roberto verganto design driven innovation

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© Roberto Verganti, Politecnico di Milano

Design driven innovationand management of business

creation activities

Roberto Verganti

Professor of Management of Innovation, Politecnico di MilanoDirector, MaDe In Lab

[email protected]


The importance of designin global competition

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The importance of design

l Why design is important in contemporary society?

l How design can become a source of competitive advantage?


The strength of Italian design

“In an era of globalization, Italy has a major advantage: its design, unclonable and inimitable .....

design is invisible, an heritage that cannot be shared,

it assumes arts and crafts resourcesthat may be developed only in generations…”

John Kenneth Galbraith

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…Northern Italy, is the centre of the design world.Not just because of the design that comes from Italy, but,

above all, because of its manufacturing culture;there is no other place in the world where you can find such a

vast array of manufacturers who know the value of design

Ron Arad

A success rooted in managerial practices


Agenda

Design and innovation

Design-based strategies

Breakthrough strategies: the approach

Breakthrough strategies: the process

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Agenda






Design

FUNCTION(TECHNOLOGY)

FORM(STYLING)

USER(NEEDS)

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“Every market-oriented company has understood that design is an advantage . As a result all companies can use it. Design must not only be the instrument that gives a nice form.

Rather it must anticipate a need, proposing a vision”

Carlotta De Bevilacqua, Vision Group, Artemide

“In a moment of total disarray in the world of design, we decided to work not only on the object, but more so on light, in particular its color”

Ernesto Gismondi, President, Artemide

Artemide Metamorfosi: The Human Light

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“Every market-oriented company has understood that design is an advantage . As a result all companies can use it. Design must not only be the instrument that gives a nice form.

Rather it must anticipate a need, proposing a vision”

Carlotta De Bevilacqua, Vision Group, Artemide

“In a moment of total disarray in the world of design, we decided to work not only on the object, but more so on light, in particular its color”

Ernesto Gismondi, President, Artemide

Artemide Metamorfosi: The Human Light


Mini Sosia,i Ing. Castaldi Illuminazione (Based on Sosia, 1983) Design - Bertoni, 1996

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Language MeaningsMessage

Metallic

Formal simplicity

Large size

Airing grids

I’m a large industrial product

Industrial is robust, durable

Big is beautiful (and luxurious)

Large-multifunctional rooms

home ? workplace

Post-industrial art


Design

FUNCTION(TECHNOLOGY)

USER(NEEDS)

MESSAGE(LANGUAGE)

FORM(STYLING)

MeaningsSense, personality, identity, emotion, valuesSigns: indexes, symbols, icons

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Agenda






Adaptation to the evolution of

socio-cultural models

MEANINGS (languages)

Incremental Improvement

Radical Improvement

FUNCTION (technology)

Generation of new meanings

Innovation strategy

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Radical Improvement



Innovation strategy


“We were aware of … having come to the end of the world of design as it had been us ed up till then We felt the need to shake off our parameters, to think futurably, released from style ….”

“At last the route to be followed for the new workshop - that of "the object-toy" - became clear.And it would be conceived beyond aesthetics or style .

‘In a room full of objects a child chooses one to relieve his boredom and solitude;why that object in particular?’ ”

Alberto Alessi

Alessi: Family Follows Fiction

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Agenda






Knowledge about user needs

“Market? What Market? We do not look at market needs.We make proposals to People”Ernesto Gismondi, President, Artemide

“Working within the metaproject transcends the creation of an object purely to satisfy a function and necessity.

Each object represents a tendency, a proposal and an indication of progress

which has a more cultural resonance”Alberto Alessi

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Understanding user needs

The only time we did market research was with Beogram 4000 (in 1972). Marketing people said it would sold 15 units in Denmark and 50 in the world.

It turned out of being one of our most successful productsPaul Ulrik Skifter, Former CFO Bang & Olufsen


Innovation asgeneration and integration of knowledge

TECHNOLOGY

Design push (Radical design driven innovation)

LANGUAGE

NEEDS

Technology push Market Pull

TECHNOLOGY

LANGUAGE

NEEDS

TECHNOLOGY

LANGUAGE

NEEDS

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Radical Improvement

PERFORMANCE (technology)


MARKET PULL user centered

TECHNOLOGY PUSH

DESIGN PUSH design driven

Innovation strategies


Understanding user needs

Socio-cultural context

Socio-cultural context

Firm Users

Interpreter

User centered

Firm Users

Design driven

Now

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The interpreters and the design discourse

FirmsUsers

DesignServices

Designers Publishing

Education &Research

Showrooms

Suppliers

EventsArtists

Firms in otherindustries


A long chain of interpreters

Piet MondrianComposition with Yellow, 1930

Artemide, Design by Gio PontiFato, 1969

“Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world”

Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792-1822

The Defense of Poetry, 1819

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Agenda






The process

Interpreter

Interpreter

DevelopmentTHINK

LISTEN

NewLanguagesand

Meanings

NewProducts

USER

KnowledgeBase

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

TALK

Interpreter

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The process

Interpreter

Interpreter

DevelopmentTHINK

LISTEN

NewLanguagesand

Meanings

NewProducts

USER

KnowledgeBase

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

TALK

Interpreter

Identify key interpreters

Immersion

Attract and nurturekey interpreters


Very often design is the most immediate way of defining what products become in people's minds

Our goal wasn't just to differentiate our product, but to create products thatpeople would love in the future.

