Last weekend, I
attended the 2009 Opportunity Green conference. There were some inspiring
speakers with great messages. Len Sauers from P&G got me thinking about
small changes across product lines that can make a big difference in the amount
of resources consumed. Annie Leonard, who wrote The Story of Stuff, gave a
jolting reminder of the waste built into our materials economy.
In light of all
this, another of my takeaways was weighing heavily on my conscience, and my
shoulder--the Swag Bag.
Looking
through my five-pound bag, I encountered piles of cardboard, paper, and plastic
wrapping--double-packaged disposable cardboard speakers, various logoed
notebooks and pens, and a stack of brochures and magazines. Some of the swag had
good intentions. We were encouraged to use our new set of bamboo dinnerware in
lieu of plastic utensils and a reusable water bottle and hand towel instead of
their disposable counterparts. But how many materials were used, even in these
supposedly sustainable gifts?And
how many people are going to carry these items around with them, even a week
from now? Not me.
Swag is one of the
biggest ways that conferences generate waste--it's a $19 billion industry in the U.S. That's
a lot of Customized Readymade Apparel and Products, if you'll pardon my
acronym.
All of these
freebies have a high cost. This became especially clear to me after last weekend.
Conferences that are aimed at encouraging consumers to "reduce, reuse, recycle" should start lobbying to stop the meaningless gifting of promotional products.
As Annie Leonard said, we can't afford to fill the world with more stuff. Let's Bag the Swag.
For 25 years, Stuart Karten Design
(SKD) has designed products that serve as brand
ambassadors for its clients and lead to greater market share and
increased profit. SKD's team of 25 designers,
researchers, and mechanical engineers guide a product from
conceptualization through production. SKD is renowned for its medical products and its ear-centric devices, including communication headsets for Jabra and Plantronics, the Zōn
hearing aid for Starkey Laboratories, and noise-cancelling ear buds for
Ultimate Ears. SKD's awards include IDEA, Red Dot, iF, Good Design and the I.D. Annual
Design Review. Conceptual "Epidermits Interactive Pet" was a part of MOMA's Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition.
In 2008, Fast Company named SKD among America's top
five "Design Factories" in its annual Masters of Design issue.
Lately it seems like the spark is gone. I've been working with the same design firm for 5 years. In the beginning, I was so excited about product development and my designers came up with concepts that blew my mind. We still churn out a pipeline of about 10 products each year, but I feel like our relationship lacks the passion of its early days.
Bored in Boston
Dear Bored,
It happens to the best of us--we start to feel comfortable with a partner and before you know it we let down our guard. We might forget to put on business suits for your corporate meetings or we might deliver five concepts instead of 10. But you're obviously working with a great design firm and you have a history and chemistry together. Try these tips for re-igniting the spark:
1) Explore a new interest together. Maybe you've always talked about developing an eco-friendly, wireless, hand-held personal cooler for the millennial market. Re-visit the shared visions that have inspired your team and take a risk!
2) If you haven't done so recently, send your designer out into the field for some research. The world is always changing, even if your relationship has been stagnant for years. Finding some new information about your industry or discovering a new unmet need should send your partner into the creative flurry that you know and love.
3) Have you told your partner lately that you love them? Designers may seem like innately self-assured creatures, but deep down we love to be reminded that our work is appreciated and that it makes a difference. One pat on the back from you may be enough to re-kindle the romance.
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
Things have been going really well between my designer and me--so well that I thought I'd bring them in to meet my parent company. Much to my dismay, my boss was not enamored. She could not look beyond the misspelled PowerPoint slides and odd pairing of Converse with dress pants to see the brilliant soul inside. Is our relationship doomed?
Romeo in R&D
Dear Romeo,
Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet! Have patience, star-crossed lover. Your parent company may warm up to your designer when they see the impact their ideas have on the bottom line. In the mean time, you might want to talk to your designer about the Converse.
