Innovation resource pack - Design Museum

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InnovationThere are othermethods and startingpoints for innovation.ReconfiguringMajor manufacturers cannot takerisks too often and may modifysuccessful products to meet newrequirements or a different market.This is called ‘reconfiguring’ or‘incremental innovation’.The Russell Hobbs K1 kettle(1956) was the first automaticelectric kettle. Its popular andradical design remained almost thesame for 20 years, apart from thereplacement of the chrome-platedcopper body with a stainless-steelone. The K2 ‘Country Style’version of the 1970s reflectedpublic taste for natural materialsand rustic images in the wakeof the hippy movement.The K2 continues to beproduced today.Technical expertiseSometimes people with specialistknowledge work with designersto produce original solutions.Designer Jonathan Savitt anddentist Dr Charles Taylor set out tostop the accumulation of debris atthe base of toothbrush bristles,which encourages the growth ofbacteria. Their O-zone toothbrushhas a hole in the middle, removingthe troublesome area to allowthorough rinsing of the bristles. Theshape also encourages the user tobrush at the correct 45-degree angle.InspirationThe ‘Eureka’ moment is rare.It usually comes about after aperiod of concentrated work whenthe mind is relaxed and thinkingabout something else.In a restaurant on the Isle ofCapri, designer Philippe Starck wasabout to tuck into a plate of squidgarnished with lemon slices whenhe suddenly had an idea thatcombined these elements with asuggestion of alien life forms. Hedrew it on his napkin and the JuicySalif lemon squeezer was put intoproduction by Italian manufacturersAlessi shortly afterwards.Links …Websites:Alessi: www.alessi.comApple: www.apple.comDyson: www.dyson.comExploring Innovation: www.brunel.ac.uk/research/exploringO-zone toothbrush: www.ozonetoothbrush.comBooks:Brunel University and The Design Council, Exploring Designand Innovation, Brunel University, 2000Judith Camel-Arthur, Philippe Starck, Carlton, 1999Edward de Bono, Serious Creativity, HarperCollins, 1996Simone Philippi and Philippe Starck, Starck, Taschen, 2000Fay Sweet, Philippe Starck, Subversive Design,Thames & Hudson, 1999Biography:PHILIPPE STARCKBorn 1949 in Paris.Interests Designs interiors,furniture and products.Well-known designs Hot Bertaakettle, Juicy Salif lemon juicer (both1990–91), Dr Skud fly swat (1998).Strengths Playful attitude todesign. Original, creative, strongsense of form, adventurous use ofmaterials and innovativemanufacturing processes.Weaknesses Some products donot work. The juice runs down thelegs of Juicy Salif and the citricacid in it corrodes the chromefinish. Hot Bertaa is issued with awarning ‘Not to be used whenhot’! It is hard to fill, splutterswhen pouring, and steam comesout of the handle.Buzz wordsAesthetics – a set of principles of goodtaste and the appreciation of beauty.Breadboard – a rough working prototypeused to get technical aspects right.Cyclone filter – a machine that spins airat the speed of sound to remove particlesfrom it by centrifugal force.Eureka! – Ancient Greek for ‘I’ve foundit!’. What Archimedes is rumoured to havesaid in his bath on discovering the theoryof displacement.Function – the intended purpose of athing or person.Incremental – a little at a time.Modify – to make changes.Multi-disciplinary – involving manydifferent branches of learning.Radical – concerning the most basicaspects of a design.Specification – a detailed description ofthe required performance, appearance,materials and other components of a design.User evaluation – a study of the targetuser's lifestyle and requirements, or a testasking the user to try a product out(sometimes called a user trip).© Design Museum 2001
InnovationMInnovationfor manufacturing & materialsis not just about novel ways of styling➜Advances in materialsand manufacturingtechnology often bringabout changes in design.MetalsResearch and development in theaircraft industry during the SecondWorld War produced a number ofinnovative metal products in thelate 1940s and 1950s, such as thestainless-steel Russell Hobbs K1kettle. The extreme strength ofhigh-tensile steel enableddesigners to use smaller sectionsof steel rod than previously,producing many elegant and radicalnew designs, including IsamuNoguchi’s Rudder Stool andRudder Dinette table (1944, below).PlasticsLeo Baekeland, an early twentiethcenturyradio pioneer, tried castingmore complex shapes with theresin he was using to makeinsulating backs for wireless sets.This cheap lightweight material,called Bakelite after its inventor,allowed designers to use curves incasings for household appliances.Bakelite was a thermosettingplastic, used for products whichwere batch produced.Thermoplastics, which were to havefar greater mass-manufacturingpotential, were largely developedduring and after the Second WorldWar. Polystyrene, the firstthermoplastic, was introduced justbefore the war: it is a componentof synthetic rubber. Polyethylene,which followed it in 1942, mightnever have been utilised but for theintervention of Earl C. Tupper (seethe case study below).Data FILE: Polyethylene➜ What is it? A flexible translucentthermoplastic.➜ Characteristics Bends withoutsplitting, easily moulded, cheap,unscented, non-toxic, has smooth andwaxy feel, available transparent, translucentand in many colours.➜ Best-known applications Foodcontainers and packaging, buckets andbins, carrier bags, plastic bottles.➜ Manufacturing process Injectionmoulding, blow moulding.Case study: TupperwareEarl Tupper, a chemist at the North Americanchemical company DuPont, was certaina use could be found for the plastic polymerpolyethylene, a waste productof the oil-refining process. He developed away of moulding it – the first use of injectionmoulding – and after some false startsdeveloped a container which exploited theflexible characteristics of the material. Whenthe lid was pressed onto the rim air wasexpelled from the container, creating aperfect seal. Once closed with the famousTupperware ‘burp’ it became airtight.Tupper began the process of innovation by studyingpolyethylene’s qualities and devised the perfect function tosuit them, making containers for food. His colleague BrownieWise suggested home parties as a means of marketing theproducts, and the ‘Tupperization’ of America began.
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