Design vs Innovation

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Twenty years ago a seminal article

appeared in ID magazine that con-trasted two approaches to design

and design education: the methods-

driven and scientific approach

described by Chuck Owen of the

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT )

and the experimental and semantic

approach advocated by Mike McCoy

of Cranbrook Academy of Art. These

two separate methods evolved into

what are today simply known as

innovation (or design thinking)

and design, and each has built its

own culture within the design profes-sion. Yet some confusion surrounds

these concepts, especially about how

these two methods interact to deliver

products. By examining the two

approaches, we can highlight some

of the most critical issues shaping

American design. In a debate format,

two new voices revisit and update

the argument.

Q: Whats the position of your

school in the original article?

What has changed since then?

Jeremy Alexis (IIT):

computer-supported approach

to design he was pioneering at

the time. He believed that design

could help businesses and gov-

ernment with the planning of

large-scale systems.

and suddenly a tremendous

amount of processing power was

wanted to harness this new

power to help draw connections

between research insights and

design concepts. He did not want

the computer to replace the

-

port the design process.

-

puters less than we did when

-

shifted to facilitating the trans-

do not teach our students how

-

an organizational culture.

Scott Klinker (Cranbrook): The

-

which embraced the energy of

interface metaphors to the new

electronic appliances that wer

ing methods from literary the

giving sculptural expression to

the mysterious functions hous

-

tronics. Both movements calle

for a poetic approach to design

The result was a new era of

now nearly every consumer

and experience design. Definin

and shaping attitude is a whol

new discussion requiring new

problems raise questions of at

the ones that do.

Q: Whats the current approac

of your school?

Scott (Cranbrook): If the world

interactions

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Design Versus Innovation:The Cranbrook / IIT DebateScott KlinkerCranbrook Academy of Art | [email protected]

Jeremy AlexisIIT Institute of Design | [email protected]

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CranbrookCode-generated Silverware. Richard Nelipovich writes programming code and is a metalsmith. Here he combines the two,

writing algorithms that generate a useful and oddly beautiful form for a mass-customized future.PhotobyMollyRiley.


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not the next generation of

strategists who churn out 8.5x11

rationalized reports on busi-

talent on the international radar.

Jeremy (IIT):

should be human centered and

improve organizational perfor-

mean design should be based

not the whim or personal belief

improve organizational perfor-

should create and deliver value

a laboratory for experimental

our students already have some

professional experience and have

returned to a research setting

to develop a unique voice within

sculpture to jewelry and archi-

new connections between form

autonomy and authorship is

simply call it design.

Design should be mastered

as a liberal art before it is con-

design comes from an artistic

by creating meaningful stories

next great generation of design-

IITChicago Bike Federation Clear Air Challenge. Kristy Scovel and Jessie Gatto, Spring 20 08. The project recommended transforming

the once-a-year, week long commuter challenge (companies compete to see how many of their employees ride to work) into a year-long

competition that highlights mentoring to increase the number of commuters on bicycles.

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Enabling The Pursuit Of Different Goals


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it means more effective ways to

believe that design should not

and scalable.

design starts with a clear point

design should be based on an

Q: What is the role of design

in innovation? Or innovation in

design?

Scott (Cranbrook):Innovation

form. They are completely dif-

priorities. To exaggerate the

ness innovation versus cultural

offer emotional responses to

modern change and manifest

with specific form. Business

does not drive them.

Design culture already prac-

strategy that innovation culture

analyze research from many

without a deep foundation in

form giving and communication

i n t e r a c t i o n s

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Jeremy (IIT): Innovation is the

successfully identify an unmet

need and then develop a new

-

vice that solves that need and

we are innovating. I would also

suggest that form is the tangible

them different methods or an

serves to further highlight the

-

Q: Is design being led astray by

too much business thinking?

Jeremy (IIT): Design is not being

led astray by too much business

that designers need more busi-

not patrons. This is a critical dis-

to create value for both the user

requires designers to have an

-

capabilities.

This issue continues to polarize

the thought leader who defined

what the Institute of Design is

-

He did not mind this criticism.

