DESIGN TIMES

Design Times Monthly

10 _ The MINI issue & introducing Design Thinking * MINI heritage MINI is committed to its past for a good reason – it benefits from its heritage like no other brand. * MINI Concept cars Envisioning & prototyping the future

* Introducing Design Thinking

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

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MINI’s heritage - page 10

MINI’s design - page 15

INDEX _ 04 * Letter of chief editor

_ 08 * The 4D Model

About the current issue, and wishes from our editor in chief.

Introducing the basic model used in this month’s issue.

_ 06 * DT Terminology A short and basic introduction to the most important terms and basic principles in Design Thinking.

_ 10 * The MINI heritage MINI is committed to its past for a good reason – it benefits from its heritage like no other brand. ny

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

MINI’s platforms - page 26

MINI’s new scooter - page 20

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_ 14 * The MINI brand value & philosophy Why is MINI so special?

_ 15 * The MINI design: authenticity over time What makes MINI a MINI according to its design.

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* Design Thinking in MINI marketing Two examples illustrate how MINI com bines design thinking with business, espe cially with marketing, to increase its profits.

_ 26 * Design MINI Platforms Let’s explore MINI’s core, which allows to create guidelines in technology, design, brand or systemic areas.

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* The MINI Concept cars

_ 20 * The MINI Scooter

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* The MINI community Bringing together different kinds of people to share a common passion – MINI knows how to do it

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

Chi Zhang Programme director

Gisa Lyra Graphics director

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Andreas Benker Planning officer

Maria Kulse Art director

Nara Guseynova Publisher

The Design Times Team

Dear DT reader, Today I would like to introduce you to a term called Design Thinking (if you have not heard of it already). If you have, then in this issue you can discover DT’s point of view on what it is and what it’s all about.

I have realized design thinking’s immense importance and the opportunities it brings to our future. Although the term is becoming quite popular in the present time, it has actually been around since the 1960’s already.

After coming upon various books, ideas, and confer- Let me explain to you what design thinking is, or at least ences about the term of design thinking, my interest in what we think of it here at DT. To put it simply, I would this subject matter grew tremendously use design thinking to solve a problem with a new, creative approach. Too simple of an explanation? I’ll explain further.

‘I have realized design thinking’s immense importance and the opportunities it brings to our future.’

Design thinking is about having a problem you would like to solve and in order to solve it you generate creative ideas and concepts by first putting an emphasis on the people for which the product or service is being designed. Then you bring together several multidimensional factors including feasibility, viability, desirability, usability, and practicability into your idea generation while you are exploring in this diverse space. Ultimately, you will arrive with the option that best delivers com-

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

Mari Terrio - Chief Editor of DT

petitive advantage.The key idea of design thinking is to embrace innovation. In order to do this, you must remember, don’t just think of innovation as a way to bring about new material or hardware products, but also as a way to generate new events, phenomena, and experiences.

In this issue, DT actually decided to reward a company for its excellent integration of design thinking into its business and approach to innovation. DT chose MINI as the company we thought displayed a great example of design thinking. There are several articles in this issue touching upon MINI’s creative answers to problems and milestones along its existence.

‘...we will help you to develop a crystal clear understanding of design thinking.’

We will also present you with a framework that DT believes is the best approach to create awareness of how MINI or any other company is going through the process of design thinking step-by-step. Furthermore, we have a special section dedicated to MINI’s emergence into the new transportation market of scooters…the MINI Scooter! Finally all of the 16 year olds in Europe, If you look at MINI from the beginning, it was devel- at least, can own their own “mini” MINI, until they turn oped off of the idea to create a new idea of transporta- 18 at least! I’m sure you will enjoy reading further about tion for consumers who were struggling with the large this new concept. increase in cost of fuel already back in the late 1950’s. So perhaps we can say that MINI was one of the compa- I look forward to next week’s comments on our special nies at the forefront of design thinking? No wonder our design thinking issue this week. friends at The New York Times proclaimed that auto experts named MINI as one of the top most important So read on, enjoy, and be your own design thinker! vehicles of the 20th century.

Best, Throughout this issue we will help you to develop a crystal clear understanding of design thinking through M.T. referring to Tim Brown’s terminology of design think- Chief Editor of DT ing (explained on the next page) and incorporating them into descriptions of MINI’s business practices.

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

Terminology

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* Holistic When you hear the term holistic, think of the prefix hol as in whole, like the integration or combination of different elements into one whole.

So if you are considering something, instead of looking at its separate parts, view is as a whole. This allows for a complete understanding of phenomena at large.

crucial for design thinking * Empathic The term empathetic, may make you think of the word empathy. Are they related?

They are indeed, as being empathetic means concerning oneself with other’s feelings/ thoughts. In other words, if you are empathetic with your thinking, you focus on the user-centered approach. For businesses with the user-centered approach, it allows for value creative and the ability to evolve with the customer.

As Tim Brown has said “You can’t just stand in your own shoes, you’ve got to be able to stand in the shoes of others.”

* Generative Generative…generate…to produce a prototype. This idea of prototyping is a genius process used for evaluation. It produces feedback which enables people to make necessary corrections along the idea creation process. The generative approach allows a person to visually build the essence of a product along the strategic, development process.

underlying principles - ways of reasoning

* In- / Deductive logic

* Abductive logic

reliable, past-data utilising way of thinking, dominant in business domainmpany

- can’t be proved in advancempany

vs.

