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Simplification trends in product design
Since the dawn of time, inventors have searched for ways to build the proverbial better mousetrap. Engineers envision a society where everything is (to steal from Kanye West Daft Punk) “harder, better, faster, stronger.” Our cold relief medicines don’t just treat a runny nose, they treat “sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy-head, fever” ailments. Bring on the bells! Bring on the whistles!
A counterculture has gained prominence, however, in the technological community that is focusing their efforts on simplification instead of pure optimization. Case in point, the new Vscan from GE:
The pocket-size ultrasound imaging device is straightforward, bare-bones diagnostic equipment. It’s the ultrasound equivalent of a stethoscope and it costs under $8,000. It doesn’t do the things a six-figure, mini-fridge size, full-blown feature ultrasound machine can do, but that isn’t its purpose. Medics can carry it into crash sites and on the battle field, rural doctors can bring it directly to their patients, and primary care physicians can do preliminary scans in their offices before sending patients to specialists.
The Economist calls new products like the Vscan “frugal innovations” in their April special report on emerging markets. The article “First break all the rules” looks specifically at India and China and how manufacturers are “working backwards” to make simpler products:
Instead of adding ever more bells and whistles, they strip the products down to their bare essentials … Frugal innovation is not just about redesigning products; it involves rethinking entire production processes and business models.
The rise of simplification trends in product designs means that more people can get what they want without extraneous features, and usually at a reasonable price. Obviously, I’m a fan of this trend and I look forward to learning about what comes into the market. Be sure to check out the full article to learn about more products like the Vscan that reflect this simplification trend.
15 comments posted
Posted by Andy - 05/04/2010
Bells and whistles are great… if you want to make a whole lot of noise. I just want to focus and get stuff done. Good article.
Just a quick note – the “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” quote originates with the French duo Daft Punk in their song of the same name. Kanye simply sampled it in his song “Stronger.”
Posted by Hillarie - 05/04/2010
Oh, like when cell phones only made phone calls?
Posted by Erin Doland - 05/04/2010
@Andy — To iTunes I go … have not heard of this French duo …
Posted by David Engel - 05/04/2010
Microsoft Word vs. Darkroom ()
Posted by Anita - 05/04/2010
Andy beat me to it on the Daft Punk comment. Check out their anime music videos too
Interesting article, though some of the products (notably the Vscan) make me think of not so much “frugal innovation” as another, much less recent trend of making technology more portable. The way I see it, in order to minimize the size of a gadget, you first have to give up a lot of its features. Then, as technology progresses and more features can be crammed into a smaller case, pocket-sized gadgets will become more and more elaborate.
Prime examples are cell phones/smartphones (their first versions didn’t even support text messages, let alone email access and 400 apps), portable music/media players (remember the walkman? Or when an mp3 player was just an mp3 player, rather than a music-video-photo-kitchen sink organizer?), portable recording devices, and the list goes on. I can predict with quite a bit of confidence that future versions of the Vscan, for instance, will follow a similar trend and include more features in the future…
Posted by Shalin - 05/04/2010
yep…I’ve been looking at this idea of “frugal innovation” as an trend worth investing in. It may die out in it’s pure form, but I think the essence of it will remain in future “multi-function” products.
See also: http://www.afrigadget.com/
–S
Posted by Pam in Missouri - 05/04/2010
Erin – Are you actually advocating UNITASKERS?!?! LOL
I see great tension in the design ideas behind portable items and simple items. Unitaskers vs. Multitaskers. Doing one thing well vs. doing many things in a mediocre fashion.
Presumably an unclutterer would like to have fewer gadgets; however, I’m always a fan of something that works well and is easy to use. iTouch + simple cell phone is the direction our family has taken.
I also see this in my personal productivity. We have so many ways to multitask but when I pare down and focus on one single task, I’m way more productive than when I try to scatter my attention across several things at once.
Posted by Shalin - 05/04/2010
Ooohh – you can download the whole special report for free (for the time being) through this link:
http://www.economist.com/speci.....d=15894226
How…simple
Posted by Peter (a different one) - 05/04/2010
This is great, especially from the portability and cost concerns. But you can’t fully replace the units with all the bells and whistles. You might need some of those bells and whistles to save your life.
I equate it to this. I have a screw driver set and a swiss army knife. If I have access to the screw driver set, I’ll use it when I need to tighten a screw. If I’m in a pinch no where near the screw driver set – I’ll use the swiss army knife.
Posted by Kathryn Fenner - 05/04/2010
I want a Zoolander phone, not a smart phone–something very small, like a Phone shuffle, that I can use to make and receive phone calls and nothing else. I can stick it in my pocket, or clip it to my clothes, and done!
Posted by heather t - 05/04/2010
I saw the GE Vscan commercial during the Olympics; that is the only time I can remember seeing a commercial for a product that made my jaw drop open – Brilliant!
Posted by Elaine - 05/05/2010
hmm I dont see frugal I see Star Trek
Posted by Carmen - 05/05/2010
Reminds me of the diagnostic scanners used in Star Trek
Posted by Cost-Efficient Simplicity :: Clement & Co. - 05/06/2010
[...] Economist [via Unclutterer] Related Posts:Stylish Sex ToysIndustrial RecapCavemen Wrote on Tablets FirstPlanting the SEED of [...]
Posted by heatherK - 05/19/2010
@Hillarie: I second you on that! I have a Verizon Juke cellphone that I LOVE – phone calls and music, that’s all I want, and in a slim trim body to boot. I can’t afford texting and a data plan even if I wanted to (which I don’t), so I hope by the time my Juke expires (they don’t make them anymore), they’ll have gone back to making phones that just make calls…and play music (that way I don’t have to buy a separate MP3 player).
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