Jonathan Ive, VP of Industrial Design, Apple

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Language Brokering


Not only designers

Flat TV with Ambilight, 2004

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Listen:attract and nurture key interpreters

Money is not enough

Act as an interpreter

“Alessi doesn’t make us feel as if we work for Alessi. Rather, we feel as if Alessi is working for us!”

Alessandro Mendini, designer

(source HBS case study 9-504-019)


The crucial role of technologies

“The research carried out by our engineering department was enormous and very difficult.

Finding the material with the right technical characteristics and the right mould was a real

undertaking. Just imagine, not even Bayer would have guaranteed the result.”

Giulio CastelliHonorary President and founder, Kartell

Bookworm, design Ron Arad

La Marie, design Philippe Starck

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Immersion

“Ettore Sottsass needed some funding for Memphis.I gave them money and

let them free to do what they wanted. To me this was a laboratory”

Ernesto Gismondi, Chairman, Artemide


The process

Interpreter

Interpreter

DevelopmentTHINK

LISTEN

NewLanguagesand

Meanings

NewProducts

USER

KnowledgeBase

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

TALK

Interpreter

Create your own vision through research projects

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Think

Interpreter

Interpreter

Development

LISTEN(immersion)

NewLanguagesand

Meanings

NewProducts

USER

KnowledgeBase

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

TALK(cultural products)

Interpreter

THINK (research)

Build Share Connect Select Embody


Artemide Metamorfosi

The Human Light

Technology Kit

Light FieldsDiscussion group on Socio-cultural models

Research on light control and filtering

Developmentof several products

Ernesto Gismondi, President , engineerCarlotta de Bevilacqua, Vision Group, architectAndrea Branzi, architectMichele De Lucchi, architectPierluigi Nicolin, architectDenis Santachiara, architectLuca Vercelloni, architectEzio Manzini, Architect, Engineer, Professor of Design

Coordinated by Paolo Inghilleri, medician and psycologist

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Alessi Kettle model 9093

1. “Listen”Alessi’s

immersion

Design Discourse in

Milan(Memphis etc.)

2. Research: “Tea and Coffe Piazza”

New Visionand Language

4. ProductDevelopmentfor the Kettle

Model 9093

Global Design Discourse(architectsoverseas )

3. “Talk” to the community

-Books-Exhibitions

-Limited series-…


Alessi Family Follows Fiction

Meta-Project Product Development

Alberto Alessi, President , law degreeAlessandro Mendini, architect

Luca Vercelloni, designerMarco Migliari, designerLaura Polinoro, background in art, theater and dance

Family Follows Fiction

Research Workshop

“Reflection on Franco Fornari's theory of affective codes and Winnicott's writings on traditional objects and paradoxical thinking, provided us with further timely instruments of analysis”.

“This workshop started in February 1991 and, after talks and reflections with Luca Vercelloni and Marco Migliari, a project task support pamphlet was prepared and implemented in April of the same

year, with other designers”

Alberto Alessi

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Tools

Interpreter

Interpreter

LISTEN(immersion)

NewLanguagesand

Meanings

KnowledgeBase

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

TALK(cultural products)

THINK (research)

Build Share Connect Select Embody

DESIGN

DIRECTION

WORKSHOP

KNOWLEDGE

REPOSITORY

PROCESS

LANGUAGE

MINING


The process

Interpreter

Interpreter

DevelopmentTHINK

LISTEN

NewLanguagesand

Meanings

NewProducts

USER

KnowledgeBase

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

TALK

Interpreter

Talk by cultural products

Exploit the seductive power of the interpreters

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The process

Interpreter

Interpreter

DevelopmentTHINK USER

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

Interpreter

TALK

Interpreter

Talk by cultural products

Exploit the seductive power of the interpreters

BooksShowroomsConcept products PrototypesArticlesExhibitionsSpecial projects


Talk

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Conclusions

l Every product has a meaning. Companies that do not realize this, simply do not manage it nor innovate it



MEANING (language)


Radical Improvement




Conclusions

l Every product has a meaning. Companies that do not realize this,simply do not manage it nor innovate it

l Design does not necessarily imply getting closer to users (at the expenses of people and innovation)

Firm Users

Interpreter

User centered

Firm Users

Design driven

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Conclusions

l Every product has a meaning. Companies that do not realize this,simply do not manage it nor innovate it

l Design does not necessarily imply getting closer to users

l A networked research process: exploit outside resources through long term network investment(hardly measurable)

Firms

Users

DesignServices

Designers Publishing

Education &Research

Showrooms

Suppliers

Events & ArtExhibitions

Firms in otherindustries


Conclusions

l Every product has a meaning. Companies that do not realize this, simply do not manage it nor innovate it

l Design does not necessarily imply getting closer to users

l A networked research process

l A strategic managerial process:you do not need to be a designer or a sociologist

Luca Di MontezemoloChariman Ferrari

Law

Alberto AlessiChairman Alessi

Law

Andrea PininfarinaChairman Pininfarina

Engineering

Ernesto GismondiChairman Artemide

Engineering

Jorma OlillaChairman and CEO Nokia

Political Science

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Design driven innovationand management of business

creation activities

Roberto Verganti

Professor of Management of Innovation, Politecnico di MilanoDirector, MaDe In Lab

[email protected]

roberto verganto design driven innovation

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