You're tasked with designing a new product. How do you ensure it balances creativity and practicality?

As a biomimicry fellow, I choose nature as the source of knowledge. Observe and Emulate Nature: Begin by studying natural systems and organisms that have evolved solutions to challenges similar to those your product aims to address. Function over Form: In nature, every feature has a purpose. When designing the product, prioritize the functionality. Simplicity and Efficiency: Nature tends to favor simple, elegant solutions that use minimal resources. Iterative Design Process:Just as evolution refines organisms over time, employ an iterative design process. Prototype, test, and refine your product continuously. Adaptability and Resilience: Design your product to be adaptable, similar to how organisms thrive in changing environments.

In the early project phase, numerous visions are often stated, which helps broaden the focus. However, it is crucial that any wrap-up of requirements remains achievable. I believe it is far better to have just a few requirements in the first step and ensure they are met rather than having an impressive, groundbreaking set of requirements that turns into a never-ending story. A more effective approach is to think in iterative loops and define requirements accordingly. This way, understanding the distinction between "have-to" requirements and "nice-to-have" items becomes essential for effective planning and decision-making in any project.

“Form follows Function” Once you’ve pinpointed the concept and what it hopes to achieve, the basic understanding is to ensure the end user “sees what you see”. It’s not enough to have a flashy design if it’s “use” isn’t inherent in the aesthetics - like the “knife”. The knife is a basic form, but understanding it’s “use” is a matter of simply looking at its design, butter vs steak. Simplicity in the form factor and targeted visual cues used to enhance its functionality, is fundamental to successful product development.

Umas das faces de um produto perfeito é a fun??o ser atendida e a forma ser essencialmente atraente enquanto estética. Com a essa soma o produto passa a ser necessidade para o usuário!

My process post-research usually revolves around ideating openly (Still with few overall crucial constraints like keeping in mind the key attributes, form requirements, proportionality, and more) as the first pass - These are really quick off-the-mind concepts, and I do this to try to come up with a few novel concepts (I have learned from the FUTUR it easy to scale back than scale up something) after this first pass of ideations which is many times really rough - I wear different hats to kill extremely ludicrous concepts - the decision depends on the type of manufacturing process we are looking for, materials we want to work with, any engineering constraints, and more.

For brainstorming sessions, I would create a cooperative atmosphere that values different viewpoints and unconventional ideas. To envision and explore different design concepts, I would make mood boards, sketches, and prototypes. I would use an iterative process, continuously improving and changing the design in response to user input and testing.

Creative ideation is a dynamic and exciting phase in the design process where the goal is to generate a plethora of ideas, no matter how unconventional they may seem. It's a time to challenge assumptions, explore new territories, and think outside the proverbial box. By fostering an environment where every idea is valued, you create a rich soil from which truly innovative solutions can grow. Remember, today's outlandish idea could be tomorrow's breakthrough. So keep sketching, modeling, and prototyping—your next big idea is just around the corner.

In my experience, when designing a new product needs a more freehand than innovating an existing product. Understand the customer needs and then do some post-design research considering every attribute and practicability of the product. In my personal experience, customer needs matter. But, closing yourself in the boundaries of that requirements lose diverse thinking. Sometimes, one attribute in a product solves additional problems with may customer not consider. But in post design research, it can bring interesting solutions. Prototype helps a lot. Sometimes, you did very well job in sketching and technical things. But when comes to prototyping you need change, which boost your creativity

A pergunta certa gera a resposta certa! Gaste tempo elaborando o que o produto precisa responder! E a resposta precisa incluir o processo fabril: o mesmo deve ser tal excepcional quanto a forma e a fun??o!

Working with engineers and other specialists, I would evaluate the design's technical viability to make sure it can be produced and put into practice within reasonable bounds. To make sure the product is both affordable and available to the intended market, I would take into account the costs associated with production, materials, and delivery.

Para mí, esta es la fase crucial, es donde realmente se hace realidad nuestra hipótesis creativa, y este aspecto debería estar dentro de los requerimientos iniciales, entender la capacidad y alcance técnico de los proveedores (fabricantes) optimiza exponencialmente el proceso de dise?o al evitar reprocesos y aprovechar eficientemente el presupuesto.

The feasibility check is a critical phase in product development where the practicality of ideas is scrutinized. It involves a thorough analysis of manufacturing capabilities, material availability, cost efficiency, and environmental impact. This step ensures that the product not only meets design and functionality requirements but also aligns with budgetary constraints and timelines. It's a balancing act between innovation and practicality, aiming to bring a viable product to market without compromising on quality or sustainability.

Esta fase es imprescindible que sea de análisis y de preferencia multi e interdisciplinario, el dise?ador no puede ni debería saber todo de todos los temas, las áreas de especialización otorgan grandes ventajas, pero dos o tres cabezas piensan mas, mejor y pronto que una sola

Testing your design with the correct intended user really demonstrates if you've designed an intuitive product, or your design has issues the team haven't considered. Finding these issues early gives the opportunity to refine and improve the design from validation. Often user testing shows up those 'ah-ha' moments capturing evidence of known errors and identifying previously unknown errors. This could be done with early paper or 3D print prototypes, through to fully working models, however the earlier in the process user testing is done, the cheaper and easier it is to incorporate required design changes

Imprescindible probar, rápido y barato, para que si hay errores o cosas a mejorar se solventen de mejor forma, invertir grandes sumas de dinero para considerar una solución ya no es sostenible en estos tiempos donde la tecnología es una gran aliada

El proceso iterativo es fundamental para conocer de mejor forma la solución y prevenir comportamientos futuros y sus implicaciones en el lugar donde se va a dar dicha solución. Es el momento para otorgar la mayor cantidad de detalles técnicos y ponerlos a prueba

In my experience, this is where skills development plays a crucial role. All of those 6 steps are required. When one possesses his/ her skill at a high level, it becomes possible to enter a flow state of creativity and produce multiple versions of a possible product, quickly. Then by experiencing with the built models, options can be evaluated and refined. Not all skills may fit the particular project. Like a hat, it must be a good fit. But mastering a skill or multiple skills to a high degree increases the yield. Such skills are best developed in the context of playing. Offer yourself the luxury of playing with the tools that attract you. Those experiences will feed your brain, and many years later, be there waiting to be leveraged.