innovation

2018 Apple MacBook Pro

2018 Was An Impressive Year For Apple

We’re still a few weeks from saying our goodbyes to 2018, and unless Apple is planning to hold an unprecedented fifth keynote this year, 2018 will go down in history as the year when Apple launched a range of innovative products. In the hype and the hoopla that generally accompanies all Apple events; some individuals might even be vindicated in assuming they are just normal product launches, although undoubtedly the company has given us a sneak peek into its future direction of integrating the best-in-class design and tech elements into great-looking, innovative products. In short, there has never been an exciting moment to anticipate which product and tech iteration Apple would demonstrate at their next glittering event.

2018 should set the tone for Apple’s future design roadmap

It was last year when Apple’s approach in breakthrough hardware and software design gained fruition and we finally began to see the perfection with Apple’s design iterations. To cite an example, it was September 2017, when along with the Apple Watch Series 3, the Apple TV 4K, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, Apple unveiled a revolutionary form factor of its flagship product the iPhone X on its tenth anniversary. The bezel-less design of the iPhone X was what impressed many, a paradigm shift in the iPhone ergonomics that was hitherto accompanied by a home button. The new form factor certainly met the expectations of the markets but then it was also the introduction of the Face ID technology a new generation of secure digital authentication which also made a mark. In a nutshell, that event marked a significant detour in the way products were going to be designed and integrated with advanced technology. In fact, not very long ago, I had mentioned a critical aspect of Apple’s future design roadmap that was supportive of modern & imminent technologies and in the process, they were also influencing behaviour change with user interaction. That being said here’s what I liked from Apple’s ‘orchard’ this 2018, 3 revolutionary product ideas with their underlying hi-tech, that I believe would eventually transform the way we interact with the world around us, and my strategic learning from the product launches so far.

Design Iterations in the form factor for the iMac
Instance of design iterations in the form factor for the iMac

The product design philosophy of Apple could be easily summarized with this insightful quote by French aviator and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, he says, “perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” That sentiment is so deeply ingrained in every aspect of Apple’s design DNA.

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Spring Season Reading List

My Book Reading List For 2018…So Far!

In between a hectic project schedule, I have also committed myself to a reading list of books, the first half of 2018 is already behind me (can’t believe!) and I’m just letting myself wade through this hot summer with some practical knowledge books. I am already through a few titles and I am attempting to get that number up with some interesting non-fiction titles lined up for the latter half of 2018, so fingers crossed. I only decided to read about design so far, but now I’m accessing titles on communications, psychology, strategy, business and marketing. My overarching goal from reading the books is to broaden my vision of how I could commit to my long-term objective of merging creativity with building a value proposition for products while staying focused on service innovation & customer experience. Lastly, instead of doing an annual review/recommendation of books I decided to write a post as soon as I finish some volumes just so that I get my views out to the world quickly. Which also helps me to remember the value of my reading list and the freshness of the knowledge I gain each year.

The Business of Design: Balancing Creativity and Profitability (by Keith Granet)

The Business of Design - Book CoverEven though the target audience for this book seemed like the architects and interior designers, this book didn’t disappoint me so far as comprehending the principles of business were concerned. Keith Granet brings his insights from his experience of 30 years from bringing profitability to customers and setting up his architecture design firm Granet & Associates from spending considerable time on projects as a full-time employee. There are some terms and details which could be only be comprehended by someone from that industry, like for instance, the promotion cycles for employees or the contractual obligations for clients, etc., but despite that seemingly nonessential information, the rest of the principles in the book from billing and human resources, to managing a team, stay pretty much relevant as foundations for setting up any business. In the end, this book is profound and inspirational in its approach towards design entrepreneurship, even if you don’t plan to work as an architect or an interior design.

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Design Thinking For Organizational Innovation

An insightful quote from the Innovation by Design book caught my attention at a local bookstore and luckily I was able to find it on the author’s blog through some rigorous Googling. It gains prominence especially since in my experience, some experts have associated with the design thinking (DT) methodology as a UX design activity referring to its iterative design activities. Hence it was important to make a note of its broader value in innovation here.

The criticality of using DT or ‘human-centred’ design in enterprise software development has been documented in an incisive paper by IBM, but the frameworks also stimulate the transformation journey in combining the organization’s strategic vision involving various inter-organizational initiatives as listed below. Essentially, if you are a practising consultant at the intersection of business design & digital IT in your organization and believe that your role is limited to software consulting, you could expand the scale of your engagements and contribute to the maturity of your institution in more than one ways.

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  • The influence of design thinking at scale on the organization’s culture
  • The creation of new products, services and experiences
  • The design organization processes, systems, and structures
  • The creation and leadership of long-term strategy to distributed innovation
  • The functioning of teams, decision-making and conflict resolution
  • The design of collaborative environments
  • The use of external design thinking experts and consultants
  • The training and development of employees in design thinking

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via How to multiply creativity | Lockwood Resource

Books

Books On Design Which I Enjoyed In 2017

My zest for ‘change’ led me to read books in 2017. here’s my short review of the publications I enjoyed on design and design-thinking.