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

* Effectual * Participative The concept of participative involves the idea of having many different minds participate in order to reach a solution. Like the saying goes, two minds are better than one, or all of us are smarter than any of us. Bringing together different thoughts and ideas allows for much more outside

* Creative Everyone knows what it means to be creative…or do they? What does a term like creative management mean to you? I bet the first picture that doesn’t come into your mind, is a picture of a manager sitting at his/her desk drawing pictures to develop mental processes. But this is the idea behind being creative. It is a way to build upon the ideas of others and create scenarios by utilizing such tools sketches and mind maps. Being creative allows for imagination and serendipity to produce an uncommon, valued end product.

Last but not least, I bring in the term effectual which is not actually one of Tim Brown’s five terms of design thinking, but it should be included. You can also try to understand this term by looking at the first part of the word: effect.

The word effect means something that is produced by a cause. It is logical to include this term into terminology of design thinking because it signifies that the final desired result was reached through filling a necessary requirement that people were not aware of before. Basically if a company carries out effectual thinking, they have a mental or emotional impression of something that they produce; they are painting their own innovative future.

* Editorial staff ’s note on design thinking terminology The CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown has broken down design thinking into several different terms which I would like to discuss and further add on to. These terms are: Holistic, Empathetic, Generative, Participative, Creative, and Effectual (DT’s addition).

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

The 4D Model

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model.

We at DT also believe that although the 4D model can be looked at visually from a 2D perspective, we have brought the 2D perspective into a 3D perspective, thinking of it as a continuous innovation process that goes from start to end to start to end to start, in a spiraling motion. This idea can be related to the knowledge spiral model presented by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Talking about the design thinking idea, it is necessary to Takeuchi in 1995. If you would like to read more on this discuss the 4D model, which is the essential backbone model, you can find more information in the book writof the MINI company analysis at large. The 4D model ten by Nonaka and Takeuchi, The Knowledge Creating covers the entire process of product or service creation. Company: How Japanese Companies Create the DyThe model starts with a purpose being defined as the namics of Innovation. ultimate mission of the company at the first point “0D”. * Produ In the case of MINI at a general brand level, the purService / pose would be to make MINI the most exciting brand for consumers.

the theory of design thinking

The purpose along with the philosophy account for the intangible aspects of the process. The philosophy that emerges at point “1D” is where the company’s values come into play. MINI’s philosophy as a brand concerns attracting consumers through making MINI a lifestyle brand; making a MINI community that consumers want to be a part of. Following the point of philosophy, is the process or platform at the point “2D” where the intangible becomes tangible. MINI builds its brand platform through incorporating these tangible aspects into its brand through the design and technical features.

A later article will explain MINI’s brand platforms more in detail. Ultimately, the cycle reaches its final point at “3D” or the product or service point, which is on the top of the circle. This point symbolizes all of the parts brought together to complete a whole concept or in other words, the final end product. From 3D the circle concludes to 0D again, which becomes 4D then, showing the progression of the process and the way a company can reevaluate its stages by means of the 3D outcome.

Based on the understanding of design thinking, DT has further developed the concept of the 4D model to evaluate MINI in all different aspects. The basic idea is that the 4D model can be seen as an entity for the whole brand, but also as sub iterations within the company’s brand and innovation development. This means that different activities or processes of a company can be related to one or more of the given stages within the

3D

* Pointny Purpose

0Dpany

4D M

1D

* Philo Passion

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

To expand even further from this idea of the knowledge spiral, we think it is also important not only to focus on the different points of the cycle but also consider the areas in between each point. This allows us to look at the 4D model and the spiral of knowledge as an overall process or concept rather than merely a point by point diagram.

Practice

Dpany

Dpany

osophyny

Tangible benefits enable a person to see the physical picture of the products and find the material advantages. Visualization of the project helps to view the entire construction of the product, to look inside and out and verify the progress of the product development. Another advantage is better integration and cost estimation which allows integrating human resources, equipment and material resources while 4D scheduling helps to trace cost estimation and also monitors the procurement status of project materials. This is why the tangible area of the cycle can be compared to that of a manager’s role. Careful management of factors before the completion of the cycle is crucial.

As for the intangible benefits, one can mention time management improvement, which means that the 4D model helps easily visualize time constraints and opportunities of improvement and investment in the project. Maximization of critical resources is another benefit, which allows the project team to evaluate various alternative resources and scopes of work over a period of time to optimize them accordingly. The intangible part of the model can be thought of as the area where you incorporate designers and artists to carry out the imagining and creative idea generation to start and develop the idea of the product.

uctny

Modelny

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2D

* Platform Principle / Platformny

In this issue of DT, we will be incorporating and referring to the 4D model in each of our articles. You will notice the model below each of the articles with a highlighted section of the model, representing the stage of the model that the article most reflects upon. We hope that this will develop your understanding of what design thinking is, how it is shown through the 4D model, and especially how MINI is a prime example of a design thinking company/entity/community.

