tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58584050535895917132024-03-05T23:41:46.305-08:00Interloft BlogNews, articles and information related to products and their processes. From interloft.comAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-82848504322521545362016-02-02T11:18:00.000-08:002016-02-02T11:18:25.236-08:00interloft.com 2016<br />
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<img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kZCwqKvEYCl674p_eaCvMZWS5iesRPhDpyCQz9L-l7dWwOq3G5ma84EsqRG3-Ud0KvXCrJjxWPd-2I5K94ny8OihPs-AGi7QaTeZVfuptTmCN1BImu54FyS01_yzu7v8EpD3P50mesM/s200/Interloft.com+Design+screenshot_small.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /></div>
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New year, new website, right? It took a couple weeks more than expected, but we are really happy to announce that Interloft's new website is <a href="http://www.interloft.com/" target="_blank">live</a> now. Please visit it, we hope you find it useful. We worked really hard to design a visual, user-friendly platform that communicates what Interloft can do to help companies provide impactful experiences to their clients.<br />
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In this blog,we will regularly post news and articles that explore our area of expertise. That is, the product design and development process, how to create impactful products for your clients, and interesting anecdotes on the journey an idea can take before it is wrapped and packed and ready for shipping!<br />
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We are always seeking to spark conversations that can go beyond our area of influence.<br />
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Interloft LLC is dedicated to providing product design, development and manufacturing solutions that are commercially successful and tailored to our client's business strategy. You can find out more at <a href="http://interloft.com/">interloft.com</a>. We are located in the Greater Los Angeles Area, in California, USA.<br />
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Thank you for stopping by, happy reading!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VJWOGXFGKejzxsBTS3nHeEQfCreFBfN9oSiyBhRayUAWQrVy50CeazPjuClsRNif8o4Rdx4ZxNvPt3ZwgsP13N3lrAS4TZaYYt7Fd2NG2Hn4n41G-mMOmW8MP43kMfTpcPA9hrn_0JY/s1600/IMG_20150525_180743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-11684154801300457572013-10-29T11:21:00.000-07:002016-01-15T12:26:18.124-08:00Renovation of Industrial Design as a Discipline <br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Truly functional products should fulfill a list of
experiences that range from the physical to the psychological. To
achieve this, there are specialists who focus on maximizing every aspect
of the interaction we have with the new product, thus making sure that the user
gets the maximum possible gratification for what he/she has paid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">For industrial
designers, ergonomics and user interface have traditionally been restricted to
the mechanical interaction with products. Said in another way, user interface
limited to tangible aspects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">For decades,
designers have mastered that of the user experiences. They add lines, arrows, comfortable or uncomfortable textures, etc., whatever it takes to
communicate whether you should, should not, or even how to use a product. A fundamental
word here is precisely, communication. Products communicate with users,
and our product should communicate its functions in the most simplified and
complete manner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Around a year ago, the
news that Jonathan Ive, Apple Inc's current Industrial Design VP would include
one more responsibility to his already hefty position got all the headlines,
becoming now in the company's leader of Human Interface, with the
responsibility to coordinate both physical and software design.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjS0e-6Ua3JMNjXIDPmCBUzcQ4qsHGQJMocHt0V9PKHKGpFTTtYBJOqMxgcOOTkIi3KkSKMrPr7uMgjKlzE3Mf7I5KnCGQuRZQH2SFPluHZlD-J_i4LfFiz0D8HkaGuUzdn0jJ4eB6vU/s1600/ive_hero20110204.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjS0e-6Ua3JMNjXIDPmCBUzcQ4qsHGQJMocHt0V9PKHKGpFTTtYBJOqMxgcOOTkIi3KkSKMrPr7uMgjKlzE3Mf7I5KnCGQuRZQH2SFPluHZlD-J_i4LfFiz0D8HkaGuUzdn0jJ4eB6vU/s200/ive_hero20110204.png" width="175" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan Ive<br />
(Image taken from Apple.com)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The news was received
with a lot of interest, especially because of the anticipated -now unveiled-
renovation of iOS, and writers and blogger around the world saw it as the triumph
of the “designer” over the “coder”. Personally, I don’t think this is a a matter of
profession, but of aptitudes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Let’s leave Apple’s
internal affairs for them and focus on the big picture. It has been a few
