5 reasons why “design or die” should be your mantra

The team here at Stinson Brand Innovation is always on the lookout for inspiration on design — and we mean capital D “Design.”  Today, we hear from Robert Brunner, former director of industrial design at Apple, who has since gone on to start his own design company – Ammunition.   Let’s listen to his five insights into why design innovation is something that companies in all industries should be interested in.  And then, translate these viewpoints to our health, science, and technology brand design efforts.

Brunner says:

1. The idea of design is more than just the creation of a thing.  It is actually a way at looking at what you are doing, and building it to be focused on the people that you need to communicate and connect with.
2. Design should flow all the way through the product development process – from inception, to marketing plans, to design engineering, manufacturing and customer service.  Everyone should be fully engaged in the idea of the product and what the design is about.  That is why in companies like Apple, the idea of the product – what it is and what it is about – is a constant conversation.
3. One of the enemies of great design is consensus. Consensus ultimately almost always leads to mediocrity. It doesn’t have to be the CEO, but you really have to have individuals in place who are in a position of power to drive a design vision through the company.
4. Great design is emotional.  What makes design so important is that you are essentially creating a relationship between your company and your constituents through a product.  A great design usually represents something that has meaning and value for people.  That can be done in a variety of ways and there are a number of companies – the Apples and BMWs of the world – that do that very well.
5. No matter what you do, at some level you have customers, and those customers have needs, and those customers are emotional beings, and you should be designing that service to meet those people’s needs.