Designing the Future of Business

Design — more than quality, technology or top-down strategy — is the one factor that can make long-term profits for a company. - Inspired by Marty Neumeier, Business Week

“Design is the engine that can transform a company into a powerhouse of nonstop innovation,” writes Neumeier of Business Week. “Until now, companies have used design as a beauty station for identities and communications, or as the last stop in a product launch. Never has it been used for its potential to create rule-bending innovation across the board. Meanwhile, the public is developing a healthy appetite for all things design.”

Neumeier believes that for brands to thrive, things must change. He cites a 2007 survey by Kelton Research showing that when 7 out of 10 Americans remembered the last product that they just had to have, it was because of its design rather than any other factor.

As consumers are offered more and more choices, and the limitations imposed by mass production are overcome, they are increasingly incorporating an emphasis on design into their buying decisions. “Design drives innovation, innovation powers brand, brand builds loyalty, and loyalty sustains profits. If you want long-term profits, don’t start with technology—start with design,” he advises.

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Time’s “The Design 100″

Good design is everywhere these days. Great design—the objects, places and ideas that fuse functionality and aesthetics and then push the boundaries a step further to capture the imagination—is more elusive. Take a look at the standouts.

John Rhodes over at Apogee has published a very interesting article on the how information that is mobile is the new future of usability.

A mobile phone is a complex mix of hardware and software. Mobile phones are finally coming out of the primordial soup. Small, light, powerful tools usually beat big, heavy, slow tools. To put it another way, your mobile phone is getting to be as powerful as, if not more important than your desktop or laptop computer. That means more people having more problems for more reasons. The future of usability is mobile.

Technology is extremely mobile but information is now more mobile too. The future of usability isn’t just mobile technology but the increased mobility of information. In years past, information moved more slowly than it does now. It was also narrower, more refined, and more controlled. Simply compare the distribution of news 20 years ago via TV, radio and newspapers compared with the internet, satellite radio, and email. The difference in information mobility is over the top.

link to full article >>

I’m not sure if all the WAP browsers on the mobile phone are going away overnight but the iPhone, with its Safari browser, has certainly showed everyone that mobile browsing need not be a compromise. The folks over at Mozilla have been working on a mobile version of Firefox for some time and the latest version looks like it’s progressing nicely. It’s an interesting take on a mobile browser with user-configurable spaces and touch-based slides in various directions that give the user access to common browser functionality. That last bit is an interesting approach to maximizing the real estate that’s pretty limited on a mobile. Also, I agree with the comment that typing on a traditional mobile number pad is “like trying to remove a contact lens with a cotton ball; it’s just not fun.”

I’ve heard that the browser on the Nokia N810/800 is a Mozilla version.  It works very nicely.  Can’t wait to try this new version of Firefox on other mobile devices.

The mobile is the new computer!

Firefox Mobile Concept Video from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Our UI design for Monsoon Multimedia’s HAVA for the Nokia Internet Tablet was covered in the press this week at CTIA.   The HAVA Player lets you take your TV anywhere and access either your DVR, Cable, or Satellite boxes (Standard NTSC or HD channels) connected to a HAVA at home, via the Nokia Internet Tablet, as long as it is connected via WiFi or now WiMax via Sprint.

Since screen real estate is limited, the UI is divided into modes each giving the user access to a different set of virtual remote buttons.  There’s a channel flipping mode, a PVR mode, a set-top box mode and a favorites mode which gives the user 1-click access to their favorite channels.  The quality of the HAVA streaming video is quite amazing on the Nokia tablet and I love watching my TiVo shows while traveling, at the airport, a hotel, or drinking a latte.

Press coverage: Engadget, G4TV, Internet Tablet Talk, Tablet Blog