[MUSIC] Welcome back, as we continue our discussion on resigning yourself to design. In part one of this discussion, we define what it means for you to make sense out of your product. For it to mean something to your customers and to the world. Here we're going to continue our discussion, presenting the final two design principles. This principle, of focusing on making meaning at the very beginning of the business or development process. And then integrating that all the way through. Requires us to integrate a few topics that we have discussed up to this point. And of course, begins with your passion for solving some problem. Or addressing some calls or issue, that you feel very strongly about. Your passion is first integrated into your business or product development by principle one. You focus on making a difference in the world, by changing something for the better. Next we have design principle two, with respect to your business and or product development process. Now, the meaning and purpose translated from your passion and reflected in your attempt to make a difference in the world. Gets translated and guides all of your execution activities with one singular focus. Of providing the best, most meaningful customer experience that you can. There are all sorts of terms used to emphasize having the customer and his or her needs or wants. At the very center of any design or business available process. Things like incorporating the voice of the consumer. Or being customer oriented or customer focused. Co-production, partnering with customers are being designed center. There's a big difference though, between being customer oriented and focused and being customer led. There's a big difference between, including the voice of the consumer in your design process. Or even partnering with the customer in that design process. Versus giving over, to the voice of that customer in design and development decisions. This principle holds, that you, the entrepreneur, the business owner, must always keep your vision in the lead. If consumers really knew exactly what they wanted In terms of the needs or specifications of a particular product. They probably will have already taken steps to acquire them or that product is already in existence. Consider the original Chrysler minivan. Consumers didn't know they needed a minivan, before there was one on the market. Now they knew the demands of their lifestyle, they knew the image and feelings. That they wanted to maintain, coming out of the turbulent 60s, Chrysler designers listened to their voices in these areas. Then they leaned on their own vision and took steps to think about. How the car needed to interact with their potential customers' lifestyles, experiences, desired self-image. But it was their vision and their passion, that took all this information and came up with the minivan design. Having a plethora of surveys of consumer wants and then developing a business, or product directly from those wants. Creates an oatmeal type business or product. Pretty much just bland. Nothing unique or different is going to come from data that reflects the average or the norm. So we can apply these principles, to provide you with a fairly generic but useful procedural set of steps. In terms of integrating design from the beginning and throughout your business or development process. Essentially, you want to ask yourselves a series of questions. And these questions are again, based on the recognition that any product Is a combination of functionality. How it performs, and meaning what it says, what emotions it generates. So, the first question is simply, what does the product do and how does it do it? For example, we can talk about this sweater. Okay, what does it do? Well, it's an article of apparel, it keeps me warm. The second set of questions then says, all right, how does a product say what it does? How does a product communicate how it does it? So, it might be a little bit abstract to think about the sweater talking to you. But if I wasn't completely on film, you'd notice that perhaps it's a wool. The very fabric communicates to you that it provides warmth. So in some sense, it does communicate aspects of its functionality. Next, we ask ourselves what is the product mean? That is what context has it been used? What are the set of experiences that it has to relate to? What are the touch points? And what areas or what points does it interact with the consumer's lifestyle? Working or interacting in environment, that's quite honestly on the cold side, currently here, where I am. But the idea is, the product means something, both in terms of the fashion image, like taste, or lack of taste thereof. So, there's some aspects beyond warmth that this garment is providing. And the last question addresses that. Again, what does the garment say? How does the design or the fashion style of this garment communicate the context. In wanting to be comfortable or wanting to be casual. Okay, the experiences that this garment is being worn in. So those questions, okay, or answering those questions, are the process of addressing those questions. What does a product do and how does it do it? What does a product say it does? And how does it say it? What does a product need to mean? What does a product have to contribute to the experiences or context of the individual? And again, what does a product say that it means? And how does it say that? Answering those questions will help integrate meaning and purpose. Throughout the entire context of developing your business and or your product. And thus we can summarize these design principles. With respect to the execution of our startup process within this new business paradigm. First and foremost, that we're focusing on making meaning, making some difference in the world. Second, we aren't going to wait and simply try and pretty up our business, our product. At the end of the process, where we're going to fill the business or fill this product up with meaning. At the very beginning and integrate that all the way through. And finally, that we're going to lean on and trust our vision, and let that vision take that a leadership role. Through the business and/or product development process. Yes, we're going to be conscious and focused on the voice of the customer, their needs, their wants. But we aren't going to be led by that voice. [MUSIC]
