11 Design Strategies of the Next Decade

At the end of last year I was planning to write a post that was something like “The Best Products of 2009″ or “The 2009 Product of the Year” or even “The Best Products of the Decade”. After asking my twitter friends and designers what they thought, and compiling their feedback and suggestions, I realize this did not make sense, as I was not in a position to actually trial enough products to make an accurate call.

Not only that, I realized that the Internet was littered with such product “Oscar Awards”. Unfazed, I decided to instead focus on something that is closer to the core focus of this site. Design strategy and direction.

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Industrial Design
Feb 06, 2010
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Before the iPad and Newton there was Another Apple Tablet

To celebrate the launch of the iPad, the team at Frog design went to their design archives and dug out a tablet PC concept that frog founder Hartmut Esslingner developed for Apple in 1983. Looking at how concept Bashful works, it does seem to be a precursor to the iPad.

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User Centered Innovation is Dead

With a cheeky little link to Tom Kelly’s The Art of Innovation, Roberto Verganti (author of Design Driven Innovation) suggests in not so many words that User Centered Innovation, IDEO’s claim to fame, is dead.

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Spaces for Ideas: The Brand

spaces for ideas logo

It is time for a long overdue update on my Spaces for Ideas Project. This time I like to share with you the brand that I am building for this product. I have always been a strong supporter of branding and this time around it is no different. Understanding the value of branding, motivated me to create a log that could communicate instantly what Spaces for Ideas was all about.

I started out speaking to a few graphic designers and branding houses, but due to cost issues and not having full clarity what I wanted, I decided to put the money into my product and carved out some time to really thinking about this brand. If I did not know what I wanted, budget was likely going to be wasted. However as I got deeper into it, I realized I was enjoying the process, and decided to take it all the way to the end.

So without further adieu please have a look at my brand development process after the jump. (Warning picture heavy, but image size managed). Oh by the way, I’m no typographer, so I would love to hear your feedback and ways I can improve the final design.

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Industrial Design
Feb 02, 2010
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Girls can now Go Standing Up!

The GoGirl Female Urination Device allows women to go standing up, thus avoiding annoying pitfalls like heavy clothing, dirty bowls, grassy environments or creepy crawlers etc.

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Design Articles
Jan 29, 2010
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How to Manage your Creative Work and Intellectual Property Online

It is with a hard heart that I write this post today. The Pocket Light by Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee (Ryan Harc), was stolen, produced and sold, unlicensed, under another brand. I do not condone such activities and urge all readers to boycott any fake Pocket Lights you may encounter.



Original Pocket Light



Fake Pocket Light


Moving forward, we could speculate 101 ways how and why Ryan Harc’s design was stolen, but ultimately it does not matter. What really matters is the fallout of such a situation, the impact of it on the designers and the design industry.

In many ways the Internet is a new medium when it comes to the management of intellectual property. Many designers are still struggling to reconcile its power of reach versus the need to control information flow. Here are some of my thoughts on how you can manage your creative content on the Internet.

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Industrial Design
Jan 27, 2010
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20 Things We Already Know About Apple’s Rumored iTablet


I like to add one more point to this cool list.

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Industrial Design
Jan 27, 2010
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The Beautifully Simple and Green Mast Humidifier

I so love this beautifully elegant and simple “Mast” humidifier. Made of Japanese cypress (hinoki), it was designed by Shin Okada and crafted by Masuya Koubou.

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About Design Sojourn

Design Sojourn is about a Design Translator's adventures in Design Leadership and the business of Strategic Industrial Design. DT is an award winning, multi-disciplinary industrial design leader that specializes in strategic product realization programs that drive successful brands and businesses.
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