I would rather have a designer

say to me that I am too corpo-

understand his or her business.

Scott (Cranbrook):

-

cessful as mass. Defining niche

values and attitudes does not

require design-by-committee. It

Innovation culture is dif-

ferent from design culture. I

admire innovation culture for

-

ness and gaining a seat at the

table. But rational propositions

are the most obvious ones.

design becomes more aligned

hype in the business press about

this fascinating thing called

innovation has led to an artless

when an artful approach might

be considered some of our mostimportant creative exports.

-

vation to blame?

Q: Is design thinking useful

without design making?

Jeremy (IIT):I do not want to say

is what generally distinguishes

It is especially helpful for organi-zations that are trying to change

-

previously identified. This is how

-

responsible for training manage-

ment on the nature of design

results to expect.

Scott (Cranbrook):

without form is an empty con-

things puts form on the table for

against content and context.

-

can be considered and achieved.

higher levels of actualization.

with the assumption that the

more disciplines as the designer

-

this maturity is inevitable as theinformed designer engages the

Q: What is the role of intuition

in design?

Scott (Cranbrook):

the best design happens when

designers simply respond to

diagram that showed the inter-

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is called informed intuition. The

important part here is that the

designer starts with his own set

of subjective concerns and is not

simply a corporate mercenary.

Doubtful. Designers lead the

public imagination with new

proposals. Designers pro-

vide visions of what could be.

Informed design experiments

-

Jeremy (IIT): If designers just

will end up with an oversup-

and mostly useless products.

Overvaluing intuition leads to

which is bad for the profession.

designers who are admired for

their seemingly infallible intu-

class of designers left to imple-

ment their ideas for much lower

pay. This income distribution

resembles the music industry

new recruits are lured by a

few successful examples but

living wage.

and methods that deemphasize

more designers who can operate

environment alongside mar-

managers.

Q: What is the future of

American design?

Scott (Cranbrook): -

-

ects that integrated the efforts

team. It was a friendly balance

approach to design process will

represent the new state-of-the-

-

between design and innovation.

Understanding the line where

design ends and innovation

begins will be an ongoing ques-tion. Experts in both methods

will continue to be in demand.

more sophisticated way of dis-

cussing connections between

form and attitude to build

meaningful products and brand

needs more laboratories for

-

design must be supported and

encouraged as much as the busi-

ness of design. Designers with a

Jeremy (IIT):

vision of the balanced approach.

-

we will miss out on the cre-

that often leads to great design

recognize our role in the future

schools. But our position in the

future is not a given. There is

an amazing amount of design

have sent students to our best

home countries and improve

both practice and education.

have national design policies

not want our role to have been

only to educate these competing

collaborate with them to build

ABOUT THE AUTHORSProduct designer and educator

Scott Klinker heads the graduate

3D design program at Cranbrook

Academy of A rt in Blo omfield Hi lls,

Michigan, where he also received

his MFA in 1996. He has worked

in-house for IDEO (Palo Alto) and

Sony/Ericsson and later chaired the design program at

the Kanazawa International Design Institute in Japan.

He currently runs Scott Klinker Product Design, devel-

oping licensed designs for contract furniture, house-

hold goods, and toys, with clients including Steelcase

and Burton Snowboards. In 2006 he was featured asone of Newsweeks annual Design Dozen, a selec-

tion of the best new designers.

Jeremy Alexis is an assistant pro-

fessor and assistant dean at the

IIT Institute of Design. He holds

both a bachelor of architecture

and master of design from the

Illinois Institute of Technology. He

currently teaches the research

and demonstration (yearlong cap-

stone) class, as well as classes on economics and

design, concept evaluation, design decision making,

and problem framing. Before IIT, he worked for

Doblin, Gravity Tank, and Archideas. He has worked

with clients such as Unilever, Motorola, Citibank,

Pfizer, American Express, and Target.

DOI: 10.1145/1456202.1456216 2009 ACM 1072-5220/09/0100 $5.00 i n t e r a c t i o n s

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Design vs Innovation