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
I've always thought it was ok to play the field, and for the past few years I've been using a few different design firms. But lately, one of my designers has been pressuring me to be exclusive. I want to keep her happy, but I'm not sure I want to make this kind of commitment. Is it worth it?
Playboy
Dear Playboy,
It can certainly be hard to settle down with so many attractive design firms available, but if you play the field for too long, you run the risk of missing out on all the benefits of a monogamous relationship.
When you make the commitment to one designer, you build intimacy with a team member who gets to know your product line, your customers, and your needs. By building a partnership based on mutual respect and trust, you will reap the rewards of a higher level of Innovation focused specifically on your company, your customer and your infrastructure.
Plus, on business trips you guys can wear cute matching bathrobes and fight over directions.
Stuart
Got a burning question for Stuart? Leave it in the comments and we'll be sure to get it answered.
For 25
years, Stuart Karten Design (SKD) has been a strategic partner to
companies seeking to differentiate their products through creativity
and design. Connecting creativity with commerce, SKD designs products
that serve as brand ambassadors for its clients and lead to greater
market share and increased profit. SKD's team includes 25 includes
designers, researchers and mechanical engineers who can guide a product
from design conceptualization through final production. SKD is
especially renowned for its medical products and its ear-centric
devices, which have included communication headsets for Jabra and
Plantronics, the Zōn hearing aid for Starkey Laboratories and
noise-cancelling ear buds for Ultimate Ears.
SKD has been
the recipient of numerous awards, including IDEA, Red Dot, iF, Good
Design and the I.D. Annual Design Review. Conceptual "Epidermits
Interactive Pet" was a part of Museum of Modern Art's recent Design and
the Elastic Mind exhibition. In 2008, Fast Company magazine
named SKD among America's top five "Design Factories" in its annual
Masters of Design issue. Located near the beach in Marina del Rey, SKD
is tapped into the cutting edge culture that defines Los Angeles with
our fingers on the pulse of the trends that will affect the nation.
My client wants to bring her friend from the engineering department into our relationship. She's in marketing and we have great rapport--she listens to all of my ideas and is very supportive. I feel like her engineering friend is more of a downer. How can I accommodate my partner's wishes without getting tied down by constraints?
Vaporously, Free Spirit
Dear Free Spirit,
As much as a couple loves each other, it is not healthy for them to spend all of their time in isolation. Friendships, both yours and your client's, can enrich your relationship. Instead of viewing Engineering as an enemy, think of them as an ally, there to ensure that your dreams make it down the assembly line into production. Some of my best work experiences have happened in diverse teams--with designers participating in research, engineers joining early in brainstorming sessions and designers overseeing projects through engineering. Remember that constraints breed creativity!
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
When I first started seeing my design partner a few years ago, things were great and we were very successful. But given the recent economy, I've had to make some cutbacks and reign in spending. I want to stay together, but it's hard to keep things going on such a tight budget. Is there any way to make this work?
Ouch! Pinching Pennies in Pennsylvania
•••
Dear Pennies,
It's definitely hard to make ends meet, especially during this recession. I personally have started re-using my index cards as napkins. But smart companies have figured out that design is integral to the product development process, and are finding creative ways to keep the love alive on a budget.
One way to do this is by making sure that you capitalize on your designer's equity by employing him or her where most useful. For example, if your company has a great in-house engineering department, spend the design budget on concept development. Another option is to keep designers involved at every step, but cut the overall scope so instead of developing 12 concepts, for example, they will deliver three or four.
A good designer will try to work with your constraints. However, you should be wary about bargain-designer shopping, because the quality will likely suffer. Remember, you get what you pay for, so make the smart investment.
