Book Review of "Product Development - Principles and Tools for Creating Desirable and Transferable Designs"

The recently published book “Product Development: Principles and Tools for Creating Desirable and Transferable Designs” is a unique addition to design resources available to students and engineering professionals interested in evolving their design ideas from the early stages of opportunity development all the way through to production.

Plus ça Change, Plus C'est la Même Chose

In 1848, Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr penned the phrase, "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" or "the more things change, the more they stay the same". One hundred and seventy-two years later, one could argue that "the more products change, the more the designs stay the same." See how the products of the future are influenced by the designs of the past.

The Second Face of Innovation: The Experimenter

The second face of innovation as described by Tom Kelley is the Experimenter. It is no surprise that individuals identifying themselves as an Experimenter, will employ testing and prototyping more than any other of the ten faces of innovation. All of us have moments when we act as an Experimenter but some of us might be perennial Experimenters.

Interdisciplinary Teams

So many things contribute to the success of a team-based project. It’s pretty clear, though, that the team itself is one of them. Team composition, purpose, goals, approach, and team member behavior are all variables that can be tuned to get a high performing team. This article shares thoughts on each of them.

Color Blindness in Design

In your design and communication, be aware of the fact that many people have some degree of color blindness. This can potentially affect design features, design outcomes, and evaluation processes. Be aware and don’t disenfranchise up to 8% of your customers.