References: * http://www.architecturalevangelist.com/build ing-information-modeling/4d-bim-modeling- improve-cost-scheduling-and-coordination-of- building-project-2.html ** http://www.grouppartnerswiki.net/index. php?title=Design_Thinking

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

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The MINI heritage

Brand values shaped by its heritage

turned to Sir Alec Issigonis, a designer that would later be known as the father who gave birth to the Mini car, with four challenging expectations. The car that the BMC management had in mind was required to be small in size but spacious from the inside, accommodate four passengers, guarantee perfect handling, and have Everything MINI does nowadays, from the design of low fuel consumption. the car to the whole visual identity of the brand, can be connected to its heritage as a means to underpin its Alec Issigonis’ design fulfilled all of these requirements and thus, endowed the Mini car with its very first value authenticity. set, which has become the car’s heritage and the core It was in 1959 when British Motor Corporation (BMC) of its future designs. The emergence of new technolomanagement saw the need for a car that would be the gies and enhancement of marketing tools then allowed answer to the rising fuel prices and the lack of parking MINI to transfer these attributes into a brand concept now known as MINIMALISM (see information box spaces due to urbanization. on page 13).

They wanted to have a car in their portfolio that could meet those changing market needs, which can be said to be the initial purpose of the Mini. That is why they Throughout nearly 51 years of existence, MINI has gone through many evolutionary stages that not only shaped the brand development in the past but still contribute to how the brand is being perceived in the present: an icon of its time.

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

In the 1970’s, something remarkable happened, a coincident that would change the way this functional and practical car would be perceived from then onwards.

Some of the world’s most famous people, the Beatles, Clint Eastwood, and Brigitte Bardot for example, started to pick up the Mini as their preferred city car.

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Two years after the first Minis were seen on the roads of England, John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and a friend of Alec Issigonis, recognized that the car even had the potential to compete on racetracks.

Together with BMC, a Formula One version of the car was developed and the name “Cooper” became an inTherefore, it soon became a symbol of their generation herent part of the Mini brand; the first Mini Cooper and thus, an emotional value was added to the car, as was born. This incident further led to an expansion of being chic and avant-garde. These attributes are now the Mini’s value set, including the car’s racing sensation, embedded in MINI’s brand values, showing the com- which is now being referred to as the MINI Go-Kart pany’s ability to seize the opportunities given to them feeling. by the brand’s past.

Yet there is one more important historical fact to mention from which a lot of current design, communication and even the name of the cars are derived from.

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

All the mentioned attributes are incorporated in MINI’s present brand values to reinforce the company’s heritage and authenticity of its designs. Co-operations with the famous fashion mogul Paul Smith, whose designs embody the UK lifestyle like no other, or the fact that MINI celebrated its 50th birthday in Oxford, where the first Mini rolled off the production line in 1959, are two examples of the brand’s continuous references to its strong heritage.

Still, the brand’s values have evolved over time to further differentiate MINI from its competitors. Adding an emotional appeal to the car’s design and creating a whole lifestyle and community around the brand depicts how the company envisions its car’s future of becoming more than just a car, but an overall brand experience.

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

MINImalism MINIMALISM is a concept within MINI Besides the car itself, the concept can be that applies state-of-the-art technologies found in other parts of the brand as well. to decrease the cars’ environmental imCommunication and advertising are usupact and maximize its efficiency. ally executed by a minimal use of words Its features include an auto start/stop and color; black as the dominant color function, brake energy regeneration, and a gaudy frame to bring the message and need-based use of supporting com- into focus. ponents. The product-specific objective is “to ensure the car consumes only the The MINIMALISM webpage goes even resources it needs – eliminating the un- one step further by allowing the visitor to necessary and focusing on what is impor- decide how much time to spend on a certain topic in order to maximize efficiency. tant.”* First, the concept’s technologies were implemented in the MINI Cooper D model.

After proof of functionality and custom- References: ers’ consent to the concept, it has been carried over to all models as a generative * http://www.mini.com/com/en/minimalism/index.jsp approach.

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

The MINI brand brand - philosophy - design

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Finally, the relationship with consumers is one of the strongest attributes of MINI. A MINI culture, full of blogs, web sites and clubs have been created just to discuss, socialize and experiment with the car in different situations.

MINI’s philosophy

This next section below on MINI´s philosophy was obtained from the FAQ section in MINI´s website. I MINI’s brand attributes wanted to include this section in this article in order to provide the reader with a more in-depth understanding I would like to start my article by introducing Sir Keith to MINI´s philosophy.

Mills, the businessman who created the Air Miles and Nectar reward programs in the UK: “The MINI is the direct successor to Sir Alec Issigonis’ 1959 classic, which was produced until 2000. The new “You can’t create a brand with just great adverts. That is generation adds state-of-the-art technology, modern important, but it is more than that. It’s about the prod- levels of safety, quality and reliability to traditional uct, how it is packaged, and the people who produce MINI values, such as optimum interior space within it, make it, and distribute it. It is about the customer compact exterior dimensions. Driving fun was, of service that goes behind it, it’s about a whole combi- course, also a key criterion when developing the MINI nation of things that people in the business call brand product range: with its long wheelbase, short overhangs attributes.” and low centre of gravity, MINI is a byword for unadulterated go-kart feeling. The launch of the MINI CabThat being said, I would like to go through MINI’s rio in 2004 continued this philosophy, with the same brand attributes, in order to check what makes MINI outstanding design, the same characteristic proportions, so special. the same excellent agility, the same functional flexibility, the same space-saving cleverness. In short: the same Firstly, when it comes to personality, MINI has a very MINI under a different roof. The 2nd generation MINI distinctive one. From the perspective of the design, MI- Cabrio models hit the market in 2009, offering even NI’s shape can be distinguished from the other cars by more unique open-air driving thrills. The MINI Clubdistance. Its retro peculiar lines, the “MINI face”, the man takes this phenomenon to new levels. As with its rear lights show that it indeed comes “from the origi- historic predecessors the Austin Mini Countryman, the nal to the original”, according to chief designer from Morris Minor Traveller and the Mini Clubman Estate, MINI, Gert Volker Hildebrand. it represents a remarkable realisation of the “shooting brake” concept (modified coupé fitted with an estateSecondly, MINI has an easy and well-known short like rear) rounded off with astounding levels of customname that not only sticks easily in people’s minds but isation and typically unrivalled driving thrills.”* also can be perceived and pronounced in the same way in any language.

