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Ellen Isaacs | |
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The Art of Innovation tells the story of IDEO, a product design company that is hired by companies around the world to help them brainstorm and prototype new product concepts or improvements on product designs. The book is written by the brother of the founder of IDEO, David Kelley. Kelley covers a broad range of topics relevant to the creative process, including both the process of creating designs as well as creating a culture and atmosphere that fosters and encourages creativity. Giving hundreds of examples from IDEO's experience, Kelly describes how to observe people using existing products to get ideas, how to brainstorm, and how to iterate on a design until it works. He also talks about the importance of creating human-oriented work spaces for employees, basing your organization on merit rather than hierarchy and entitlement, being willing to challenge accepted wisdom, accepting that failing is part of taking risks, and embracing whimsical behavior. I imagine that daily life at IDEO is not as idyllic as this book makes it seem, but it didn't matter to me. I found it enjoyable to hear about the way life ought to be. It's nice to think about a place where the hot shots of a renowned organization don't worry about who has the most square footage in their office or who's using all the office supplies. Instead, they focus on laying out the space so that people feel inspired. I liked hearing about the "Tech Box" that holds hundreds of mechanical parts, materials, and odd gadgets that employees have collected over the years and that help them solve design puzzles. I liked hearing how they borrowed mechanisms from one place to solve problems in different domains (e.g. the tricuspid valve of the heart "borrowed" to release water from a water bottle so you don't have to pull open a nozzle with your teeth). I liked his epiphany that there was no "they" who was imposing distrustful rules, making short-sighted decisions, and coming up with reasons why "you can't do that" -- everyone is "they" and if something wasn't working, it's up to you to fix it.
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