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
GlobalCorp is looking to boost our YTD Q1 and Q2 G&NP by proactively strategizing to increase market share through CBA and CBD. By enabling both B2B and B2C offerings, we hope to launch numerous IPOs, with sites based primarily in HTML with SQL language. In order to align with key players and globalize our processes, we hope to get appropriate third party recommendations to up our ROI quotient and ensure satisfaction on individual EPS. GC's MDO has compared various data from MMR and MRI studies to suggest that the best product offering can be ascertained by appealing positively to cross-demographic consumer emotion management. Or in plain English: how can we synergize the GC POV with efficient top down CF to grab the low-hanging fruit while simultaneously utilizing optimal resources?
Will expect your response by EOD, CEO
Dear Mr. CEO,
I have no idea what you just asked me. Should we try to find a translator who speaks Corporate and meet over a power lunch?
Stuart
Got a burning question for Stuart? Leave it in the comments and we'll be sure to get it answered.
For 25
years, Stuart Karten Design (SKD) has been a strategic partner to
companies seeking to differentiate their products through creativity
and design. Connecting creativity with commerce, SKD designs products
that serve as brand ambassadors for its clients and lead to greater
market share and increased profit. SKD's team includes 25 includes
designers, researchers and mechanical engineers who can guide a product
from design conceptualization through final production. SKD is
especially renowned for its medical products and its ear-centric
devices, which have included communication headsets for Jabra and
Plantronics, the Zōn hearing aid for Starkey Laboratories and
noise-cancelling ear buds for Ultimate Ears.
SKD has been
the recipient of numerous awards, including IDEA, Red Dot, iF, Good
Design and the I.D. Annual Design Review. Conceptual "Epidermits
Interactive Pet" was a part of Museum of Modern Art's recent Design and
the Elastic Mind exhibition. In 2008, Fast Company magazine
named SKD among America's top five "Design Factories" in its annual
Masters of Design issue. Located near the beach in Marina del Rey, SKD
is tapped into the cutting edge culture that defines Los Angeles with
our fingers on the pulse of the trends that will affect the nation.
I just started working with this design firm and they seem amazing, but I'm concerned they may be just trying to impress me. How can I tell if they're for real or just putting up a front?
For real? Façade or Not
Dear Façade or Not,
If they have a penchant for black clothing and large watches, they are real. But seriously, like the beginnings of any relationship, people tend to be on their best behavior. Trying to impress you is a good thing! Time will be your best tool. What you should remember is that it takes two to tango. So keeping your designers engaged with projects they find exciting, providing full transparency into your business objectives and introducing designers to stakeholders beyond yourself are a just a few things you can do.
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
Sometimes I want to have some alone time with my internal team. But my designer is always pestering me to talk out my decisions and share my thoughts. How can I get him to ease up?
Discreetly, Private Patron
Dear Private Patron,
It sounds to me like your designer is just doing his job, or at least what he considers to be his job. Designers these days are good for more than just pretty pictures. By understanding your company, your industry and your customers, a good designer can use his or her creative powers to help your business grow by introducing cost-saving manufacturing processes and unexpected materials, or innovative product lines that entice new buyers. With this in mind, you may find it in your best interest to open up.
Remember, it's all about communication and making sure that you and your designer share the same expectations for your relationship. If you're not interested in blazing new paths--if you really are just looking for that incremental next-generation silver media player with sexier curves and a smaller housing that keeps you in the commodity cul de sac--you can still feel free to politely tell your designer to back off.
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
I've been working with the same designer for years, and I really love him. He is very creative, and has developed many ideas for products that have made my company a ton of cash. But he has one small habit that drives me nuts...he constantly misspells my name in emails and presentations. What should I do?
Perplexed, Sinead Spitzfarger
Dear ShiSinade S,
Is that really how your name is spelled? You may want to give him a pass on this one. Designers aren't usually known for winning spelling bees.
Stuart
Got a burning question for Stuart? Leave it in the comments and we'll be sure to get it answered.
