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Much already has been written about product and service design, especially when it comes to showcasing finished products and services. Often, though, the iterative, behind-the-scenes process that leads to the creation of something new and innovative gets less attention. But it’s in this prototyping phase where insights are gained and challenges can sometimes turn into unexpected opportunities.
At Nurun, we are deeply committed to research and development, and rapid prototyping is central to our human-centered design process. By diving into a design challenge and prototyping from the beginning, we are able to quickly discover what works (and what doesn’t work), and move toward uncovering solutions that address real, human needs.
As a global design and technology consultancy, we believe that the connected objects that comprise the Internet of Things are quickly becoming key components within digital ecosystems. As we work to bring together human, business, and technological insights to create high-value digital products and services, we foresee the integration of the Internet of Things as an important innovation-driver for our client partners.
Last year, we designed and built a connected tray for a luxury watch brand that allowed sales staff at the brand’s boutiques to project product details and other specifications onto a tablet, simply by placing a watch on the tray.
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This smart tray was tested at boutiques in selected markets, giving us the opportunity to experiment with the application of a connected object in a real-world setting, and giving the luxury watch brand a chance to test an innovative digital tactic—as well as delight and surprise its customers.
The technology behind the connected tray was relatively simple. Built on Arduino, an open-source electronics prototyping platform, the minimal components were embedded in the underside of the connected tray and could easily be disguised beneath a piece of fabric. While the prototype of the connected tray wasn’t ultimately implemented across all boutiques, learnings from the experiment opened up further opportunities to conceive and test future prototypes.
In June, we are sponsoring a daylong, invitation-only workshop, Learn. Build. Innovate. Prototyping the Internet of Things, at Arduino’s headquarters in Torino, Italy. David Bliss, who serves as Executive Director of Technical R&D at our San Francisco office, will be one of the workshop facilitators and presenters.
