Duncan Queries On Design

On Aug 22, 2010, at 7:26 AM, Duncan wrote:

The rug in your video... I don't know enough about the sector to see what was new when you touted this to retailers. It's nice subjectively, but what was unique? Was it the pattern, or the way you combined wool of different color? Or was this a follow on product from a really unique product you had previously introduced? I'd have difficulty telling a retailer exactly what is new.. but maybe speciality carpet retailers would see something different in this rug. 

***Right...*** 

Which part of the rug was innovative..what didn't exist before?

***Merely the visual design, the Kwakiutl images...  funny though, when I first showed the designs to the Chinese they said "Shang."    I agreed.  Chinese designs circa 1700 BC.  ***

I've nailed down what's confusing.. I'm not deep enough into my industries to see the problems that can be solved by products that are just a little (7 or 8%) different. When you're on the outside you only see the big obvious problems. For example, anyone might think that flying cars is potentially a good idea, but an engineer or buyer working for Ferrari encounters little problems every day that could be the genesis of an import business selling anything from accessories to security products.

***No no no..  YOU encounter little problem every day that could put YOU in the auto business...   Insiders are too busy doing what they do to see much of that.  Boeing touts the fact it is a biz of 3000 subcontractors.... 3000 biz offering innovation.  When Fairchild delivered (30 years afo, my memory is foggy) f1-11s to Israel after a while Israelis began riveting on rear view mirrors...  there was an instance when a peek back was more more than all the electronics offered...  user experience, or customer ...is king.***

With the glass candle you can articulate what's new. "an oil table lamp... in the shape of a candle". It's putting  table lamps which have always existed into a candle that makes it new.

***Right... not much...***

I assume for the bread baskets (correct me if I'm wrong please) it was producing it for an individual, single serving, that had never been done before?

***Not by the chinese, contrary to their understanding of humanity...Chinese don't do "alone." ***

Can we say the following? If you can't articulate to the designer what is different, then it isn't different.

*** Better:  "Here's my problem...., and this is the solution."  The retailers will affirm or deny its worth, if affirmed, you take what retailers affirmed to the designers...***

And the corollary would be that if you can only look at the product and say 'that's nice' but not explain why it is different than what already exists, it is not new? You can say the glass candle is different because it is an oil lamp in the shape of a candle, and that's never been done before. Converesely, a bread basket that's is made just a bit fancier by a few decorative flowers, or one where the reeds have been weaved in a slightly different way, is NOT NEW.

***No.  martha Stewart is a billionaire off just that.  Well, making nice easier, but the draw is "nicer". Again, it does not take much to win in design.  See Apple.***

The product that seems to contradict everything is clothing and fashion. For this they just go in with a theme or look in mind. Since fashion comes in cycles and everything is a mish mash and rehash of the past, whether a collection or individual piece of clothing is 'good' or 'new' basically comes down to a feeling. You can't put it in to words. Whereas, on the contrary, with your glass candle you certainly can.

***What you see as contradiction, I see as confirmation.  Fashion is the freest market we have outside of elective cosmetic surgery.  The fact that it takes so little to make so much money proves my point. Draw a pyramid.   Make about 3% of the tip design...  then the rest is designers, suppliers, customers, brokers, shippers..and everything else.  That everything else has to be managed by YOU to get the 3% out to market...  this in some ways explains why people want to learn everything else, feel they need to, aside form design.  everything else is so much.  But nothing else maters unless you get the hardest thing right... design.***

***You must have passion (suffer) and find joy solving the problem.  Then you can work with great designers.  It otherwise does not take much...  this is another reason why I find it so frustrating as to why more people do not get started.***

It doesn't seem like we do a lot of work.. we just notice the problem then turn it over to the designer to fix. The suffering is in finding a suitable problem that's within our means to solve in the first place.

Dunan

***If it were within your means to solve, then the suffering ends.  Do not mistake the ability to imagine for the ability to produce.  I have been having tailors make my clothes since the 70s since only I can design clothes properly, for me anyway.  the fact that I know what I want does not mean I know how to make it.  Hence, I go to designers, tailors who have production capability.  Trade is because of division of labor and the fact that although we can find a suitable problem we do not have it within our means to solve in the first place.

John

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