References: Thirdly, the car itself is full of quality and emotional * approach. Besides the possibility to customize it, costumers can really rely on a MINI. Aside from that, there are also accessories and other products such as tshirts, watches and kid’s toys that follow the same idea of quality and fun.

http://www.mini.com/com/en/general/faq/in dex.jsp

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

The MINI design Authenticity over time

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The shape

MINI´s are an even better value and more true to their roots with just a few options. Only twelve different body type variants are created for the entire MINI model range.

The face

The face is the front of the car and it is composed by the grill and the lights. It shows the expression/mood of MINI’s design the car and it is related to what the car pass to the costumers. Looking at the Limbic Map of car faces** and Since 1959, MINI still keeps its identity by having a analyzing the grills we can see that MINI is in between “non retro but authentic design”*. The balance between stimulance and balance reinforcing the idea of “car toy” the old features and the new ones are always very well and the experience of fun and delight when driving it. thanked in order to maintain the MINI’s identity and still keep the costumers desirability to buy it. I am going References: to mention now the main design elements that make MINI a MINI. * Chief designer from MINI Gert Volker Hilde brand ** Showed by Gert Volker Hildebrand at http:// www.designlondon.net/stir-lectures/past-stir- lectures/#4-summary

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

The grille

The grille is a really important part of the face, it can be compared with the mouth of the car. The version on the right retain the chromed, slated look of the Classic MINI grille, but is split by bumper. The mesh grille on the left is a more aggressive alternative and that has come to life in the 2007 MINI Copper S.

The roof

A roof-raising addition to the MINI Cooper comes in the form of a spoiler, which not only boosts the stylish appearance, but also reduces fuel consumption and lift-off. For a MINI Cooper or MINI Cooper S you may also find a contrast roof. Originally stemming from John Cooper´s plans to enable the MINI to stand out on the racetrack, the contrast roof had become one of the most eye-catching aspects of the MINI. Produce a contrasting roof is not easy, nor even cheap, but MINI keeps on doing that because it makes a MINI a MINI.

Rear lights One of the characteristic elements adopted from the old MINI is the distinctive rear light design. When you look at the back of a MINI you can see that the body panel surround the light as a whole, creating an islandlike look for the light. Although it is not the easiest way to produce the body panel and position the rear lights, they still keep it because it is part of MINI´s identity.

The rear lights accent the vertical segmentation on the MINI, with the instantly recognizable chrome trim framing the actual light unit. For all MINI models, the third brake light is centrally positioned at the top of the rear window.

The air vents MINI´s air vents are spherical items that swivel in their sockets, rather like eyeballs. Although they have tried other types, such as the slatted vents shown on the left, they preferred to keep the eyeball vents, as they are recognizable carry-over from the Classic MINI.

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

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“Compact on the outside, roomy on the inside.”

MINI’S go-kart-feeling

In 1959, a groundbreaking new subcompact coupe emerged in England using a transverse-mounted engine and an efficient, boxy front-wheel-drive layout. It achieved truly mini-compact exterior dimensions along with a surprising amount of usable space inside.

Other small details were added in order to increase space inside. The doors, with oval apertures, were also designed to make the best use of the available space.

By 2007 changes were made to accommodate regulations that have changed since the last generation debuted. The front end was reshaped to be more pedestrianfriendly in the event of a collision and the car is almost 3 inches longer than its predecessor, but the width and height carry over. The new front end also provides more underhood space for two new, more fuel-efficient 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines.

The name ‘go-kart’ is said to have been coined by ‘Road and Custom’ magazine in 1957, which, upon seeing a collection of miniature cars elected to call them ‘gokarts’.

The go-kart feeling of MINI is related to the compact The go-kart feeling of MINI is related to the compact dimensions, the low ground clearance and the aura of fun provided. The long wheelbase, the wide track, and the low centre of gravity make the car much more stable and easy to handle. Because of those aspects, MINI has being proving that, not only is a good car for on-road, but also can win off-roads competitions.

This famous expression is now so related to the MINI that the company has already bought a website page* with this name. The content of it? We still don’t know.

