Week Two - Design Thinking?
After reading Design Thinking, I believe that the coined term Design has a multitude of definitions and can not be easily defined. Design consists of ideas, work, production, function, and aesthetics. Design is a “process of generating, developing, and testing ideas” which requires inspiration and creativity (Design Thinking, 89).
A few products that took inspiration and creativity in their production that I use on a daily basis are my Quip Toothbrush and my Revlon Blowdryer. Quip is a new, upcoming, and ADA (American Dental Association) approved toothbrush. The company is a NYC based startup. The modern brand produced this toothbrush and marketed it for its simplicity, chic appearance, and how technology savvy it is. Quip designers took a “people first approach” in producing this toothbrush (Design Thinking, 87). They were able to comprehend that people lack knowledge about dental hygiene and lack the resources to visit their dentists frequently. This toothbrush gives them the opportunity to have a thorough cleaning twice a day and includes a timer set to two minutes. The brush shuts off after two minutes of brushing ensuring every tooth was given attention. This innovative company reached 10 million dollars in revenue in 2017. The toothbrushes are sold in various colors and customers are able to choose between a metal or plastic toothbrush depending on their style. In addition, my Revlon Blowdryer was also developed using creativity and innovation. This blowdryer does not have the appearance of a normal or stereotypical blowdryer. In fact it was designed to look like a mixed bristle brush. Salons use mixed bristle brushes on their clients to achieve an effortless, smooth, and fast blow-dry. The designers of this product were able to combine the mixed bristle brush and a blowdryer in order to create efficiency and ensure a quicker blow-dry. This brush also gives customers the opportunity to avoid a pricey salon blowout and achieve one affordably and quickly at home. This article in the Harvard Business Review teaches that we see these successful products and “they do the job and we love them” (Design Thinking, 92). Both products that I discussed “were not necessarily the first to market” but they were the first that I found were generated, developed, and designed with creativity and brilliance (Design Thinking, 92).
