The Bean Shovel
October 12th, 2010We have been invited to represent ID on Pivot as part of the bid for Dublin as the World Design Capital of 2014. This post was originally posted here.
My three year old son has recently started to help empty the dish washer. As children do, he identifies each item as he takes it out.
Before handing over this Pyrex measuring jug he confidently announces it as The Bean Shovel. Beneath this endearing childhood perspective on things lie some of the fundamentals of Industrial design.
1. Unbiased observation
His classification of the object is not based on any linguistic pre-conceptions around measurement, jugs or Pyrex. He named the object based only on what he has observed it being used for i.e. microwaving baked beans and pouring them into a bowl.
2. Innovative cross category thinking
He didn’t know the correct name so he improvised one from a simple description of the function based on a known paradigm. Kids know more about shoveling than measuring.
3. Creative risk taking
Instead of stopping to ask what it was, he took a chance on what he thought was right. As Ken Robinson says in his TED Talk; if kids don’t know, they’ll have a go.
4. Identification of latent product opportunities
In this situation the key feature of this vessel, measuring, is redundant. There is however a need for a microwave dish, for semi-liquid foods that has a handle and is used to “dish-out” that food without a ladle or spoon.
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Design is all about looking at what we do and the tools that we use with fresh eyes. We would probably learn a lot by trying to re-name the everyday things that surround us based on how and why we actually use them.