years now that <i>Jony</i> Ive became one of the most successful and </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">influential</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> trendsetters
in the world. It is interesting then, to learn that Jony himself declared he
was a bit scared of computers, and as far as we know, he might lack programming
skills. His abilities lay in the ability to create communication processes
between products and users. And if he has managed to do that in such a superb
way with physical objects, I think we should expect more amazing
thing in his future digital interfaces. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Another </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">success story</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">: Tim Brown and his prestigious studio <a href="http://www.ideo.com/" target="_blank">IDEO </a>have become
famous not only for their outstanding and innovative design, but more
importantly, for creating communication processes that go far beyond physical
products to include services and experiences, innovating in areas such as banking,
hospitality, medical services, and assistance for the developing world.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rjLtFlUAGfUG5M9iQcQms-SShu_x8ONLAZGxG_sumEZsg50wd8ROJg4OVk7Rlu0g_7KaA4ogg_pS5GAbp3dOSjRaLcws3EKvy91tC9ecTsCxrvaIPgDJqYHK-6mHHG5E0SUJ92sNqQI/s1600/Brown_Tim-217px_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rjLtFlUAGfUG5M9iQcQms-SShu_x8ONLAZGxG_sumEZsg50wd8ROJg4OVk7Rlu0g_7KaA4ogg_pS5GAbp3dOSjRaLcws3EKvy91tC9ecTsCxrvaIPgDJqYHK-6mHHG5E0SUJ92sNqQI/s200/Brown_Tim-217px_b.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Tim Brown<br />
(Image taken from IDEO.com)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Starting to see a pattern?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Industrial design and industrial design education are
now in the verge of a radical change. Universities have the responsibility to
see the industry not only for the next 20 years, but for the next 3 or 5. What
will happen in 5 years? For example, how many smartphones, its accessories and
apps will be invented, exponentially used, and then become obsolete before a regular
4-year university term?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">But that is not the
only thing. It is necessary to identify where the new added
value and innovation will found be in products, so that design studios can
project accordingly. What intangible functions will add value to products for
the coming generations of consumers? What is only
cosmetic, and what is true ergonomics, interaction, feedback? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">And, a necessary question: Where in this value equation will design and designers
contribute? Are industrial designers prepared? At <a href="http://www.interloft.com/" target="_blank">interloft</a> we have worked on a
lot of projects in plastic injection, aluminum, metal, electronics, and there is no
field that ever stops innovating. Electronic projects made in 2008 have now a
cheaper, more complete alternative. Even cables transport more information than
they used to a few years ago. It is up to designers and academics not only to
keep up, but to innovate where value is sought after. One out of the many approaches is </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><i>the internet of things</i>. Medical equipment. Many more are out there for us, ready to be found.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-27050734977750824602013-05-14T08:15:00.000-07:002016-01-14T14:37:18.183-08:00Product Design Contest<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week,</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.betterware.com.mx/" target="_blank">BetterWare</a> invited me to hand in the prizes of the <b>BetterWare Product Design Contest</b>, to the Industrial Design students of Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus. Tec de Monterrey is one of the most prestigious private universities in Mexico. The event was part of Tec's "HiperEntrega", where architecture, engineering and design students showcase their end of semester projects.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqyuk82-9mYZ6P9RPowuXWJ1-uVq2P4WYVjDoKAhR_Pz1dHNeLAc97Y_dvxLxc8UAhRY0Zf__dfyvJJicjQaz1RHxHNo7Cq5-m2wxWdoGYE2HAOO9_jSNn2ybH5065TCsxggr-pYFWhdg/s1600/IMG-20130511-WA0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqyuk82-9mYZ6P9RPowuXWJ1-uVq2P4WYVjDoKAhR_Pz1dHNeLAc97Y_dvxLxc8UAhRY0Zf__dfyvJJicjQaz1RHxHNo7Cq5-m2wxWdoGYE2HAOO9_jSNn2ybH5065TCsxggr-pYFWhdg/s320/IMG-20130511-WA0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><i>Picture credit: Juan Manuel Luna</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a great experience, and it was really interesting to see the student's projects and developments. A lot of material (over 30 products) with great quality. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had to talk to a huge crowd of students, university authorities and design celebrities. </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150159360945607.402884.866585606&type=1&l=4cf0b2afc6" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">I have presented in front of large crowds before</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, but nevertheless you can't help being a little nervous. