Industrial Design is increasingly being used beyond the traditional remit as a strategic tool which enhances performance and unlocks innovation. Investing in industrial design costs money, but research shows that it returns multiple.
- create new products and revenues
- compete on innovation, not on price
- get better product quality and flexibility
- stimulate the export
- attract new investments
read the research and discover how industrial design can help you /Snooc
For the European market, Bluelarix Designworks designed a line of personal care products, with special attention to user interaction and targetted at young people with an automotive styling.
more on Snooc /Siftables
Siftables are cookie-sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands. These future-toys can do math, play music, and talk to their friends, too. Is this the next thing in hands-on learning?
watch the video about Siftables /Flexibility versus usability
When flexibility increases, the usability decreases.The relation between flexibility and usability can be illustrated with the proverb
twelve professions, thirteen accidents. Flexible designs offer more functions than specialized designs, but they execute the functions in a less efficient way. Flexible designs are per definition more complex then inflexible. That is way they are more difficult to use. Let's have a look at the Swiss army knife and its many tools that increase the flexibility. Those tools combines in the knife are less usable and efficient that the tools would be separate from each other, but all together they are very flexible. The interaction between flexibility and usability does exist, because adjusted flexibility calls for a larger number of design specifications. That means not only more compromises, but also more complexity in the design. (1)
The interaction between flexibility and usability has some implications for the consideration of the relative importance of flexibility versus usability in the design. If the user has full insight in his needs, then specialized designs that efficient fullfill those needs, are preferred. If the user does not know his needs, then flexible designs are preferred, that address a broad spectrum of applications.
(1) see: 'The invisible computer' by Donald A. Norman, MIT Press 1999 and 'The visable problems of the invisable computer, a skeptical look at information appliances' by Andrew Odlyzko, First Monday, 1999 vol. 4
Read how we can help you designing new products /Growth by creativity The Design Testdrive is an excellent way to start with product development and industrial design. Especially for innovative SME's we developed the Design Testdrive: a practical, short and clear project in order to give your ideas for a new product a jump start. But also for large companies this is a good tool to try us on the base of a small project.
Read more:
The best way to start product development /Power tools for rescue servicesAt the moment we work on a new generation of power tools for rescue and fire fighting services that will be easier to handle and especially lighter. This project is executed in cooperation with the Windesheim University.
EF Dental CareFrom the end of January Bluelarix Designworks started the development of a new product for EF Dental Care. Soon more information will be given.
Capto A few more weeks to go and then a new product for Feltest Equipment will be launched, the Capto. This product is a specific tool for the paper industry.
Bluelarix website The website of Bluelarix Designworks
(www.bluelarix.com) has received a new front, that makes the information more accessible from the main page.
