Multi-Functional Product Design - Part I March 26, 2008
One thing I love about product design is the ability to combine separate objects into something new and practical. I like to stress that last adjective. The concept of novelty can be applied liberally, and usually implies a sense of amusement. However, the degree to which the novel product (or aspect thereof) is ‘useful’ (in purpose and time-span), can be highly questionable depending on the end user profile, and our own qualitative value assessment.
All of this analytical reasoning lead to the questions like:
What is of Value? For whom? Under what circumstances?
While user profiles are excellent tools to expand upon basic demographic and psychographic modeling, there are two major considerations that affect the attractiveness of a multifunctional product: space and time.
Space - This involves the environments in which we live, work, relax, commute, etc. It includes the amount of physical space you have, shared spaces, and their salient and secondary aspects.
Time - What we all value and may sometimes feel deprived of. This includes dedicated time for particular activities, shared time for multiple activities (like often found in the multitasking workplace), and random time for the unexpected (pleasant, neutral, undesirable) situations and activities.
When examining both of these considerations in a particular context, look for what your allowances and constraints are. Doing this will help you find an opportunity to take advantage of.
Lifestyle changes (gradual and sudden), will serve as catalysts for utility and value in multifunctional products. Maybe we already have individual products that can currently do their job well, but in the new circumstance or lifestyle change, a single product with increased functionality that allows for time & space improvements can be of moderate to significant value.
One area where time and space are often limited is in urban areas, where living spaces tend to be smaller, resources and amenities may be geographically dispersed, reliance on public transit is greater, and people can tend to live faster. An additional factor that affects time and space is the blurring line between work and leisure. Flexible working hours and more individuals working from home has created opportunities for manufacturers to create products that can be catered for both environments.
Where there is a user will, there is a way. Change will force us to be creative - whether there’s a commercially available and affordable solution to the little things and bigger issues in our lives, or not. It is in this intersection where ethnographic research holds large value - identifying behaviors and looking for opportunities.
Great to see the relationship of space and time raised in relation to product design..
nice
Isn’t it great! Environmental / Contextual factors focused around the customer are awesome inputs into the design process.