Although MINI is considered one of the widest cars on the road, that doesn’t make it look big when looking from the front. The shape that goes narrowing along the Refenrences: height hides the sensation of wideness, though inside it can be felt by allowing people to sit comfortably. * http://www.gokartfeeling.com/ It is the MINI’s length that is effectual, that makes the difference when parking . With almost 3 feet and 5 inches difference from sedans, it is quite easy to find a room for a MINI. Customizing your own Mini One of the main differentiations of MINI is the possibility to customize it. From over 10.000.000 possibilities of combinations, each MINI is unique. In some MINI web sites, such as the American and the British web site, it is possible to choose the color, the accessories and the graphics. Within the graphics it is also possible to choose a pre-designed one or make it yourself.

The roof top customization is something exclusive from MINI. It is one of the innovative strategies of the company. Using this strategy (mass customization strategy) they are being really empathetic by allowing the users to have their MINI the way they want. MINI’s costumers can also post the picture of their own MINI roof on the website .

The rooftop customization doesn’t need to be definitive.

By using a vinyl adhesive it is possible to have a very different MINI every month.

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

The MINI Concept cars Envisioning the future Mini is constantly and consistently prototyping the future – they highly engage in the activity of creating concept cars by focusing on what could be rather than what should be. A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car prototype made to showcase a concept, new styling and new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced.

Rather than operating on a preformed (1D heuristic, 3D code) algorithm 2D aiming at exploiting existing knowledge MINI very strongly has been trying to explore new ideas and opportunities by staring into a mystery. (salience, causality, sequencing, resolution). The MINI designer’s use abductive thinking, i.e. a creative leap or hypothesis – if we do this, how will it change things?* This way of reasoning involves intuition and

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

logic and involves strong aspects of prototyping to not just to communicate but also persuade and predict and evaluate design outcomes. It can be argued that concept cars and hence prototyping the future are in essence left brain activities, even if not exclusively. However a feeling based approach that is much less based on decisions and opinions based on logic and objective analysis but rather follow a preference of feeling to base decisions on value beliefs i.e. internal sense of right and wrong, including subjective evaluation of human-centered concerns. Keep options open – meaning creating them rather making them, embrace ambiguity and uncertainty.

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ing about not the actual creation but the TOOLS they use to create with too. The act of creation is like having a child, one can ask about what parenthood is like and what kids are like. You might go validate that with what you have seen is correct, while talking with parents, but when it comes time to actually having a child, you are DONE asking for advice and you need to simply put your intuition into practice.

Refenrences: *

Designers prototyping with energy and enthusiasm ** have a ‘good chance of hitting upon the very feature or product that resonates with (your) customer(s)’, according to Tom Kelley, General Manager of IDEO, one *** of the largest and leading design thinking consultancies in the world.** Balancing act – between exploiting existing knowledge and the exploration of knowledge. So Bangle (Designcheif, BMW 1992 – 2009) began to explain the process at BMW with a quote from O.W. Holmes: “A mind expanded to fit a new idea never returns to fit its original shape.”

At BMW they use a process that is similar to what many designers would be familiar with that breaks down into three phases. Understanding. Believing. Seeing. *** His team looks at the car from an outside perspective by putting themselves in the shoes of the potential customer; they craft and sculpt designs with their hands.

They are constantly on the lookout for new ways that they can make things they spend as much time think-

Martin Roger, The design of business, Harvard University Press This article was first published in Design Man agement Journal Vol. 12, No. 3 by Tom Kelley, General Manager, IDEO http://chrisbernard.blogs.com/design_think ing_digest/2007/03/chris_bangle_fr.html

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

The MINI Scooter Say hello to the new scooter!

We all know that MINI is always on the move and the Paris Motor Show 2010 just approved that fact. The main aim for MINI design team was find a solution for mobility in major urban areas through trying to keep MINI heritage, bright fun design and innovative technology. And they did it. MINI E Scooter concept is a stylish, innovative and sustainable future-focused vehicle.

MINI E Scooter concept can be considered as a very good example of 4d Model in design thinking. Let’s look into it a bit more‌ The purpose of creating MINI E Scooter concept was to meet the needs of the young urban generation: spontaneous, flexible, CO2-free mobility.

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

The main point here was to save all the attributes of MINI brand such as community feeling, heritage and also to bring functional and emotional benefits. So the passion was to create something different but still MINI. Position of MINI E scooter is very clear from the words of Adrian van Hooydonk (Chief designer of MINI E scooter) who said: “The MINI Scooter E Concept is true to our brand values of distinctive design, intelligent functionality and customization and builds further on these characteristics by combining driving pleasure with sustainable technology into the first two-wheel concept of its kind for MINI.”

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“There are a total of three interpretations of the MINI E Scooter Concept conceived by Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design: two of which will be shown at the Paris Motor Show next week, while the third concept is being shown exclusively in London. The first MINI Scooter E Concept is a two-seater variant developed for ‘the fun of driving for two’. The second concept is a single-seater and the sportiest of the new concepts. The third and more design-progressive model – being shown exclusively in London – takes inspiration from the popular culture of the 1960s, a decade synonymous with the classic Mini, drawing on the distinctive graphics of the Mod era in particular.”*

The MINI E Scooter concept had a great success on the Paris Motor Show 2010 and if the public showroom and experts bring the positive feedback, the mass pro- All in all, the MINI E Scooter Concept offers ecologduction of MINI will not take long. ically-conscious drivers a completely new perspective on the distinctive MINI driving experience while being Let’s speak more about design of MINI’s new “baby”. immediately recognizable as a MINI. The new scooter design concept is based on current production vehicles but pushes the creative boundaries.

