Next Products from Brands

Alex Xiaojiao Xu
Jul 24, 2017 · 4 min read

Last couple weeks, my students has spent their class hours envisioning what might be the next product of their beloved brands through the process of impersonation. Not merely pretending to be a contractor of them, we chose to play them, the brands, as if they were trinities of the originator, a salesperson and a designer that act on the creed and storytelling of the whole organization. This project is designed to bring our students upstream the process of product development. In consequence, they will be able to look at design in a rather broader sense where factors such as business strategy, branding, and marketing can be considered accordingly.

Process

The journey started with putting ourselves into the shoes of brands. Benchmarking, autographs of the founders, brand guidelines, product chronicles, news, anything that could possibly inform conducts of the brands; After knowing who they are, a “what if” statement was made to declare a potential direction. Unlike a typical design process where how a thing should look like, feel like, and work like were dictated at this stage, the statement accentuates on what is the product. Ultimately, Conclusions arrive as a short excursion from the territory of existing product portfolios. Efforts on product design and form discourse were limited only to the materialization of stated strategy.

Please take a look at their amazing works below:

Disclaimer: All projects displayed are created for education and have no affiliation with any mentioned businesses.

Virtual Boy 2 — Adam Lewandowicz

To boldly go where no fan has gone before… — Brad Young

Bang & Olufsen Beogram 8800 — Foxx Ohmer

From Sea to Surf | Patagonia Surf Watch— Max Holden

What if Amazon joined the marketplace for interactive drawing tablets? — Jade Allen

Digital Graffiti — Introducing Snapchat’s new stylus. — John Stagaman

What if Anthropologie developed a brand for kids furniture and décor? — Katlyn Morris

Samsung Galaxy X Concept — Pierce Gohlke

The living room TV re-imagined — Ryan Szarwark

Poler Stuff’s New Fitness Tracking Watch — Sam Goetz

NEW PETZL ÉCHINE D — Wesley Bauer

Disclaimer again: What shown above are student projects created solely for the purpose of education, and by no means reflect opinions of mentioned businesses.

Thanks for reading.

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