As 2017 draws to an end, I had resolved from the beginning to make this a productive year, and more than anything, it turned to be a remarkable one as far as my reading goes! At the onset, there was sufficient appetite to read academic books on design and venture on a learning spree with the sole aim to pick new stuff and refresh my knowledge, challenge some preconceived notions, and change some of my perspectives and help me to go beyond the typical ‘design’ paradigm. In my search of knowledge, I also didn’t realize that I was unknowingly being influenced by the experience and writings from IDEO’s brilliant books and I was lucky to have found some lying on my shelves (that I would refer once in a while) but never got myself around to reading them completely. Now was a good opportunity then!

This is my short review of the magnificent and insightful books on design thinking and innovation this year!

Creativity Inc. - Books I Read In 2017

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration (by Ed Catmull with Amy Wallace / Publisher: Random House) [Book Website]

In this fascinating essay, Ed Catmull charts his career graph alongside the founding and management of Pixar. From his childhood dream of working for Disney to becoming the current President of Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, Catmull recounts his love for animation, leadership, and creativity. In all that, he became instrumental in developing the technology which enabled a newly co-founded animation studio ‘Pixar’ in the 90s to create award-winning movies and disrupt the animation industry forever. In general, this book explores various perspectives in successfully leading initiatives that range from collaboration to communication, and in trying out new ideas fearlessly even if they’re destined to fail. I particularly cherished the chapter, ‘Afterword: The Steve We Knew’ that is dedicated to Steve Jobs – he bought the niche Graphics Group from Lucas Films and spun it into Pixar. My impression about Pixar from reading the book was reinforced, not just as a path-breaking studio but for spearheading the use of technology and collaborative efforts in bringing the finer details of the movie characters on the big screen. And that’s not all, it was most humbling to read about Catmull’s humane qualities as an inspiring leader and an entrepreneur in leading Pixar/Disney’s teams on the large movie projects. It’s an exceptional book and a must read for innovators.

Why Should You Pick This Book?

Having read extensively about Pixar and Steve Jobs’ contribution I was already convinced on getting an ‘insider’s look’ into the processes of the studio. So, just like me, if you are curious about Pixar’s legendary mechanism of making their animation movies that create box-office history over and over again then this book is for you. It’s also inspiring to discover Ed Catmull and his humble beginnings as a computer scientist and leading up to his current standing at Disney. There are some valuable insights to have here. Besides, if you have read the several books on Steve Jobs, you will enjoy reading more about the legendary entrepreneur from a newer perspective.

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UX Design

The Best UX Design Articles of May 2016

A catalogue of some of my favourite and insightful UX design articles published in May 2016.

How to Turn User Research into Usable Data
User research is an important component in a design process to collect valuable data. This article looks at various research methods and how to make the right choice.

Basic steps on how to remove complexity out of UI Design
Jin Su Park, Head of Design at ThisData speaks about removing the complexity in the designing of the user-interfaces.

The absolute minimum Android developers need to know about UX — Part 3 of 5
The title has the description of the article. Also, Part 1 covers ‘Visibility’ and Part 2 includes ‘Affordances/Signifiers’.

UX Maturity: Where Does Your Company Fit?
Usabilla offers a FREE ebook explaining the concepts, and the reason to invest in UX design. Go for it!

Designing for Content-Heavy Websites
It’s not easy to encapsulate content in a good minimalist UI. If you share that opinion as well, this article is for you.

A Guide To Building a Successful Startup Design Team
Jennifer Aldrich from InVision writes about working for a startup on UX roles and building a successful design team. You can follow her tweets (@jma245).

The Organization’s Design Research Maturity Model
Chris Avore shares his template of a model for measuring your organization’s design research maturity.

Privacy Laws and Bad UX
Alex Schmidt (UX strategist and researcher) speaks about why digital privacy matters with some examples, and how you should approach it.

Applying UX Design Methods to Organizational Design and Teamwork
UX designers are no longer limited to imagining or executing ideas but they are also engaging with all sorts of professionals in a co-creation process.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? The Biggest Mistakes in Usability Testing
Although usability testing seems simple and routine there are several problems which may occur. Infragistics’ Principal User Experience Architect Jim Ross shares his experience in this insightful article.

The Design-Thinking Superpower You Might Suspect You Have
Designers can take the design-thinking approach on a range of projects, going beyond the UI, and help the organization’s internal processes to gain optimization.

Introducing the User-Centered Design Canvas
The UCD Canvas is a great way to capture user-research and business value all in one place. A downloadable PDF with some more information is also available on The Rectangles website.

 

Featured Image – by courtesy of Duane Storey / Computers (Some Rights Reserved)