Just as the compact design of the classic MINI, born Refenrences: out of the 1950s oil crisis, symbolized a new reality for modern city driving, the MINI Scooter E Concept is * http://www.dezeen.com/2010/09/24/mini-scooter-edesigned for the changing landscape in environmental concept/ and urban road traffic conditions, to offer a stylish and emission-free alternative for urban mobility.

MINI E Scooter Concept inherited features of car MINI: this is typical of a large speedometer, and oval mirrors, square rear lights and chrome inserts. But the new thing is that MINI Scooter E Concept is powered by an electric motor which can be recharged at any conventional power socket using an on-board charging cable.

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

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MINI Design Thinking in marketing Design thinking is a human-centered approach to solving business and technical problems, more important, to driving business strategy. Design thinking is closely connected with innovation and creativity.

Integrating design thinking into business would make it more successful. This involves proactive design thinking in every aspect of business models, rather than simply pushing the task of building up business strategy to designers.

Design thinking can be implemented in many different areas, e.g., product design and development, packaging, retailing, advertising and so on.

Here, we are not going to cover all these aspects, we will focus on some of their applications in MINI, and discuss how to make successful marketing or how more profits could be generated through design thinking. *

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

In this example, MINI involved consumers in the marketing activities. They created the interaction between brands and consumers, and made a balance between extending the brand culture and doing business. Based on in-depth understanding of consumers, they not only maintained a good relationship with consumers, but also strengthen and improve the brand image, and finally got business value from this process.

For companies, marketing is not only a way to generate revenue, but more of an activity that can help companies to realize sustainable development. From the example of Mission MINI, we could see how MINI integrated creative thinking into each step of these activities, i.e., from generation of a good idea to design and implementation, to finally gain profits from markets and get feedback from there.

Mission Mini

The whole procedure was made as an integrated chain, in which MINI connected business, brand image building, and user involvement to create a sustainable development model. This also brought differentiation to the brand, bringing uncountable value for improving brand image. ****

BMW Mini Cooper invited novelist Val McDermid to create a novel called Mission MINI. This novel was written without an ending. In order to complete the story, Event marketing – MINI Cooper S VS Porsche 911 Mini gathered 78 people from 16 countries in BarceIn this event, Mini Cooper invited Porsche for a comlona. ** petition world-class race track Road Atlanta in 2010, These people were divided into several groups and then however Porsche refused the competition. In order to wrote, directed and performed the ending themselves. continue with its plan, Mini recruited Porsche driver After that, the mini-novel was sent with the top fash- extensively in media. ion magazines in 17 cities around the world. With the large impact from this activity, MIMI Cooper later was Mini also designed the race line to take into account implanted in the film The Italian Job. This finally made both the linear acceleration ability of Porsche and goMINI a cultural symbol which belongs to the highest kart-like ability of MINI. Even though Porsche won by two seconds, this event marketing created the advertislevel of branding. *** ing effect for Mini.

‘The Italian Job (..) finally made the MINI a cultural symbol which belongs to the highest level of branding.

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sonality and uniqueness.

To sum up, Mini links the processes of building up ideas, business models, and maintaining the brand as a circle which ultimately brings them to realize the tangible profits.

Creating memorable advertisements is very valuable, but to create a memorable product requires a greater effort from the company to build all necessary aspects into the product, and in turn is even more valuable. Because MINI is such a creative entity which has incorporated a long-term accumulation of design, these factors enable it to play such a huge role in innovative marketing.

References *

http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/ design-thinking-the-missing-link-in-your-businessmodel-probably/

**

http://numba-tu.com/Barcelona%202002/ Mission%20Mini/Page14.html

***

http://www.bandt.com.au/news/land-rovermini-rise-to-marketing-challenge

This is another example of an application in design thinking in business. Design thinking is a new form of **** thinking which benefits from building up ideas. There is no significance to have ideas generated with no clear purpose, especially for product development. The only way we could quantify the business value of design thinking is to integrate the circle of building up ideas into the circle of business process.

For the circle of design thinking, the process of design thinking takes more than just one rotation through the circle in order to generate ideas, but also contains a sustainable process of self innovation according to changes in the environment.

As the example shows above, the idea of competing with a professional racing car is very creative and can attract the attention of many current and potential customers.

The way MINI reacted after the refusal from Porsche is more innovative.

This is an innovative marketing method in which Mini treated the business as a game. In this event, Mini strengthened its brand image, i.e., a car with full per-

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13641_3-1008068044.html

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

According to the 4D Model, a platform is a collection of assets (i.e. components, processes, knowledge and relationships) that are shared by a set of artifacts i.e. hardware, software, services and systems.* In other words, it is a basis, foundation or core on which to create and sustain value. It can be seen as a position which allows you to create guidelines in technol-

MINI platforms MINI Technology platform The first one is Technology Platform. Technology platforms are essentially about product development, manufacturing and logistic efficiencies via a set of commonalities (inside–out).** MINI has a very efficient technology basis which helps this small cute car to stay in one range with giants of car industry such as Audi, Mercedes and so on.

