integrated and innovative ideation embedded in the design process develops a new kind of bottle opener.
bobi fresh
3d modelling
3d printing
»i don’t like that i cannot look at the street when I reach down for the bottle in the bike’s bottle holder; i don’t feel safe then.«
and
lecturers
innovative ideation is often still exposed to ungrounded assumptions derogating its actual business value. especially the executive level has neglected this approach for a long time. in reality however innovative ideation creates user and manufacturer value. large companies started to realize its potential, because today’s tough business environment requires for more than just an incremental or random improvement, but an innovative breakthrough – a completely new approach towards a product or service.
»living through events« by building around experiences
this experience-focused approach does not exclusively emphasise on the product, but on its users, their behaviours, activities, needs, and motivations. in short people’s overall experience using a product or service. the main goal of this principle is to recognize a need and to discover a product or service, which meets this particular need. design innovation employs the social science of ethnography by collecting data of people through direct observation and first-hand interaction. the deeper understanding of user experiences provides valuable and unexpected insights drawing the focus from what people say to what they actually do. this builds the fundamental base for an innovative and satisfactory design solution.
»seeing through connections« by establishing innovation as a system
a system is a set of interacting and/or independent entities that form an integrated whole. flows happening between the components are made visible and attributes defining them establish their position. the display of this big picture creates an understanding with increased value for all stakeholders involved. a clearly identified value of a product in relation to all components of the system strengthens its future sustainability. offerings based on this integrated innovation of multiple parts of a system are likely to have greater overall success.
»learning through partners« by creating an innovation culture
a successful design innovation strategy is not a scheduled and isolated event, but should be embedded in work life on a daily basis. having comprehended the importance of a user-centred approach, design innovation becomes a daily routine involving every department in a shared mental space.
»guiding through structure« by adopting a disciplined innovation process
successful innovation can be planned and managed like any other organizational function as well. however it isn’t a separated action, but goes in parallel with other processes within a company. design-driven innovation starts by understanding people, developing concepts and then conceiving businesses around those concepts. the main key factor is to see where these three fields touch and build on it. well managed and integrated design processes have a higher chance to become a success.
Considering the following four principles »bobi fresh« goes through several stages, making the design process a powerful technique to understand crucial user needs and drive innovation as a viable business concept forward.
the vast majority of design processes start with a client brief, making it the kick-off-point for a new challenge. the brief is supposed to state the defined result within a timeframe and a certain capacity of resources.
starting point
client brief
the brief for the present project is defined »to create a new kind of bottle opener«. it should be beyond its traditional definition and come up to all formal and functional user expectations.
visualizing existing bottle openers and learning about various solutions of other designers provides an effective introduction to the topic. it is an entertaining approach, which immediately provokes the generation of ideas and engages the designers to participate. the variety is colourful and diverse and by testing some openers first formal or functional shortcomings are detected.
product benchmarking measures the individual attributes of existing products and compares them either to the existing product portfolio or to the described challenge in the brief. this kind of benchmark is often used by market leaders within a segment in order to know their competitors’ approaches. the products are compared on different levels and a potential analysis shows the opportunity to improve the market position.
product benchmarking
introduction to the topic
mind mapping the topic bottle opener in groups establishes the context of »a bottle opener for on the go«. this approach represents for all group members the most interesting and biggest potential for further development a bottle opener beyond its traditional definition.
mind map
mind maps are a cognitive technique, which opens up opportunities and visually represents a subject. the principle of association helps to develop free thoughts by using the abilities of the brain to establish and see connections.
context analysis
(»people on the go«) have indeed issues of drinking and opening bottles while exercising. different people face different complex problems with this topic, which proves however that it is an issue worth for deeper investigation. in order to deepen the research in one field the context is narrowed to »bottle opener for the bike«.
ethnographical research
ethnography is a special form of anthropological research and means literally translated »description of the folk«. the central concern of ethnography is to understand life, social structures and cultural characteristics of a society from their perspective. within the design process it recognizes a need by collecting data of people through direct observation and first-hand interaction. the ethnographical research of the present project shows that active and sportive interviewees
user need identification
this desired innovative approach has to be managed at the level of »how do we do it?« and »what do we do?« – innovation design makes it a systematic and tangible process. it is more than just »thinking outside the box«, but a deeper understanding of how innovation can be systemized and structured. at the end of the design process the reached result is well-founded, justified, and hasn’t been reached just »by magic«. the following design process applied this approach using four main principles for effective innovation practice to develop »bobi fresh«. the concept of bobi fresh is based on an ethnographical research focusing on user needs resulting in an innovative bottle holder for bicycles, which also offers the opportunity to open the bottle while cycling.
summarizing collected user opinions and making them visible strengthens the understanding of this complex situation. One quote shows to be the most triggering within the entire ethnographical research of bottle openers. a sports instructor says the following when talking about dinking a cycling at the same time:
a quote (translated from latin also meaning »set in motion«) is a phrase literally taken from a spoken or written text. it also can be a reference to a specific text. quotes, whose original context is lost and no longer can be reconstructed, become fragments. within the design process even fragments are powerful tools, because further methods can put these fragments into different contexts and trigger different design ideation approaches.
user quuotes
insight identification
seeing various personas from different designers opens up a vast variety of problems. in order to tackle them in the right and most effective way these problems need to be clearly identified and pinned down. the problem statement for a bottle opener on the bike, which is easy to use and has no safety concerns is the following:
pin down a challenge
the gained information of the previously carried out steps give the opportunity to identify and define a user need and/or a resulting problem. having this problem clearly identified and pinned down makes it an important part of the design process. it considerably increases the chance that the suggested solution is more likely to come up to the user expectations.
problem definition
these steps lead to a justified and real problem, which can be a solution designed for. the ideation process starts by sketching ideas and understanding the physical process of opening a bottle. in the process it frequently changes its form and shape, but keeps its defined function of: »fixed on the handlebar of a bicycle, it holds a water bottle at its screw cap. when turning the bottle around it is opened, while the cap remains stuck in the holder. the process can quickly be reversed by sticking the bottle back into the fixed screw cap and turn it around to seal it again.«
ideation process
ideation is the most known part of the design process and frequently designers start designing here by ignoring all the previous steps. it is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas. creating these ideas on a justified common ground of the previous process guarantees the highest experience-focused outcome for the user.
start designing
prototyping the bottle opener provides an understanding of the physical attributes of the bottle itself and illustrates technical challenges. it clearly shows that it is of high importance that the screw cap is firmly stuck in the opener (which also can be considered as a »holder« now), because it has to carry the weight of the entire water bottle. rubber inlays give additional grip and an outstanding bar on the bottom side avoid the bottle of falling out.
prototyping
a prototype (translated from ancient greek »archetype«) is a functional, often for respective purposes simplified, experimental model of a proposed product or component. it only can be representing the shape and/or technically comply with the final product. a prototype is often used as preparation for mass production, but also can be planned as a single piece to illustrate one specific concept. according to the prototype research is an essential step in the design process.
testing
having outlined the design of the bottle opener/holder a telling name is required in order to represent the identity of the product to the user. the two main components are bottle and bike. in short »bo« for bottle and »bi« for bike – the name »bobi« occurs. further attributes, still deriving from user expressions, are »staying hydrated«, be »fit« and »refreshed« – drinking water makes users »fresh« again. the brand name »bobi fresh« is created.
a brand typically possesses characteristics which differentiates it from other products. it is the result of a variety of conducted actions over a longer period of time. they are based on the experiences and expressions of consumers. the management process of branding is to coordinate and control measures which can describe the product and its function in the best possible way.
branding
giving an identity
