Carl Liu occupies a special place among product designers, due to his proficiency in a skill many suggest has fallen by the wayside: sketching. His design work on products like Compaq iPaq, the Vortex Ring Shooter, the Kensington Webcam, and the Nike Triax 300 Running Watch resulted in design awards and positions at Astro Studios, Motorola’s Advanced Concept Design Group and even the Walt Disney Company.
The author of two well-reviewed, sketch-packed books, 2005’s Carl Liu Design Book and 2007’s Innovative Product Design Practice, Carl was kind enough to answer a few questions for us from his current home in Shanghai. He responded with a dozen thoughtful responses and a barrage of sketches, images, and photos of products from his product design company, Newtive.
WANT MAGAZINE: What is User Experience for you?
CARL: I think user experience is about when a user encounters a product, then interacts with it, and the subjective feelings that occur to the user from that very moment to everyday usage. The process goes through different stages from the open-box experience, product usage, and issue solving. In the computer age, the holistic experience might include the hardware operation, software interaction, virtual consumer services, and brand loyalty. User experience is not only conveyed by using a product but also influenced by understanding its brand value.
Is it possible to design “want” (i.e. desirability) directly into a product?
“Desirable” is one of the key attributes often adopted by designers while doing product design. Yes, “Want” can definitely be designed into a product. The magic is to find the WOW factor, and the short cut is to beat the norm—in other words, to be unique.
The question is how much WANT can be injected directly into an object. It is difficult to measure, due to different expectations such as brand, technology, materials and user experience, from different target groups of people. Recent studies show that a good user experience has become one of the primary “wants” for both the design industry and the consumer.
How much importance do you attribute to marketing and advertising towards achieving product infatuation?
To achieve product infatuation, it is extremely important to send the right message to consumers through marketing campaigns and advertising. To do so, the product has to have a convincing story that expresses an emotional side of the design, in order to proactively connect to its target audiences. A holistic package includes a memorable product name, iconic trademark, meaningful brand slogan, beautiful product packaging and the great product itself.
How important is product seduction for influencing impulse buying? How important is it in regards to keeping a long-term relationship with the product?
Irresistible product seduction activates the WANT from impulse buyers. It oftentimes happens in a split-second to decide and make the purchase. Therefore, it is very important to always keep the products unique, fresh and interesting so they automatically attract eyeballs.
In order to extend a longer life cycle for a product, one little trick designers do is to provide more color options…believe or not, quite a number of impulse buyers are willing to take out their wallet just for the right colors.
Tell us about NEWTIVE.
Newtive was founded in 2007 by Carl Liu.
Newtive is a brand for high design house-ware products.
Brand vision: Creative living.
Brand mission: By closely observing people’s everyday behavior at home and the workplace, we create new things and improve existing products to make the living and working environments enjoyable.
Brand promise: Our products are supremely functional, ingenious and simple to use. Our goal is to make people’s daily life easy and enjoyable while doing the house chores through Newtive creations.
Brand values: Our dedication to this challenge leads us to rethink the everyday living and working environment and continuously create genuinely solid innovations to ensure quality living for everyone.
What products have you created for Newtive so far?
Newtive products are mainly in two categories. One is its own furniture line and the other is small housewares. In the past years, 90 percent of Newtive creations are made of recyclable alloy aluminum designed with product sustainability in mind. Newtive creations include side chairs, bar stools, coat stands, hangers and wall hooks.
Is Newtive a full-time job for you? What else are you doing?
Newtive Creations is my night shift after my two little daughters have gone to bed.
I have a full-time job of running a small design studio in Shanghai. I also give talks and design workshops to universities from time to time.
Newtive’s mission is to design products that are, among other features, “affordable for the general public.” Is “accessibility” a matter of price or design?
Accessibility is a matter of both price and design. It’s an art for balancing the price and design without sacrificing the accessibility and quality of a product. I believe good design adds values in many aspects, but I dislike when that design is over-manipulated with an outrageous price tag resulting in only the richest people being able to afford it.
What products have you designed that are currently on the market?
A coat stand and wall hooks.
You have worked for small and large clients, also for your own projects. Can you elaborate on the different design processes these imply? How does each of those developments influence the nature of the final product?
There is no significantly different process in terms of providing design services to small or large clients, because the basic design process is the same. The work quantity may be varied but the work quality shall always be the best that I capable of. As for designing on my own projects, I would skip a couple of stages to save time on preparing presentation materials, instead spending more time on product packaging and product advertising.
You’ve told young designers that a good designer must know how to sketch, to better communicate their ideas. Can you elaborate on this?
I strongly believe that sketching is the most direct, convenient and economical way to communicate a designer’s ideas. The importance of sketching is varied from different designers. Some think it is important because he or she uses this tool as part of their design process; some think it is less important because he or she relies on other communication skills to get results. There are no right or wrong answers for this, as long as designers can communicate their ideas loudly and clearly. A good sketcher is not necessary a good designer; a good designer does not have to draw beautifully as long as the drawing communicates the idea.
Award-winning product designer Carl Liu: The Want Interview #ux #uxlx http://want.by/carl-liu
Award-winning product designer Carl Liu: The Want Interview #ux #uxlx http://want.by/carl-liu
I am having problem with the first link. It gives a 404 error?
Thanks
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RT @wantmag: Carl Liu: The Want Interview #ux http://want.by/carl-liu
Carl Liu: The Want Interview #ux http://want.by/carl-liu
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Carl Liu: "sketching is the most direct, convenient and economical way to communicate a designer’s ideas." http://bit.ly/fmUoXr
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