When you think of Oxford, you think of a city full of history and tradition. However, it’s not only about colleges and gothic churches that are found in Oxford: it’s also home to one of the world’s most modern production systems – the bright and airy MINI Plant.

enabling strong relationships an average output of 3,500 cars per week. Light-filled, well laid out, operator-friendly and full of some of the most advanced technologies available which is why working at the plant is almost like being in the MINI itself.

MINI manufacturing is a combination of a highly A highly skilled and motivated staff of approximately skilled workforce with an equally highly automated 4,500 is working on three shifts, seven days a week, with production process. Quality control “Kiss system” is a

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

special IT development which ensures a fully automated documentation for each vehicle: every MINI has a barcode and is scanned during all manufacturing steps, thus guaranteeing compliance with individual vehicle specifications as well as top quality standards. For the cost effective manufacturing MINI applies the “Just in time” supply system.

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Now it’s time to look into some Design Platform guidelines of MINI. Referring to Peter McGrory (Professor of Design Management, Aalto University School of Art & Design) design platforms enable companies to effectively utilize and re-utilize a set of distinguishing features, characteristics, attributes or elements i.e. perceptual triggers/locks and also assure that affective interface (i.e. transfer or signification of meaning, value and relation) between products, product segments, successive product generations, and their users.

The policy at MINI manufacturing is “Built-to-customer-order”*** not “Built-to-stock”. It shows that MINI as a design thinker uses a very strong empathetic approach.

MINI as a design thinking company utilizes features and strong elements of design in order to constantly and effectively develop new attributes.

It is a great joy to build a car and know exactly how much fun customers will have with it.” - Oliver Zipse (MINI Planet Director) MINI Design platform

Ingenious design is about MINI Design. The new MINI has been completely re-designed. It now has a new British built engine, new front and rear suspension and new six speed manual transmission BUT in spite of this it has kept the main MINI treasure…heritage which now, after more than 50 years, can be seen, for instance, in a very strong, recognizable silhouette (front end and back end) and through the physical characteristics of the headlights and grille.

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

MINI’s authentic design is full of personalization which can be thought of as an empathetic approach in design MINI Brand platform thinking. Individual, personal approach is everywhere.

For instance, you can be a real MINI roof designer; put Let’s continue with Brand Platforms which are “indiyour personal stamp on your MINI by creating a cus- vidual products and services are inextricably linked with tomized roof. and to brands”****(set of associations that customers make with the company).

The process is simple: a person just needs to choose a car, color, and then they can create their own roof de- The Mini is among the most established brands in the sign which allows the user to feel as if they are taking car industry and certainly the most successful British an active part in the MINI design team. It shows that car in terms of volume sold. It also has an very unique MINI as a company has a very strong community feel- position in terms of its iconic status. ing with the customer allowing them to participate in design process.

The range of exterior and interior variations of the MINI is seemingly endless. In fact, of every 200,000 MINI’s that roll off the production lines, only two are absolutely identical. It shows very personal relationships between MINI Company and MINI People.

‘ Beauty stands from the true’ - Gert Volker Hildebrand (MINI Chief Designer)

MINI Systemic platform So, finally Systemic Platform! What is that about? Systemic Platform can be seen as a holistic and synergistic integration and utilization of preceding platforms incl., hardware, software, services and system solutions.

Planet MINI which includes, MINI Space, MINIMALISM and MINI International Magazine, is an integrative platform for users to share the ideas about product, MINI community and creating One Space.

“Creative Use of Space” is an integrated media campaign for the enhancement of MINI’s brand reputation within the creative class. It focuses on the idea of the creative use of urban space – a philosophy that MINI shares with all urban creative communities. The campaign involves creative projects, competitions, events, direct marketing and PR activities, all brought together in an international online community platform. Simply, MINI Space (community Platform) is about meeting other creative people and having a good time.

MINI INTERNATIONAL Magazine is a part of “Creative use of space” which combines the innovative instincts of a newspaper and the visual appeal of a magazine. THE MINI INTERNATIONAL explores below the surface of today’s mobile society to find the most intriguing stories from MINI life, MINI culture and MINI design, and provides a platform for cosmopolitan lifestyles, high culture and street culture, and all what is going on in the MINI world.

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Another example of MINI Interaction with customers is MINIMALISM. It’s a source for curious people since here you can find as much information as you want and to know why MINI is a MINI within 60 seconds.

In all of these projects, MINI shows that the integration process is a key to success. Planet MINI represents a very strong holistic approach allowing for interaction and integrate users in all kind of projects to create one space for sharing ideas and understanding people’s needs.

* **

Robertson & Urich Ref. Peter McGrory (Professor of Design Man agement, Aalto University School of Art & De sign) Out of every 1 000 000 MINI made, only 10 would be absolutely identical.

Ref. Peter McGrory (Professor of Design Man agement Aalto University School of Art & De sign)

*** ****

MINI People are self confident, cosmo politan, multicultural; MINI Peo ple are part of design process (participative approach)

Build your own MINI (MINI roof designer), strong individuality (empathetic approach)

MINI community (MINI Space, Planet MINI)

Refenrences:

Personality

Culture

User

MINI Brand Identity wheel

Attributes

Excitement Extroverted (self-confident and optimistic, is full of energy and vitality, spontaneous, unconventional.

