What motivates you to start a project?

Problems! We’re all about creation. It’s the process of creating new, innovative products that solve problems and create new markets that drives us. On projects for clients or our own internal projects, the process of solving problems is the key to creating opportunities.


Do you use any particular processes to create your work?

I think all design firms use the processes of brainstorming for ideation, and then refine ideas based on different filtering techniques. We do the same, and then take ideas through a process of prototyping, testing, and refinement. This process changes all the time. Some manufacturing friends have started calling us a "think tank". I don’t think that really fits, but perhaps we could be labeled as a “think and do” tank.

The creative process for me personally, is the thing that drives and motivates me. The creative process is the connective tissue of everything. It's not a process of following the same steps every time; the steps might be different every time.


How do you identify an opportunity and come up with product solutions?

We listen and we observe. We’re students of the industries that fit our pillars. We collect all the ideas and observations and file them away.

We collect thoughts from observations, conversations, dozens of magazine subscriptions, news reports, newspapers, trade shows, colleagues and our network of connections throughout the industry. Part of what we do best is take advantage of accumulated knowledge and experience.

When it comes time to look ahead to new products, we might choose something we are thinking about right now, or something we looked at and filed away. We assess “what is the biggest opportunity right now”. Then we go back to everything we’ve saved, studied, and investigated in order to make a short list for consideration to go forward.

So, when we are winding down a project, if we haven’t yet determined what it is that is the next best product innovation for the market, then we’ll start investigating two, three, four, or five ideas. Then a group of us will pull together to assess an idea and present a concept. We then agree or disagree that this is something to pursue based on some criteria. Is it a long or short term project? Do we have a target customer? Do we know the demands of the marketplace? How big is the market? Is it worth our time and effort to pursue this particular development? Sometimes it comes to us through what we put in the file to look at next, or through a customer or acquaintance.

Some projects we call “Quick Hits”. If we can do a product in six months as opposed to two years of development, then we call that a Quick Hit. We see a need, somebody wants it, we apply our talents to designing and prototyping it, test it, and then if the market needs are such that it’s worth the investment, we take it to a product.

Let’s say I come up with the idea and the vision during the process of developing the product. It’s the people working on it who are problem solving, bringing their creativity into it, saying we can do it this way or we can do it that way. It is this combination of initial vision coupled with creativity and expertise in fleshing out the product and investigating innovations that lead to the ultimate product, and give us our edge.

I may not be able to take any of these ideas to reality, but the team is built to have the strengths to create and improve the ultimate product. They are also very good at looking at something and saying, "let's do it this way and let’s try this," basically making the idea work. It’s a team effort, and collaboration happens all along the way.

The people who can take the idea and make it into something real, that is a real talent. That is why Ideas Well Done is successful. Our team has a variety of skills that compliment our mission of creative product development.