188: Use Inventor Narrative to Design Great Hardware Products

Suresh Sethi is a Professor in Industrial Design at the University of Illinois. Prior to that, he ran a product design studio for 15 years, and before that, was a VP and Design Director at Whirlpool, among other high-level design roles at various companies. Today Suresh is going to share some valuable knowledge for inventors, startups, and small manufacturers on why customer storytelling is so important in the early development phases of designing a new physical consumer product invention, and how to best maximize the success of your product through the findings from his Ph.D. thesis on this very subject.

Today you will hear us talk about:

• Creating products is about connecting to the business world.
• Feasible in terms of cost and the ability to sell in the market.
• Optimized material for the least waste in designing the product.
• Remove ego from design.
• Understand the client’s story and the meaning of the product.
• No product designers work in isolation, so you create an ecosystem that works together.
• Ability to understand and communicate.
• What leads a designer to love the form of their design?
• By focusing on the story and making a better product to fulfill that story, you will inadvertently create a more profitable and marketable product.
• It is the connection between people and the opportunity of the product.
• Evoke emotions
• Building a connection with your product
• People remember stories, not products
• People remember experiences, not products
• Creating a product that people want.
• Communicating clearly
• If your product doesn’t make a profit, your story doesn’t work either.
• Products come out of your own life experiences.
• Use narratives to design and build a product to 
• Think about the business, not just the product.
• Connect emotionally with your customers.
• Create a name that is memorable.
• Design simple and timeless forms.

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