Focusing on the ugly ducklings of the design / art world, Momento Mori brings to light their dark, social commentary manifest through design. By using morbid imagery, unconventional materials and sensationalist imagery, designers question society’s taboos, especially about death. And it sells.
Profiled by ICON magazine we see Marc Newson describing his working history as a product designer and how his realization of limited art work with Gagosian Gallery fits into his creative framework. The exhibition was a turning point for design when art collectors suddenly sat up and took notice of a demand created by and for these individuas. This exhibition also provided a framework for Newson to develop experimental and egotistical works and he’s laughing all the way to the bank.
User value - competing theories and models is an excellent way to explore the various components of value and evaluates the different properties that define it for new product development activities. User-centric approach to design, time based modeling and several other accessible functional design systems and how they effect ROI are shown. An excellent read.
Design is widely accepted as being good for business as it adds value to products and has an influence on performance and visibility. Nevertheless, many corporations continue to work without internal design groups or external design agencies. Feeding the Lion - One Internal Design Group's Odyssey advocates strongly how design is good for business by giving real time examples.
Using a large sample size Exploring Types and Characteristics of Product Forms explores the emotion and pleasure associated with design. It identifies 14 key characteristics, giving emphasis to aesthetics and bios in certain areas of design. An excellent framwork for NPD analysis and pushing design forward for ROI in your firm.
Inter-firm Modularity and Its Implications for Product Development details 3 challenges in product development revealing positive solutions that are somewhat counter to conventional managerial practices. A perfect example of how to navigate & enhance product performance for maximum ROI.
Predictors of the Survival of Innovations details a ‘survival’ model for new product design and inventions. Through the identification of three key success factors: anticipation of demand, profitability, technological maturity it creates a formula for anticipated return of a product. Great for assessing the success of ideas and NPD efforts inside emerging firms.
By exploring the external management of medium-size manufacturing firms, Managing External Information in Manufacturing Firms: The Impact on Innovation Performance enumerated a model for awareness of technological sector and environment changes which have a positive result on innovation performance where as a focus on customers, suppliers and competitors had a negative impact. The result, keep your eye to the future and don’t get bogged down with what everyone else is doing.
