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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Innovation Always Starts With Empathy; Look at Zipcar and Even Apple | Co.Design

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By SOHRAB VOSSOUGHI, originally post on fastdesign.com

Why empathy is a creative company’s most powerful tool.

[This post is a rebuttal to one previously written by Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen, "User-Led Innovation Can't Create Breakthroughs; Just Ask Apple and Ikea." — Ed.]

User research has been a critical part of Ziba’s design process for more than 25 years, and we’re not alone. Long before the term User Centered Design (UCD) was coined in the 1980s, the world’s smartest companies have relied on insights gained from their customers to innovate....

Be the Target Market

Consider Zipcar. The world’s leading car-sharing service got its start 11 years ago in a Cambridge, MA cafe, when Antje Danielson described a concept she had seen in Berlin to fellow businesswoman Robin Chase. Chase recognized the opportunity immediately, because she was its target user. In 2003, she explained to the New York Times that there was “a huge demand for the service if it was positioned correctly--I knew because I was the market.”

The world is full of innovations that came from users...."

read the full post on fastdesign.com

Posted via email from Siobhan O'Flynn's 1001 Tales

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