Design Thinking

<p>Part 4 of a series of posts aimed at young professionals. The world is getting increasingly confusing. Here are some of my learnings. In the last post (here), I mentioned the need for taking bold/ tough decisions. And the benefits they bring. And that you can&#8217;t usually create your best work from a place of&#8230;</p>

<p>Back in the day when batteries in remote controls ran low, they would be working one moment and not the next, right? Apparently though, based on how different remotes are designed and how power is distributed, different buttons and functions are affected differently when power starts running low. I noticed this over the weekend when&#8230;</p>

<p>Part 3 of a series of posts aimed at young professionals. The world is getting increasingly confusing. Here are some of my learnings. Previous post here. As an innovation and strategy consultant, I have had the occasional prospect haggle over fees from day one. When one of the first prospects reached out within days of&#8230;</p>

<p>Part 2 of a series of posts for young professionals and entrepreneurs. Reflections from 12 years as a freelance innovation and strategy consultant in an increasingly chaotic world. As I mentioned in my last post, to find your niche, you need to explore diverse work first, then narrow your focus. In the early days of&#8230;</p>

<p>Starting broad and following your instincts can lead you to your true niche. Instead of rushing to define yourself, embrace the exploration process—it can open doors you never expected.</p>

<p>When companies create products, focus often tends to be on maximizing perceived value and profitability (within the respective value category). It’s like they are looking outward, being reactive (to competitors), and playing their part in a herd. Yet every once in a rare while, comes a product that has been built so thoughtfully, you begin&#8230;</p>

<p>Many Rolls Royce cars have a sheer vertical drop front design. And while they are extremely powerful and can go fast, they normally don&#8217;t, because they are meant to transport their occupants safely, in luxury, and in a refined manner, not to indulge in drag races. And so the vertical drop might be alright on&#8230;</p>

<p>I worked in venture capital from 2006 to 2010, and over time, noticed an increasing presence of core finance professionals and Chartered Accountants in top roles at VC firms. It seemed concerning to me, though I probably couldn’t initially figure why, given they were right where they should be, predicting explosive growth and chewing through&#8230;</p>

<p>When naming a startup or product, many settle for the first decent option, while others obsess over finding the perfect one. But as a WWII life-saving invention revealed, sometimes the name can make all the difference between success and failure.</p>

<p>In a world of mundane everyday products, it&#8217;s rare to find one that catches your eye for its thoughtful design. The Bisleri 5-litre bottle, with its curved sides for easy pouring, is a surprising example of clever, practical design that makes you appreciate the beauty of function.</p>

<p>Time and Price form interesting aspects of current B2C businesses. Uber for instance, has its routes generally optimized for speed (recommends a shorter route even if it is more expensive). Ola, on the other hand, at least used to have routes optimized for price (recommends a slightly longer but the cheaper route). One sees an&#8230;</p>

<p>Ever had your phone fall on your face while lying down, or been nearly spilled on by a waiter’s odd angle of serving? These everyday examples of gravity and Angle of Approach (AoA) reveal how design flaws can impact our experiences—imagine how much smoother life could be with a little more attention to both.</p>

<p>Focusing on the &#8220;average&#8221; majority often leads to oversimplified, generic solutions. But by innovating for users at the extremes, you create more flexible, inclusive products that better meet everyone’s needs.</p>

<p>Ergonomically designed products are often comfortable for short use but can become more uncomfortable over time compared to plain designs. For instance, while sleek bike grips or beautifully designed wireless earbud cases feel great initially, they may be less practical for extended use.</p>

<p>I was recently at a few car showrooms, just browsing.. And I noticed something. Many of the popular brands tend to keep a higher or top end variant of different models on display. And interestingly, Toyota, at least the showroom I went to, had base variants on display. We could look at this in two&#8230;</p>

<p>Netflix does something admirable with its listing thumbnails. it toggles the image thumbnails of many of its movie and series listings, and also the hover preview clips, from one of 2-3 different ones. While it might make finding a specific movie or series just by scanning thumbnails a bit tedious for some, in general I&#8230;</p>

<p>Wondering if the new goals of Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol risks repeating an old mistake Starbucks made.</p>

<p>The bout between the tech giants Amazon and Google regarding Google&#8217;s payments related policy, that has been going on since 2022, has finally hit India recently, and the two giants have taken a big dump on user experience here. Users in India might no longer be able to buy digital goods on the Android Amazon&#8230;</p>

<p>Present day products, be it cars, or consumer products; they have become extremely safe and similar-looking. Like the past, one can only hope the future too has some brave designs in store. Clip: Tom Fisk</p>

<p>As the late American inventor and engineer, Charles Kettering very wisely said, &#8220;A problem well-stated is half-solved.&#8221; The need is to re-frame every problem into a challenge. To get better ideas, to be able to solve it faster, and in a better way.</p>