haven't tried to conceive one yet and can't follow what I'm going on about, remember the time when you bought your iPhone or Razr or Wii and took it home and how you felt about it for the first week or so after purchase? Well, the pride being involved with the creation of a new product is similar to that pride of ownership but 10 times greater.
Naturally, like having a baby, there is risk. The DNA mix of the product development team may lead to odd results; your "baby" may have some annoying personal habits or, from certain angles, remind people of Richard Nixon. Risk is always present. In fact, one could say that the inherent risk somehow augments the final moment of creation, and all the successful product launches we have orchestrated more than compensate for these unfortunate occurrences.
Related Tags: design, baby, product development, product design, milan, industrial design, idmilano
Colin Anderson is a partner at I.D.milano Product Development in Milan, Italy. A Mechanical Engineer by profession, he speciallizes in creating complex surfaces using Pro/Engineer software and enjoys the challenge that Consumer Product Design offers. Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles
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