The Design of Things to Come

I recently read The Design of Things to Come: How Ordinary People Create Extraordinary Products by Craig M. Vogel, Jonathan Cagan and Peter Boatwright. Among the insights are the following:

1. The idea of value is not to get more features for less money. Instead, value is the connection of a user to a product in a way that augments his lifestyle and makes his activities easier and better. Value is the product's ability to fulfill wishes, to meet expectations of fantasy. Companies should take the following considerations into account: A) Emotion - What fantasy do people expect from use of the product? B) Ergonomics - How easy and intuitive is the product to use? C) Aesthetics - Includes not only the visual, or form, but all the senses that interact in experiencing a product. D) Identity - A product is the physical statement of the brand identity and is central to its success. E) Impact - Addresses the societal influence connected to and addressed by the product. F) Core Technology - Addresses the functions that enable performance. G) Quality - Includes manufacturing quality as well as the product's fit and finish.
2. Design patents protect the form of an article of manufacture. Design patents protect the effort to create aesthetic innovation. If another design looks like the one drawn in a figure, it is in violation of the patent. A design patent generally has a more subjective interpretation, relying on an aesthetic viewpoint.
3. Trade dress is trademark protection for the look of a product or service that associates the product with the manufacturer. It is less specific than a design patent, but similar, broader, and of longer impact. Like a trademark, as long as you use it, you can maintain it. An example of trade dress is Nexium's "purple pill".
4. Provisional patents give a company a year of protection at a reasonable cost before it needs to invest in the more expensive full patent.
5. Innovation is the ability to find nonobvious opportunity in what, after the fact, seems obvious and needed to everyone else. It is the ability to see extraordinary potential in ordinary events. It is the ability to see how to fulfill the desire of others, to elevate their common, everyday world into uncommon lifestyle experiences.
6. Developing a sense of delight and trust in products is at the core of pragmatic innovation. Form and function should fulfill fantasy.
7. Innovation is not just about a good idea; it is a process of managing what can at times appear to be an army of people over a set amount of time making multiple interconnected decisions.

To find out more on IncreMental Advantage's Intellectual Property Conference Series, visit www.incrementaladvantage.com/conferences.