My connection with Sandy

Sitting in Germany, watching images of hurricane Sandy I was only an observer. I did not realize that I had done something 8 years ago that was actually helping those affected by Sandy.

During my stint at Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab, Bangalore, I was the designer in an excellent team that created a product named Honeywell Instant Alerts. As part of this project I got the chance to visit, meet and learn from different school staff in USA and also parents of children in these schools. As a team we managed to create a solution that really resonated with people. They found the product highly desirable. 

Today, all these years later, I learnt that this product was heavily used during hurricane Sandy. Two days during the storm, 1.1 million alerts were sent. The product was also used to encourage people to volunteer/contribute for relief work.

I felt immensely humble, proud and happy that a piece of my work touched lives of people who were in need of help. 

As a designer who likes to solve real problems leveraging technology, I realize, such situations don't occur often. It happens once in many many years. For me something like this has come along once in 10.5 years. 

As a designer, this is hugely satisfying. At times like this, I know why I am a designer and want to remain one :) 

Luxurious versus frugal innovation

Often I have sat through long discussions among design thinkers about the kind of space that is needed, the kind of (white) furniture that needs to be used to furnishing this space etc. The emphasis on this kind of a space is so much that it often sounds like a prerequisite.

During my early years of practicing design thinking, I was based in India and I never had access to such a space or any of this furniture. We didn't even have as many colors for our Post It's.

Between then and now, I've had the privilege to get a lot more exposure and learning about design thinking as it is practiced in the developed parts of the world. I've seen the design thinking spaces in different companies, educational institutes...and each time I have left feeling, 'this is so much luxury.'

A lot of money is spent on creating these spaces and keeping them that way. I still wondered why did every design thinking space need to look in this particular manner? E.g. White furniture...so much white is totally unthinkable for someone coming from a country like India. Its just not practical given the amount of dust and pollution around.

There maybe other such nuances that are specific to different parts of the world. A 'templatization' of a design and innovation space to me seem to be an oxymoron of sorts. I've seen and learnt about amazing innovations that happen with almost no such expensive resources. How can we explain that?

Jugaad innovation (frugal innovations) explains this. Finally with this book, there is a recognition that there are other forms of innovation other than the one that emerged out of the Bay area and has been (until now) presented as the only real way to be innovative.

How important is it to be 'true?'

"I think 90 percent of that battle is making sure that you truly have that great cause. What causes that 'nauseation' is when you are promoting something that is crap. I don't think Steve Jobs nauseated people when talking about how great Apple stuff was. The reason why he didn't nauseate people is because it was true." (Guy Kawasaki)

One of Dieter Ram's good design principles was, 'good design is honest' - it does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
As we get into the 'consumerization' of enterprise software, I believe, this aspect of being true and honest will play a large role in the success of a solution. I believe corporations that are venturing into providing solutions to consumers need to understand this key aspect when designing for them.

The power of social media is something these corporations need to keep in mind - something that cannot be ignored anymore. In this world, solutions get judged by masses almost instantly; solutions that add value go viral in no time...
It is groundswell at it's best, that can result in strong adoption or backlash among consumers, depending on the value a solution brings to them.

Most people believe, the words 'honesty' and 'business' do not go together. Designers like me are often laughed at for such idealistic thoughts. Nevertheless, it is this trait (honesty) of a solution that sustains the interest of consumers and sometimes creates demand where consumers are even willing to pay a higher price.

Offering a dishonest solution to consumers could potentially destroy a brand.

Even the business gurus seem to be talking about creating shared value
I wonder how long would it be until this mindset percolates into the corporate systems.