The products that take design seriously and incorporate it from the start are going to be the ones that connect with people in a way that really makes an impact in the world.
The cost of technology continues to plummet and this causes it to creep into our everyday lives more and more. It wouldn’t have made sense to carry a Cray super computer around in your pocket, but now that we do it needs to look good and work well. Just building something to great specs isn’t going to cut the mustard any longer, certainly not in a retail environment. Places like the Designer Fund are pinpointing designers to start businesses. Best to have a design centric ethos baked in from the beginning rather then adding it in once it is too late.
The famous target prescription bottle shows how smart design can improves life in a very day to day manner, and the NEST thermostat mashes up great UI design and smart internals. Good design is an a steady march into our lives not as a fashionable add-on, but a fully integrated part of our daily lives.
There is a massive opportunity for design and technology to make the difference in this $100 billion+ home health market. That’s not to say that the health care industry does not already have excellent designers and technologists in the ranks. However, there is a big opportunity to shift what those talented people are able to focus on.
–The Biggest Opportunity For Disruption Today: Health Care Products That Work
WiiFit can get you off the couch and move around, but what about taking your blood pressure medicine, or checking your glucose levels religiously? What about helping to track your REAL caloric intake? I think that good design can help make the word a better place and your fat butt is a great place to start. Full body wellness is a lofty goal that design can make a priority at a consumer level.