In the Product Design & Development Brainstorm we talk with industry leaders to get their perspective on issues critical to the design engineering marketplace. In this issue, we ask:
What has been the 2009 Product of the Year so far?
Andrew Weiman, Managing Partner, Engineering & Commercialization, Bresslergroup
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I am of the opinion that the product of the year isn't a product at all — it's the community. The most innovative business entities are using product as a platform to create community. That community is then leveraged in the form of identity, communication, branding and, ultimately, the longer term goal of open innovation — make the product better to further strengthen the community.
Community is about engaging the customer it's about listening, getting buy-in and responding to needs. It's also about giving the community access to develop their own better product using the parent brand as the platform — new products or applications that meet new, unmet needs. It's been exciting to watch the world of apps explode around the Iphone and equally impressive to see all of the software offshoots of Google's open software applications. Platforms like Google Maps have launched many other applications, which further the parent brand.
This idea is not totally new — neither are Apple or Google — the only ones with a die hard community of users. Harley Davidson has people tattooing the brand on themselves — hopefully no one has inked Google yet. Entities like Linux and Wikipedia are notable for leveraging the community. Social networking sites are a very literal take on the subject.
Never-the-less, progressive companies are forming communities, they are listening to communities and they are leveraging them, for content, for incremental product improvement and for game-changing innovation. Its not all figured out, but it is the future.
2009 is the year of community and the most innovative companies are leading the way.
Mathieu Turpault, IDSA, Managing Partner, Director of Design, Bresslergroup
I personally admire both the designers and Nissan as an organization for developing and supporting a unique and unconventional car design solution such as the CUBE. It is different, risky and more than anything else, asymmetrical (rear and right side windows).
Nissan deserves respect for delivering on their brand values through design. A lot of companies talk about connecting design and branding, but only a few manage to deliver. I believe Nissan does.
The Cube is strengthening the power of the Nissan brand by challenging prevailing standards, changing the status-quo and pushing the boundaries of design at the same time. It's a fresh take on car design, instilling a generous dose of Japanese culture, offering something new, something unexpected and a clear alternative to me-too solutions. This may be the beginning of a new trend bound to change the face of automotive design for years to come.
I love the CUBE and no doubt others will hate it: it is a polarizing design. It's thought provoking and will have people talking.
Thought leadership requires being ahead of the game and I sincerely hope that the CUBE isn't too far up ahead.
Alan Lowne, President, Saelig Company
This year, Saelig has seen a great increase in sales of our Swiss-made APSIN6000 because, in the days of shrinking budgets, it offers an attractive lower cost alternative to expensive high-end RF signal generators.
It is a high-resolution, extremely low-noise, portable signal generator with remarkable signal purity, offering a resolution of 0.001 Hz from 9 kHz up to 6.4 GHz.
It’s an affordable, broadband signal generator with outstanding characteristics, and what makes it especially versatile is all features are accessible remotely via a LAN interface.
Applications include analog signal source, production test and measurement, automated test systems, EMC testing and other areas.