Practical Observation..... and a Website That Brings It Alive

A few months back, on this blog, we mentioned the cool RedesignMe.org site as a great example of the power of collaboration. I was positively surprised to see that the site has an entirely new design and there are many more postings from people all over the world contributing to ideas on how to improve the design and functionality of everyday products. Every once in a while, we all get frustrated with poor product design. Well, here's your chance to contribute with your innovation ideas. Coincidentally, I started reading this fantastic book called 'The Ten Faces of Innovation' by IDEO's Tom Kelly and one of the things he talks about, in the beginning of the book, is how business people should develop the discipline of looking at things with a fresh eye focusing on what works and what doesn't. He calls it practical observation and goes on to explain how good observations can lead to innovative solutions. These observations may seem simple in retrospect but they are in fact the result of intellectual curiosity at its best and the continuous exercise of seeing what others may take for granted. RedesignMe is a great place to see the fruits of practical observation.

I promise to cover more on the book in the following days, meanwhile, check out RedesignMe. I'm sure you'll be tempted to suggest some ideas to solve poor design that you find in your personal observations....