For 25
years, Stuart Karten Design (SKD) has been a strategic partner to
companies seeking to differentiate their products through creativity
and design. Connecting creativity with commerce, SKD designs products
that serve as brand ambassadors for its clients and lead to greater
market share and increased profit. SKD's team includes 25 includes
designers, researchers and mechanical engineers who can guide a product
from design conceptualization through final production. SKD is
especially renowned for its medical products and its ear-centric
devices, which have included communication headsets for Jabra and
Plantronics, the Zōn hearing aid for Starkey Laboratories and
noise-cancelling ear buds for Ultimate Ears.
SKD has been
the recipient of numerous awards, including IDEA, Red Dot, iF, Good
Design and the I.D. Annual Design Review. Conceptual "Epidermits
Interactive Pet" was a part of Museum of Modern Art's recent Design and
the Elastic Mind exhibition. In 2008, Fast Company magazine
named SKD among America's top five "Design Factories" in its annual
Masters of Design issue. Located near the beach in Marina del Rey, SKD
is tapped into the cutting edge culture that defines Los Angeles with
our fingers on the pulse of the trends that will affect the nation.
We started casually dating a design firm and we are having a good experience, but now they want to be exclusive and I feel we're moving too fast. What do you make of it?
Wanting to stop, Puttin' on the Brakes
Dear P on the B,
If I had to guess, they started asking penetrating questions about other aspects of your product--maybe packaging, user interface, a Web page or instructions. Am I right?
An outsider's desire to know more about you and your company can feel threatening, but this probing should not be misinterpreted as the drive towards exclusivity. This designer is just trying to understand the whole experience of using your products. Their interest should be fostered, not looked upon negatively. Having a great product is no longer enough to capture your customers' hearts and minds--it's all about the full experience. Loosen up a little bit and see where it goes.
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
Sometimes I know the right way to do things, but rather than listen to me, my designer insists on doing it his (wrong) way. Why can't he understand that I know what I'm talking about?
Right? Not Trying to be Bossy
Dear NTTB Bossy,
Please do not take offense when it seems that your designer is ignoring your valuable advice. The truth is designers possess a special magical sense that detects opportunity for innovation in previously overlooked places. This sense only functions when the holder is encountering a new problem for the first time. Let's call designers "Innovation Fishermen." Innovations are like smart fish: you're not gonna catch 'em in the same place twice. You need to keep moving and trying new things. What was right yesterday might not catch the biggest fish today!
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
I met a great potential client and we really hit it off. I took him through a custom presentation and we even went out for drinks. I thought we had a real connection, but I haven't heard from him since. I've been checking my e-mail every few minutes and I even called the phone company to make sure all our phone lines were working. Do you think maybe he was hit by a bus and that's why he hasn't called?
Help, Heartsick and Hoping
Dear Heartsick,
I'm going to give you some cold hard truth. The reason he hasn't called is...he's just not that into working with you.
I'm sure that you're a wonderful designer; you shouldn't get discouraged about this situation. Maybe he just wasn't ready to get involved, maybe he found another designer who seemed more compatible. Whatever the case, it's time to pick yourself up and move on because this one just wasn't meant to be.
And by the way, the odds of him getting hit by a bus are about as low as the odds that you're wearing any color besides black right now.
Stuart
Got a burning question for Stuart? Leave it in the comments and we'll be sure to get it answered.
For 25
years, Stuart Karten Design (SKD) has been a strategic partner to
companies seeking to differentiate their products through creativity
and design. Connecting creativity with commerce, SKD designs products
that serve as brand ambassadors for its clients and lead to greater
market share and increased profit. SKD's team includes 25 includes
designers, researchers and mechanical engineers who can guide a product
from design conceptualization through final production. SKD is
especially renowned for its medical products and its ear-centric
devices, which have included communication headsets for Jabra and
Plantronics, the Zōn hearing aid for Starkey Laboratories and
noise-cancelling ear buds for Ultimate Ears.