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I met Antonio Pérez Iragorri, editor of the renown design Magazine <a href="http://www.a.com.mx/" target="_blank">A! Diseño</a>. He <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151423796243017&set=a.10151423795938017.1073741854.330655783016&type=3&theater" target="_blank">published pics of the event in the magazine's FB page.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a great evening!</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-46515175599963279162012-03-07T08:39:00.002-08:002012-03-07T08:39:22.428-08:00Disruptive innovation or conservative approach?<br />
What happens when you have a great product idea that want to develop, but it's a little different from what people are used to? You can either develop it to make it stand out of the crowd instantly, or you can make it look like a regular product with additive features.<br />
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Today, we'll talk about two situations that we often see with our clients that will help you identify when it is better to apply disruptive innovation, or to rather use a more conservative approach.<br />
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<b>Disruptive innovation</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjMpdMIVU3JQAxnuqyda2wWB51ihxTWMC7c7546i3zRVZOdqL-g2nflUbRgxUilGHL67nlmjPFXhkvpT5657tcGqLifPMH-TXfH0jra6e1fx64x4pVD3uCOabQhpWjDtQRmDsaFt2i04/s1600/Oxxo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjMpdMIVU3JQAxnuqyda2wWB51ihxTWMC7c7546i3zRVZOdqL-g2nflUbRgxUilGHL67nlmjPFXhkvpT5657tcGqLifPMH-TXfH0jra6e1fx64x4pVD3uCOabQhpWjDtQRmDsaFt2i04/s200/Oxxo.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Picture taken from Mercadofilia.com</i></td></tr>
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We humans are creatures of habits. After we find something that makes our life easier and more comfortable, we like to keep it that way even if a better choice appears. We often prefer to avoid investing our time on learning curves, and stick to the known. Later, we wait for early adopters to switch to the new alternative, try it, give us feedback, and only then we'll invest some time on understanding and implementation. It happens with cars, school systems, banks, and pretty much everything around us. For decades, Mexicans were comfortable with traditional grocery stores ran by local community members, and when convenience stores like OXXO appeared, it took some time for them to take off, especially in small cities.<br />
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The same happens with products for everyday use. If we are going to develop a really innovative, disruptive concept, we have to make sure of a number of things before launching it:<br />
<ol>
<li>We have to be crystal clear about new features and functions, making them particularly easy to identify and understand by users, <i>even without using the product itself</i>.</li>
<li>That we are able to supply the product or service whenever our potential client has decided he/she wants to try it.</li>
</ol>
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Regardless of how much we love our product's new features, they have to be "readable" to the audience. They have to feel able to use them. The harder the features are to understand, the closer identification our clients must have to our brand. Otherwise, they'll just move to the simpler neighbor. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiUQll3IuGbDBLL12klzoYz42PVeaMPJG-RM71EzlGfy5AXKOdb_aK4rMUXVSdHoqHgIGpj59Cwlouvw9i0EHKxUWmuMCPHp-T2qQhv2AxzV7-6WqBdcOIOsxWHs9ddbrMFN90zHpuv0/s1600/lifebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiUQll3IuGbDBLL12klzoYz42PVeaMPJG-RM71EzlGfy5AXKOdb_aK4rMUXVSdHoqHgIGpj59Cwlouvw9i0EHKxUWmuMCPHp-T2qQhv2AxzV7-6WqBdcOIOsxWHs9ddbrMFN90zHpuv0/s200/lifebook.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Microsoft developed touch screen interfaces<br />long before Apple, but its conservative <br />approach created an opportunity for the iPad</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">(</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Picture from notebook-driver.com</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">)</span>
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<b>Conservative approach </b></div>
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Here's a little story: during the development of a product for one of our clients, they suggested that instead of investing upfront a substantial amount of money, we should make a cheaper version of the product, with limited functions and cheaper materials. If the product sold well, it would then be ready for a bigger investment. Are they planning an appropriate test-drive for the audience?</div>
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Such approach minimizes risks indeed. However, in today's competitive markets it poses a couple serious disadvantages: </div>
