I fervently believe in research as a necessity for good design, and I teach it that way.
Designers are by nature more inquisitive, more connected. They dig a little deeper in terms of insights. They turn those insights into innovation. That connection to the consumer is absolutely critical in driving innovation. It’s critical that design isn’t subjugated to the back room as a short order cook for marketing or for merchandising or sales. It has to be up front.
I ended up going to do a matches program at the state for industrial design. And from there, I got hired at IDEO to joint their design team there - and basically, you are starting as an industrial designer to design products - and then kept asking the question, 'What else can design accomplish? What else can design do?'
Think about the market, think about the design, and think about who is going to design for that market. Hit the mark.
An enterprise's most vital assets lie in its design and other creative capabilities.
My role is to find strategic insights as to where design can have the most business impact. A designer can bring a viewpoint of not just aesthetics, but economics and usage.
A good designer will actually design the company.
Design in India is as important as Make in India.
Design is too important to be left to designers.
It is insufficient for architecture today to directly implement an existing building typology; it instead requires architects to carefully examine the whole area with new interventions and programmatic typologies
The best design work is really done when you spend more time with people, when you have the opportunity to be of the same mindset and the same incentives as the founder of the business.
I believe that to further strategic growth and development via design, we need to have a set of public design policies.
A lot of designers get caught up in the creativity, but you've got to think about the legs of your collection - essentially, how the line is going to move forward.
I don't start with a design objective, I start with a communication objective. I feel my project is successful if it communicates what it is supposed to communicate.
Industrial design is a superficial practice. You use your approach regardless of the project because there is no time for a deep understanding of a single product.
A coherent typeface is an essential part of a coherent branding strategy.
We have design capability, which everyone thought we sold to Microsoft, but we didn't sell it. We will maintain the Nokia feel in all our products. We can't have different products, each feeling different, in the market.
I am not the kind of designer who is racing to the finish line, so while collaborations are important for our growth, each and every one has to be strategic and well-timed with what we have going on internally.
If I look at my own growth, I started in product design. And we grew and created new products, and we were also able to change the idea of design a few times.
Define what the product will do before you design how the product will do it.
No manufacturer, from General Motors to the Little Lulu Novelty Company, would think of putting a product on the market without benefit of a designer.
I barely finish one pre-collection before I must start on another. Sales start, but I am already elsewhere creatively. The men's show is being prepared, but we also need to think about accessories, perfumes and other items. In sum, I never stop.
Design is a tool that either allows us to create new markets or disrupt existing ones.
Designers must educate the public that design is about strategy, not decoration. However, such attempts are repeatedly undermined by a design world hooked on competitions and awards ceremonies that celebrate creativity instead of strategy results and sustainability.
As soon as the show is over, I always think, 'How will the woman I design for go forward?' It's so important to start quickly because I can't let her get away.
