Design Entrepreneurship

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 27 may 2015

Staying close to the customer and fulfil his needs and wants has been the mantra of successful brands and businesses. Technology has brought the customer even closer and given brands the opportunity to better understand and analyze the customer behavior and focus strategies to satisfy him/her. Considering the highly competitive and fast paced world of fashion and luxury, established luxury brands need to think like disrupters by putting customers at the center of their strategies. Disrupters focus on 'jobs to be done' in the present. Clayton Christensen's disrupter framework focuses on consumers' social, emotional or functional problem, and turns business into its solution. This framework makes innovation independent of the latest technology or the hottest new gadget and firmly relies on human behavior. Thinking about customers and their behavior patterns provide brands insights into the future. Understanding the next generation of customers and removing friction from their brand experience with a well thought out solution will hold the key for the brand's survival. Following are four ways established luxury brands can succeed by staying close to the customer - (1) Create a seamless path from inspiration to purchase. (2) Make your brand narrative attainable, intuitive and immersive. (3) Evoke in your customers the feeling of belonging and being special. (4) Serve and reward. Read on...

AdAge: Luxury Brands Must Innovate or Die in the Digital Age
Author: Ana Andjelic

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 02 may 2015

Seven design experts and judges of the 2015 Innovation by Design Awards define what an innovative design means to them - (1) Richard Florida, founder of the Creative Class Group: Innovative design is strikingly elegant but simple and intuitive to use. (2) Mark Rolston, founder of argodesign: By its very nature it should surprise us. It exposes the intrinsic power of technology. It reminds us of the profound nature of invention...should make life more beautiful. (3) Bradford Shellhammer, founder of Bezar: Did this design change the world and change it for the better...I am much more interested in the problem design solves. (4) Andrew Dent, vice president of library and materials research at Material ConneXion: How is it solving the problem it was designed for? What new approaches have been taken in this solution? Is it really offering an improvement over other designs or is it just 'new'?...I always initially zone in on the materials choices. I feel that there needs to be at minimum an 'appropriateness' when selecting them. (5) Bobby Martin Jr., co-founder of Original Champions of Design: Innovation comes from pushing beyond the expected... Innovative design is thoughtful, appropriate and ambitious. Innovative design is risky, so not everyone can be an innovator. (6) Dan Gardner, co-founder and executive creative director at Code and Theory: Is the design timeless? Does the design demonstrate new thinking and/or solve a problem in a new way? Does it have broader impact and application beyond the specific instance of the design? Does the design affect behavior in a meaningful way? (7) Stuart Karten, founder of Karten Design: Innovative design is new and different. It introduces aesthetics that haven't been seen before...the product must be meaningful. It must respond creatively to a real market need...when 'inventive' tech-driven products have functionality that is driven by people and connects to human needs that innovation occurs. Read on...

Fast Company: What Is Innovative Design? 7 Designers And Thinkers Weigh In
Author: Suzanne LaBarre

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 mar 2015

'Synthetic Biology' is an interdisciplinary and emerging area of research in biology. SyntheticBiology.org defines it as - (a) the design and construction of new biological parts, devices and systems and (b) the re-design of existing natural biological systems for useful purposes. 'Synbio' as it is often termed as, involves writing genetic code and inserting it into simple organisms to change their function. Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks sells custom-crafted organisms - mostly yeasts, baceteria and algae and they make synthetic scents that might be used in sprays and perfumes in future. Ginkgo was mostly funded initially by US government agencies. Jason Kelly, co-founder of Ginkgo, says 'Their belief was that the United States should be on the leading edge of creating tools to program cells - sort of like creating the base elements of the early Internet.' According to Professor Pamela Silver of Harvard Medical School, 'Synbio industry is going to grow quickly, especially in Boston.' Tom Knight, another founder of Ginkgo, explains 'Engineering biology has been an artisanal craft. You did things at a small scale, manually. We're moving into an age when we can start automating a lot of the processes and take advantage of economies of scale.' Read on...

The Boston Globe: Manufacturing's cutting edge - custom organisms
Author: Scott Kirsner

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 feb 2015

Designing for Internet of Things (IoT) is pushing the boundaries for designers and engineers to experiment and evolve out of their specific roles. Martin Charlier, design consultant and co-founder of Rain Cloud, provides his perspective on the future of interfaces and how to design for IoT. According to him, 'Products in today's world, especially, need to be thought about from variety of angles. A designer has to consider both the looks and working of the product while designing.' He stresses the importance of symbiotic nature of interaction design and service design. On working of cross-disciplinary teams, he says, 'Every field needs to know a little bit, have a basic understanding, of the other side... The key, though, is that they started working as one team together, before splitting up into their respective domain areas, so that there was a joined vision.' While discussing the role of human values in IoT design, he suggests, 'Designers need to start thinking about how they change people's behaviors and affect their lives.' Read on...