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<ol>
<li>It lets our competitors see exactly what we're doing, and since that product is a limited version of the definitive one, the window of opportunity is open for them to introduce a newer product with the improvements we planned for further releases.</li>
<li>It settles customers' mindset on a cheaper, simpler product, making it difficult to introduce the improved versions that usually carry a higher price tag.</li>
</ol>
</div>
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There are no simple answers or quick shortcuts when it comes to deciding features for our products. User surveys provide useful information, but they show only a small part of the picture. At <a href="http://www.interloft.com/">interloft</a> we always apply strategic planning for products, foreseeing possible contexts and putting special emphasize on user interface.</div>
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We hope next time you need to implement innovation on products or services, these questions offer some guidelines for your product strategy road map.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-16464203219260671822012-01-16T08:39:00.001-08:002012-01-16T08:43:10.866-08:00Developing product functions<br />
Marketing theory states that when people get products or services, they don't actually want them as such. What they want -<i>desire</i>- is to fulfill one or several needs, and the chosen products or services provide the means to do that in the most efficient or preferred way.<br />
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If your company is planning to launch a new product or redesign an existing one, user feedback is crucial, but another really important step to improve user experience and product quality is to ask ourselves the further steps people take with our products:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2tG75t_1CsgSjzFAwf4UlmpSdmhFZnAqrSjsBdlxEwgsiR7VgS1nVtJLgHIkvfUkLBAvOwrmwLj5__XzBib8H5DBTFZ_GUixU2-nl-0r0nJVtVdt-f5FguqNdnulV9btvGWodcC1V1w/s1600/ard37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2tG75t_1CsgSjzFAwf4UlmpSdmhFZnAqrSjsBdlxEwgsiR7VgS1nVtJLgHIkvfUkLBAvOwrmwLj5__XzBib8H5DBTFZ_GUixU2-nl-0r0nJVtVdt-f5FguqNdnulV9btvGWodcC1V1w/s200/ard37.jpg" width="101" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image taken from joecool.org</span></i></td></tr>
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- What levels of satisfaction do users expect from using our or any other similar product?
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- What spaces, tasks and other products interact or are within the proximity while performing the activity our product provides?<br />
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This has proven for us to be a great product enhancer. Of course, charging a product with excessive abilities would result in a complicated interface that users will find overwhelming. A good example are 90's remote controls, when TV's and VCR's started to have more functions they became utterly complex. A phone is not valuable just because it's sleek and useful. It also has a great OS, customer support or custom rubber protections.<br />
<br />
At Interloft we take every project with an analog approach. We do not treat them just as products, but we see them instead as a -<i>critical</i>- part of a system. When a user interacts with a product, he/she creates sequences around it. How can we make these sequences swifter? From a high-end computer to simple kitchenware, it is always important to imagine where and how it will be used, and what are the possible circumstances and contexts that surround it.<br />
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We hope you find this useful.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-87236230880824076802012-01-14T09:56:00.000-08:002012-01-14T09:59:53.198-08:00New product on the go!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zB9O1JKf3Ms/TwnVwVTBVHI/AAAAAAAAAL0/2cBUeV2LifA/s1600/2012-01-05+13.54.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zB9O1JKf3Ms/TwnVwVTBVHI/AAAAAAAAAL0/2cBUeV2LifA/s320/2012-01-05+13.54.47.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
New product almost ready to hit the market!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-21963743762858373762011-12-22T17:48:00.002-08:002011-12-26T10:22:10.203-08:00Thanks 2011, hi 2012!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFokuAe0qpg/TvQhaTXoc5I/AAAAAAAAAK0/DPoAvVGFQ6o/s1600/226814_10150612535305607_866585606_18753301_8328179_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFokuAe0qpg/TvQhaTXoc5I/AAAAAAAAAK0/DPoAvVGFQ6o/s320/226814_10150612535305607_866585606_18753301_8328179_n.jpg" width="239" /></a>In spite of the current economic crisis, we think that 2011 has been a year full of opportunities for people and for the product design sector, specially. Expensive products such as Apple's are selling worldwide like freshly baked bread and emerging economies with massive population are<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204319004577088451763089084.html?mod=e2tw"> increasing their purchasing power like crazy</a>.<br />
