INNOVATION METHODS: FALL 2014
During my very first semester as a college student, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to enroll in an honors marketing course called Innovation Methods. I began this course expecting to just learn about how inventors create some of their products. Very quickly into the semester, we identified that almost every product in everyday life follows one of five innovation patterns. These five patterns together make up the Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT) method, which holds the building blocks of the successful products we use on a daily basis.
This course exceeded my expectations, and I am proud to say that I have learned the tools necessary to identify the innovation pattern in products surrounding me in any environment. We did not just learn about the patterns, but also we implemented them. The artifacts shown below are the sketches I drew for the semester project, The Dream Catalogue. Throughout the semester, I, along with three other students, utilized the innovation patterns by applying them to a random product, which we chose a tent. After lots of discussion, we narrowed down a list of 30 various tents to six tents, each serving a different purpose with a different intended market. The tents we invented for The Dream Catalogue are listed below.
Regular Tent
Sleeping Bag Tent: This tent has a cushioned floor and a pouch on one end so that it serves the purpose of a sleeping bag.
Shrinking Tent: As the temperature decreases, the poles shrink, making the fabric thicker and the area of the tent smaller.
Mosquito Repellant Tent: A chemical film covers the outside of the tent which repels mosquitos.
Blow-Up Tent: Instead of poles, the tent can be blown up either manually or a machine to decrease difficulties surrounding tent set-up.
Sun Block Tent: This tent begins completely clear, but as the sun becomes brighter, it darkens to provide shade from the sun.
Flexible Pole Tent: The poles of the tent are rubberized and bendable as the tent is being built. Once the tent is in position, the poles are locked.
This tent has a cushioned floor and a pouch on one end so that it serves the purpose of a sleeping bag.
As the temperature decreases, the poles shrink, making the fabric thicker and the area of the tent smaller.
A chemical film covers the outside of the tent which repels mosquitos.
Instead of poles, the tent can be blown up either manually or a machine to decrease difficulties surrounding tent set-up.
This tent begins completely clear, but as the sun becomes brighter, it darkens to provide shade from the sun.
The poles of the tent are rubberized and bendable as the tent is being built. Once the tent is in position, the poles are locked.