In the case study presented, a design team was given the challenge to completely redesign the classic shopping cart in just 5 days. The team is part of IDEO, a product design company based in Palo Alto, California. During the video we are presented with the company's strategy, in which the process is the main point for product development. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayIDEO has designed a lot of things, from high-tech electronic appliances to the toothbrush, their biggest goal is to design a human-centered product, satisfy the user's needs. That's why they were chosen to redesign the everyday shopping cart. The ordinary trolley is such a useful object that, nowadays, people see it as an icon, a symbol of shopping and consumerism, so changing it was a very difficult challenge. Perhaps redesign, in this case, should replace “rethink”. Their philosophy holds that the role of the designer is to dust off isolated ideas that, when put together, make the user experience more pleasant and practical. First, the team studies, as a group, the classic shopping cart to find its problems. Then, the team presents the points that should be taken into consideration when designing the new cart; the points are basically: safety, security and usability. Next, the team is divided into groups that take on the role of working on each point. The groups are made up of experts from different fields, such as psychology, engineering and marketing. When trying to identify trolley problems, the team goes to the supermarket and uses the trolley just as they would on a normal day. Another strategy is to observe how people behave when using it and what the biggest security risks are. They did this by taking notes and photographing random customers using the carts. This experiment was done on the same day as the test was administered, so I think it could have been explored more, in the sense that they only visited one market, when supermarkets actually vary in size, purpose and audience. It is interesting to see how each expert behaves differently when trying to identify problems, looking only for those related to their area of expertise. However, they were all concerned about the following experiences: shopping, safety, and checking out. Next, the teams go back to the office and design their own models, then, as a group, they will decide where the carts need improvements to turn everyone's cart into a single product. As the teams work outside, IDEO founder and CEO David Kelley explains how the company's strategy leads to endless creative products. His vision of business is completely different from that of large companies, they believe that “the best ideas are born from wild ideas”. First of all, there is no hierarchy: everyone works at the same level, but with different skills. Furthermore, the work environment is a crucial part of the design process, the workspace is customizable and employees can do whatever they want on their desk, they are free to come up with ideas that would seem crazy elsewhere. It turns out that a playful environment can provide good ideas. This unique vision of work has made IDEO a reference in the field of creative workspaces, and today many large companies embrace its corporate culture. At first glance, you might see it as chaos, or organized chaos, but in reality they believe it is focused chaos, where everyone is free.
tags