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For two things, economic crisis and necessity has brought innovation, and currency fluctuations around the world has shifted business opportunities. Suppliers and job leads are now in places you wouldn't expect before.<br />
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So, how was 2011 for you?<br />
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Our hopes are that it was very good, healthy, and productive.<br />
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For Interloft, it was a really great, mind-blowing year. We had really interesting projects, especially in the housewares and promotional area. Many products being manufactured by the tens of thousands.<br />
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What's the scenario for 2012?<br />
Next year poses some challenges for Mexico, where elections will take place and that almost always means some turmoil and less confidence. However, slow but constant currency devaluation means production is shifting back to the country, and China's is becoming more expensive. North America, but specially Europe are at crossroads and we will have to watch closely. Asia is still growing, but developed countries' slowdown may be a bit harmful. Interloft is undertaking some investment plans both in the product supply and the development sectors, we'll let you know soon!<br />
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Our wish for you is that 2012 is full of emotions, innovation, hard work, and love.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-89742465044926601432011-09-21T10:41:00.003-07:002011-09-21T10:44:17.649-07:00interloft.com lista!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hola a todos. Hace ya un tiempo que anunciamos nuestra página web. Ahora, finalmente está lista.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhSVxuNsXC0Z0Tv7G7TK4sDx83ZSgxJz32AeFPRo4Rigyh8z2HFwk9ZyDqmuvLuoK73raTwBD9ycJvlnbhGPII2B43FLkqaczPxzEgqXUvdEHGAt6a04t_QpfVjEKfX7ZjeLv7cUmFH8/s1600/110921-Post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #bb5321; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhSVxuNsXC0Z0Tv7G7TK4sDx83ZSgxJz32AeFPRo4Rigyh8z2HFwk9ZyDqmuvLuoK73raTwBD9ycJvlnbhGPII2B43FLkqaczPxzEgqXUvdEHGAt6a04t_QpfVjEKfX7ZjeLv7cUmFH8/s320/110921-Post.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976563) 1px 1px 5px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976563) 1px 1px 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
Hicimos una página web muy amigable, manteniendo el enfoque en dos aspectos: 1.- Mostrar a nuestros clientes actuales y potenciales lo que podemos hacer por su negocio, y 2.- Mostrar el proceso de desarrollo de productos, que creemos es uno de nuestros valores diferenciadores: sabemos cómo transformar una idea en un producto redituable.</span><br />
Como pueden ver, la página es relativamente sencilla. Pasamos mucho tiempo pensando si valdría la pena ilustrar el proceso de diseño y otros aspectos interesantes, pero el resultado fue que usualmente, nuestros clientes visitan la página web buscando soluciones, no largas explicaciones o animaciones en Flash. Por esto tenemos algunas imágenes en la sección Galería, pero también hay un link a nuestra galería en Facebook, donde hay imágenes de productos en desarrollo.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Por supuesto, tenemos el feed de twitter, y links a las versiones en inglés y una versión corta en chino. China es un polo de manufactura y rápidamente se está transformando en un desarrollador de productos. Tenemos planes de crecimiento hacia el este a mediano plazo.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Muy bien, esto es todo por ahora, esperamos la disfruten, y cuéntenos que piensan de la página!</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-31258919570714917202011-09-21T09:26:00.000-07:002011-09-21T09:26:54.020-07:00interloft.com is up!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hi everyone. It's been some time since we announced our webpage. Now finally, it is ready and up. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhSVxuNsXC0Z0Tv7G7TK4sDx83ZSgxJz32AeFPRo4Rigyh8z2HFwk9ZyDqmuvLuoK73raTwBD9ycJvlnbhGPII2B43FLkqaczPxzEgqXUvdEHGAt6a04t_QpfVjEKfX7ZjeLv7cUmFH8/s1600/110921-Post.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhSVxuNsXC0Z0Tv7G7TK4sDx83ZSgxJz32AeFPRo4Rigyh8z2HFwk9ZyDqmuvLuoK73raTwBD9ycJvlnbhGPII2B43FLkqaczPxzEgqXUvdEHGAt6a04t_QpfVjEKfX7ZjeLv7cUmFH8/s320/110921-Post.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We made a friendly webpage keeping focus on two things: 1.- To show our current and potential customers what we can do to help their businesses, and 2.- To show the product development process, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">which we think is one of our biggest assets: we know how to transform an idea into a profitable product.