How can companies become better at listening than they are at selling so we don’t ship crap? How can we radically improve our understanding of our customers make products that makes sense to the people who are going to use them?

1. TESTING
DESIRABILITY
MARTIN WILLERS @DESIGNMEANING 141118

2. 90% crap

3. Testing desirability before if going into production

5. SWEDISH DESIGN TEAM

6. SMALLEST WEARABLE LIFELOGGING CAMERA

7. A WIRELESS SHORTCUT BUTTON THAT CONNECTS TO YOUR SMARTPHONE AND CAN DO PRACTICALLY ANYTHING

8. FACIAL RECOGNITION DOORBEL

9. Our focus
Large
Start-ups:
start-up
own lab
big corp

10. 10
build fast

11. max 4 week sprints

12. Design process
PEOPLE
Problem
PEOPLE
Solution

13. transparent
speaker

14. PEOPLE
Problem
14
CONTEXTUAL IDEATION

15. Headline
TEXT
Caption
15

16. listen

17. PRESS
Wired
17
Top 25
Best homeware
Letter opener
Plant Brooklyn
“We try to do good,” says
designer Bjarke Ballisager
regarding his eco-friendly
interdisciplinary studio.
Williamsburg-based Plant
Brooklyn was founded by
Ballisager and his wife Holly
McWhorter who share a
background in architecture.
This letter opener is made
out of poplar while its
blade is constructed from
recycled paper. — gsl
Vases plantbrooklyn.com
Ro Collection
Danish design company Ro was established in Copen-hagen
this summer by Rebecca Uth and Ole Kiel, former
Drying rack
La Base
‘ELEMENTS’ GLASSWARE
BY SCHOLTEN & BAIJINGS
FOR J HILL’S STANDARD
This new brand is helping to keep the Irish crystal
tradition alive with its dynamic contemporary
designs. The ‘Elements’ series by Dutch duo
Scholten & Baijings features a linear, minimalist cut.
From left: ‘Elements’ decanter, £445; Champagne glass,
£264 for a pair; cocktail glass, £264 for a pair; long drink
glass, £140; tumbler, £130 (jhillsstandard.com)
The humble dish drainer is not generally
at the top of anyone’s wishlist. However, if
you do lust after kitchen kit have a glance
at La Base, a range from Japan designed
by home-cooking star Yoko Arimoto. The
drainer is made from top-quality Japanese
stainless steel and stands in a sloping tray
coated with silicon for durability. Looks
good and does the job. — fw
labase.jp
Speaker
People People
A friendly solution
for your living room
electronics comes
from Stockholm design
company People People.
The four-year-old firm’s
newest project, dubbed
the transparent speaker,
has a small wi-fi antenna
that makes it eligible to
connect to all electronic
devices. “People don’t
own cars anymore so
they show off with their
living rooms,” says
Martin Willers, one of the
four founders. “These
speakers are the perfect
way to do so.” — adc
peoplepeople.se
2
3 4
Tableware
Billy Lloyd
London-based potter Billy Lloyd’s new “Billy” collection for The New
Craftsmen consists of a bowl, plate and mug, and is manufactured in
‘TRANSPARENT SPEAKER’ BY PEOPLE PEOPLE
Trust the Swedes to reinvent the humble hi-fi as a pared-down
design object. Stockholm studio People People’s sound system
is stripped back to its essential elements. Almost all of the parts
are replaceable or recyclable, and the sound is crystal clear. ➤
£599, Selfridges (selfridges.com)
SURFACE: ‘NERO RIVEN’ SLATE, FROM £16 PER SQ M, MANDARIN STONE (MANDARINSTONE.COM)
Luxe | WISH LIST
Monocle Elle decoration

18. Recommended retail price?
How much will it cost to make this, who
will make it and what will your
distributions channels charge you?
Repairable & more sustainable?

19. BACKSTAGE RESOURCES
Business model fit
Minimum order size (MOQ)
Leadtimes, certifications etc etc
PROBLEM / SOLUTION
FIT
PROTOTYPE / MARKET FIT
BUSINESS MODEL FIT
PEOPLE
PROBLEM

20. RRP $599

21. Caption
21

22. blends in,
adds value to
your living room

23. RRP $849

25. The faster you test,
the more you can learn
and the faster you succeed!
LIKEABILITY
Time
Uncertainty
PROTOTYPE
BLOG (LAUNCH)
CROWDFUND
ONLINE SALES PRODUCE

26. Selfridges
(London)
26
Brown Thomas
(Dublin)
Le Bon Marche
(Paris)

27. #transparentspeaker

28. TEXT
Caption
28

29. TEXT 29

30. Small team,
massive impact

33. The faster you test,
the more you can learn
and the faster you succeed!
LIKEABILITY
Time
Uncertainty
PROTOTYPE
BLOG (LAUNCH)
CROWDFUND
ONLINE SALES PRODUCE
PARTNER

34. Transportation
›THE IDEAS THAT CAME OUT OF THEIR WORK
WERE NOT ONLY INNOVATIVE, BUT ALSO
MADE A LOT OF SENSE AND LOOKED GREAT‹
—KJELL AC BERGSTRÖM, VP QUALITY @ NEVS

38. OLD
Design Attract?
DESIRABILITY
6 month
Produce
12 months
Launch
6 months

39. OLD
2 years

40. NEW
Design Attract? Produce?
DESIRABILITY
3 weeks
Launch
1 weeks

41. 2 years
vs
4 weeks

42. SMALLEST WEARABLE LIFELOGGING CAMERA
2012
Team & product
$.7M in seed
$.5M
Kickstarter
2013
Go to market
$3M funding
$1M+ preorder
2014
Scale & growth
Sales soar from
positive reviews
$8M in funding

43. A WIRELESS SHORTCUT BUTTON THAT CONNECTS TO YOUR SMARTPHONE AND CAN DO PRACTICALLY ANYTHING

44. TEXT 44
Headline
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re floating in
space. For far too long have we been
stuck on this orbital trash heap. It’s time
to go. To leave. To improve.

45. launch
story

46. better at listening than selling

47. SWEDISH DESIGN TEAM