O'Reilly Radar: Design to reflect human values
Author: Jenn Webb

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 16 jul 2013

Well-known British designer, Tom Dixon, shares his design perspectives and experiences and explains how his work evolved over the years. He didn't had formal education and training as a designer but his diverse experiences have contributed substantially to his design philosophy and methods. Doing pottery at school, multi-tasking and self production while playing in a music band and starting to weld for a stage, all led to the process of ideating and creating things. This transformation resulted in designing furniture, working with big corporations and getting one of the design become a part of a permanent collection at Victoria & Albert Museum and Museum of Modern Art at New York. He summarizes his design philosophy as 'design for longevity and want somethings to be anti-fashion.' Read on...

the guardian: Tom Dixon - 'I design for longevity, and I want something to be anti-fashion'
Author: Rachel Cooke

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 15 jul 2013

An entrepreneur shares his experiences regarding a start-up and considers collaboration an important element of success. But at the same time he cautions that entrepreneurs have to be careful in selecting who to collaborate and obtain advice with and suggests collaborators who know more about technology and markets then the entrepreneur himself. His methodoloy for his start-up, that makes add-on lens for iPads and iPhones, was to first find collaborators like 3D drafters, optical engineers and app developers to formulate his idea, then build prototypes and conduct experiments to refine it (3D printing had been of great help at this stage), secure patent protection, utilize crowdfunding for investments and also obtain backers, partners and customers through it. The other opportunities and possibilities further open up after reaching this stage. Read on...

stuff.co.nz: Collaboration enriches entrepreneur's innovation
Author: Simon Rowell

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 25 jun 2013

According to the research at Babson College and Baruch College the early stage entrepreneurial activity in US increased to 13%, highest since 1999. The report also mentions that 34% of US-based entrepreneurs introduced innovative products and services. 75% of entrepreneurs engage in startup venture to pursue an opportunity rather then necessity. The factors that are contributing to rise in manufacturing entrepreneurship in US include - economic recovery; rise of automation; lean manufacturing models; demand for high quality and value products. 3D printing technologies are also creating changes in manufacturing entrepreneurship and giving rise to niche manufacturing startups that focus on customized products and cost effectiveness. Read on...

ThomasNet News: Students - Conditions Are Ripe for Manufacturing Entrepreneurs
Author: Alice Korngold

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 30 may 2013

'The Design Accelerator', a partnership between Caltech and Art Center College of Design, intends to develop and support design driven start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures. It seeks to create convergence of design and technology in entrepreneurship. It has already been established that design-driven corporations are better stock performers. Now this experiment would bring design into the core of entrepreneurship. An initiating point for high level user experience, the most important aspect of design, could be user interface design, industrial design or service design. It is well recognized that design contributes substantially to the success of businesses. Read on...

Huffington Post: Entrepreneurship Driven by Design
Author: Soren Petersen

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 03 may 2013

'Componentized Building' for school that can be assembled in 90 days with affordable advanced facilities is promised by a design firm. One classroom prototype is already on display. The firm intends to streamline prefab to a higher level and simplify all aspects of the building - design, architecture, supply chain etc. The main concept is to reduce complexity and increase repetition. Fast replication of this model with customization would be a great advantage in the world where cost saving in projects is the single most important thing. Read on...

Wired: The 'Componentized' School of the Future, Built in 90 Days
Author: Nathan Hurst

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 22 apr 2013

To create sustainable entrepreneurial companies it is imperative that converged ecosystem is developed with companies, universities and venture funds as the main stakeholders. Similar effort is in progress in Chicago where a design firm is coming forward to provide an accelerator platform to fledgling medical device entrepreneurial firms, at the most critical stage of their development- 'proof-of-concept' stage. The firm is seeking support from main universities of the city to provide candidates that have developed concepts with potential for commercialization and also early stage start-ups that are part of the university incubators. It will provide mentorship, financial resources and other services to build the commercially viable user friendly products. Experts say that start-up projects go through 'valley of death' - the financing gap between research and commercialization and if they can recieve funding and other support services at this 'proof-of-concept' stage they have a better chance of survival. Read on...

Chicago Tribune: New accelerator focuses on medical device startups
Author: Wailin Wong

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