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As you'll see, the webpage is relatively simple. We spent a lot of time figuring out if it would be worth to illustrate the design process and some other interesting stuff, but the outcome was that usually, our clients visit our webpage looking for solutions, not long explanations or Flash intros. That's why we will have some pictures in the Gallery area, but there's also a link to our Facebook page, where pictures of ongoing products will be shown for our clients to see. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of course, there's the twitter feed, and links to our webpage in Spanish, and a shorter version in Chinese. China as a manufacturing hub is quickly evolving into a product developer, too. We have plans on expansion there for the mid-term.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well, that's it for now, hope you enjoy it, and please let us know what you think!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858405053589591713.post-87415282726781441332011-07-24T15:18:00.002-07:002011-07-24T15:19:34.108-07:00Evaluating our own assets for product success<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We see successful and not-so successful products all the time, everywhere. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHp0gvGUHsgw6NfBWJRu7do719wTQn_UBm1ztMYtd_SSDzoKOkmUVfzEevYDfJNzIhqLK2dOTsXuwNiD9OfCclQ751X_BlXf6442poyqvLFVPvRHa5bBMZMP1K-7TB6_yVKP30q2i9tHE/s200/05+lid.png" width="200" /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Products that required a great investment and did not succeed, cheap products that are great, and products that did not advertise but viral marketing put them in everyone's mouth. We know that providing a 100% success guarantee formula for success is impossible, so we won't try to do that. However, after a few years of experience with products, we've seen a few factors that go beyond having a great idea and that evaluating them with a quick, honest glimpse will provide us with a panorama on how good our chances are. As stated in the title, they are internal, within our organization aspects. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1.- Idea</b> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone's had great ideas. So, we're not going to discuss whether it is good or not. Besides that, <i>what</i> is good? Just build them up and then we'll see.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2.- Conversion</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is where the interesting part comes. Or just like they say in Spanish, the "meat" starts. One thing is to have a great idea, but another one is how easy, convenient, expensive, and realistic it is to bring it to life. Think of the advantages and disadvantages of having helicopters for everyone to get to work, for instance. Or having today, 2011, a smartphone with the power of a 12-core processor. Sure it's a great idea, but the means and the price will surely get in the way.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3.- Investment (time, money and assets)</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tricky one. We need to honestly assess how much it'll be needed to: develop, test, manufacture, pay suppliers, create space on a supply chain, distribute, deliver, and give credit to our intermediaries / final customers before we start to make money out of our idea. Can we handle it?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4.- Distribution</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aha. Last but not least. Actually, together with the <b>Idea</b>, we think this is one of the most important ones. </span><br />
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<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How are we going to sell this? To whom?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have we sold something through this distribution chain? Is it the most convenient for this new product? Do we need to invest anything?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Based on last question, have we got any sales forecast? How to know if it is effectively growing?</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Companies like Amazon and Walmart have the power of Distribution Lines. Products might be great, but if they don't comply with these companies' distribution policies, they're not going anywhere. Is your product going through existing lines, or you have your own? Is it strong enough?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbha0jamTvaRNF1as_Ho_2YM45KcGTUdpNiVVg4cyjUAWjtlh-GhvJRI-J6TUwGAt-SECTRidLyIVJPhQ3J13X6sDRuOxWcQ6tnzjiHHYrCAw4Mo65FNeeDzuaDArgwoVoumVDnkBh7U/s1600/internal-evaluation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbha0jamTvaRNF1as_Ho_2YM45KcGTUdpNiVVg4cyjUAWjtlh-GhvJRI-J6TUwGAt-SECTRidLyIVJPhQ3J13X6sDRuOxWcQ6tnzjiHHYrCAw4Mo65FNeeDzuaDArgwoVoumVDnkBh7U/s320/internal-evaluation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We hope you find this useful n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ext time you plan to invest in a new product. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17284023742027786867noreply@blogger.com0