[Sigia-l] Does interface design matter?

[Listera]

>>> I know this'll sound like a broken record, but product Design (w/ a
>>> capital D) must necessarily address product positioning before
>>> anything.
> 
> Right. Except at 3M, where post-it notes were invented as bookmarks.

Post-it® Notes were decidedly NOT invented as bookmarks:

"3M research scientist Dr. Spence Silver first developed the technology in
1968, while looking for ways to improve the acrylate adhesives that 3M uses
in many of its tapes.

It was an adhesive that formed itself into tiny spheres with a diameter of a
paper fiber. The spheres would not dissolve, could not be melted and were
very sticky individually. But because they made only intermittent contact,
they did not stick very strongly when coated onto tape backings."

So the INVENTION was a new adhesive, NOT the Post-it® Notes as the product,
which came later.
  
> I could find about a million examples like this.

And you'd be wrong about a million times:

"Silver knew that he had invented a highly unusual new adhesive. Now the
challenge was: What to do with it?"

Now comes the product; this is INNOVATION:

"But the ultimate product niche was discovered by Art Fry, a new-product
development researcher who had attended one of Silver's seminars and was
intrigued by the strange adhesive.

Engineering and production people told Fry that Post-it® Notes would pose
considerable processing measurement and coating difficulties and would
create much waste. Fry's response demonstrated the approach of the true
innovator: "I said, 'Really, that is great news! If it were easy, then
anyone could do it. If it really is as tough as you say, then 3M is the
company that can do it.' "

This is PRODUCT POSITIONING:

"Who would pay for a product that seemed to be competing with cost-free
scrap paper? Despite the initial "kill the program" efforts, Nicholson
convinced Joe Ramey, the division vice president, to come with him to
Richmond, Va., and walk up and down the streets on "cold" calls to see if
they could sell the product. They did, and this almost-killed program was
resurrected."

<http://www.3m.com/about3m/pioneers/fry.jhtml>

> Of course, that's probably more of a "product invention". I think
> most products are invented first ("Hey - I can cut my hair with a
> vacuum cleaner") and then designed second ("Flowbee - use the
> attachments to 'style' your hair.")

Understanding the difference between invention and innovation in the context
of design is pretty elementary. Generally speaking designers are not
involved in inventing, they are innovators. The latter presupposes a
problem, design provides the innovation/solution. I've yet to see an
innovation that doesn't solve a problem.
 
> This isn't physics - our systems are not perfect, and we cannot
> eliminate all the variables which are "unknowns."

I'm not aware of a branch of science called "physics" that has perfectly
eliminated all unknowns, are you?

Design is not about eliminating unknowns. It's about balancing owners' and
users' interests towards an optimal solution for a given problem.

> I think those who  stop trying are going to be much more successful at Moving
> Things  Forward by UNDERSTANDING where we've been rather than arguing about
> where we are.

No earthly idea what this means.

---- 
Ziya

Best Practices,
For when you've run out of your own ideas and context.