SKD has been
the recipient of numerous awards, including IDEA, Red Dot, iF, Good
Design and the I.D. Annual Design Review. Conceptual "Epidermits
Interactive Pet" was a part of Museum of Modern Art's recent Design and
the Elastic Mind exhibition. In 2008, Fast Company magazine
named SKD among America's top five "Design Factories" in its annual
Masters of Design issue. Located near the beach in Marina del Rey, SKD
is tapped into the cutting edge culture that defines Los Angeles with
our fingers on the pulse of the trends that will affect the nation.
I've been burned by my designer in a past relationship and I'm very guarded as a result, but I'm not ready to give up on innovation. I've met a new designer and I'm ready to start fresh, but I'm afraid my emotional baggage will get in the way.
Ready to design again, Scarred and Scared
Dear Scarred and Scared,
Commitment is scary! But an intimate, sharing relationship with a designer is the key to lifelong Innovation. Let me clear up a few things for you. Innovation is no mystery. It is simply creativity applied in a business context. Now here's the scary part: you need to get back out there and talk to designers in a meaningful way! Yes, I know they are an odd bunch who pride themselves on going against the corporate grain, but they know creativity and, if they are good, they know how it can impact your company's bottom line.
How to find them, connect with the good ones and build a lasting relationship is what you need to focus on. The willingness to spend time with your partner, to reflect on yourself and your company, and to invest in your relationship is crucial. A healthy partnership with a designer will bring success, but it takes work like any relationship. If you really want to get back in the game, check your baggage at the door.
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
In an effort to win over this client, I gave up a project for free. I knew it was wrong, but was seduced by their great product line and the promise of more work. I know this goes against all proper protocol for a financially healthy relationship. Did I ruin my reputation? What should I do?
Regretfully, Design Slut
Dear D.S.,
It's all about patterns. Once you give it up, the client will expect it that way all the time. Being viewed as the "Designer With Benefits" will not lead to the long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationship necessary for producing lasting Innovation. I suggest you be upfront: admit to your evil ways and take the walk of shame back to a more meaningful relationship. Your short-term lapse in judgment also has implications on the design profession as a whole. We certainly don't want the world of clients thinking they can strut their stuff and have us all succumb so easily.
Stuart
•••
Dear Stuart,
We have started working with a design firm and I have a burning question: Why do all designers wear black?
Darkly, Docker Dan
Dear Docker Dan,
There is some deeply rooted psychological history here. We are a young profession just becoming secure in our role in the world. Our black wardrobe embodies the confusion of belonging and individuality--belonging in a boardroom while still standing out against Corporate America. Black allows us to stand out in a safe way without a strong color conviction that might convey loyalty to some passing trend. It's a neutral canvas that allows our creative personalities to shine. Most importantly, it makes shopping easy and morning dress decisions super simple!
Stuart
Got a burning question for Stuart? Leave it in the comments and we'll be sure to get it answered.
For 25 years, Stuart Karten Design (SKD) has been a strategic partner to companies seeking to differentiate their products through creativity and design. Connecting creativity with commerce, SKD designs products that serve as brand ambassadors for its clients and lead to greater market share and increased profit. SKD's team includes 25 includes designers, researchers and mechanical engineers who can guide a product from design conceptualization through final production. SKD is especially renowned for its medical products and its ear-centric devices, which have included communication headsets for Jabra and Plantronics, the Zōn hearing aid for Starkey Laboratories and noise-cancelling ear buds for Ultimate Ears.
SKD has been the recipient of numerous awards, including IDEA, Red Dot, iF, Good Design and the I.D. Annual Design Review. Conceptual "Epidermits Interactive Pet" was a part of Museum of Modern Art's recent Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition. In 2008, Fast Company magazine named SKD among America's top five "Design Factories" in its annual Masters of Design issue. Located near the beach in Marina del Rey, SKD is tapped into the cutting edge culture that defines Los Angeles with our fingers on the pulse of the trends that will affect the nation.
Stuart
Dear Stuart,