Value

Integrative (open-minded, tolerant and social, is responsible and trustworthy, popular and welcome everywhere) Chic (attractive, tempting and desirable, good looking, fascinating and refreshingly different)

MINI’s name is so wellknown that it is synonymous with the product cate gory; strong rela tioship with MINI People that they become advo cates for the brand.

Benefits

Emotional: Aspire to be associated, feeling to be a part of MINI community.

Functional: combination of ingenious design and clever engineering, relative quality; (holistic approach)

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

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Collective of classic MINI cars at the MINI United Event in Silverstone, celebrating MINI’s 50th birthday.

MINI community a crucial element for the brand When MINI became part of the BMW Group, the company combined what Roger Martin refers to as opposable ideas. Before the merger there have been two kinds of MINI clubs existing.

same passion for the brand within one big brand community. This approach now enables the brand to achieve both, becoming more attractive to the envisioned target group and retaining the current MINI fans.

The ones that were celebrating the brand’s heritage by collecting and maintaining historical models, and the ones that were tuning the cars up to their limits. But the management envisioned the future MINI driver more as belonging to the young urbanites and post-modern trendsetters, meaning to become attractive to yet another peer group besides the two mentioned types of MINI fans.

This empathetic environment MINI developed, allows people who originally belonged to different MINI communities to exchange their respective brand experiences and different points of view with each other.

The company decided to design an environment that would merge all three sub-communities. People should be able to express their MINI affection by means related to their respective sub-community, but still share the

‘ Bringing people together that share the same passion for a brand (..) is a great opportunity for a company to gain insights...’

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

Bringing together people that share the same passion interest for a certain sub-community, depending on the for a brand but for different reasons is a great oppor- channel through which they communicate. tunity for any company to gain insights about how its brand is being perceived by different types of customers. Topics covered on the online platform www.minispace. com deal with the concept “creative use of space”, in MINI makes use of several types of media (webpage, other words art & design, architecture, and urban culmagazine, events, design competitions) in order to offer ture. Community members can upload pictures, which anyone who has an interest in the brand the possibility can then be seen as a background of the website. to become part of the community, no matter through It is inspiring for its visitors to become creative as well which channel and to what extent. and share their thoughts about others’ creativity. Members are offered the possibility to comment on current concept cars, MINI activities or any other article on the homepage, showing the company’s interest in not only providing information, but also considering the community’s feedback.

‘ give people the possibility to become part of the community, no matter through which channel and to what extent’

Another very interesting activity that concerns the community is the MINI Challenge, which is executed Furthermore, it allows MINI to customize its commu- in various forms. In some countries it is an actual rally nication by either using brand-specific topics or sub- with MINI John Cooper Challenge cars, following the jects that are not directly related to the brand but of brand’s heritage, whereas in other parts of the MINI

Gathering of MINI owners as part of the rally event “MINI Takes the States”.

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

Gert Hildebrand, Director of MINI Design, congratulates the winner of the Center Rail Contest, Satoshi Nakamura, at the Paris Motor Show.

MNI’s own language across all various types of interaction: fun, chic, interactive)

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

world it can be a 200km fun race from one city to another to visit a cultural site and spend a nice evening together with other MINI fans.

These two different kinds of MINI Challenges depict how the previously mentioned sub-communities are being connected.

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‘ the lifestyle collection (..) is a great means to strengthen the community’

The way in which MINI manages its community inThe rally might be of interest at least for the tuning creases the reputation of the brand among its members community and the people cherishing the brand’s rac- and allows them to participate in shaping the brand and ing past while the fun race attracts more the young ur- its future. banites and MINI owners who want to see if their classic model still has what it takes to keep pace with the new generation.

The various types of interaction with the communities all speak MINI’s own language visually and literally (fun, exciting, chic, integrative).

Even the lifestyle collection can be recognized by its bold and cosmopolitan design. It is a great means to strengthen the community’s identity.

MINI Challenge in Colombia – visit to the colonial city of Amurallada.

Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

How to.... .... become a design thinker

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

Series 2, Roger Martin, part 3 Last week we got a tremendous amount of feedback Introducing three design thinking tools acfrom our readership on the knowledge funnel and how cording to Roger Martin: to move knowledge from the mystery, trough heuristics to an algorithm, as outlined by Roger Martin.

The series ‘how to…become a design thinker’ is an ongoing reference guide for understanding and training design thinking skills and techniques.

1. Observe

Keep your eyes open! The open-mindedness and willingness to constantly seek for new insights and a deep user understanding can help The second series ‘How to….become a design think- you to push knowledge further. er’ is based on on of the great design thinking theorist (compare: empathy, see page 6 of this issue) Roger Martin, and his recent publication ‘The Design Familiarize yourself with the techniques of an ethnogof Business (2009) , available at Harvard University rapher, embrace idea to spend time with customers and Press along with the famous ‘Opposable Mind’ (2007). learn from and with them. book recommendation for further reading: Ethnography: Step-by-Step (Applied Social Research Methods) by David M. Fetterman

2. Imagine Against popular belief, it is NOT simply a natural act of the human mind. It is rather underdeveloped and has been programmatically honed by design thinkers into a powerful tool, ‘one comprised of an interference and testing loop’ (Roger Martin, The design of business, p.

162). Train using abductive logic rather than inductive/ deductive (see page 6 of this issue) to make prototyping and testing part of your lexicon and day-to-day activities.

3. Configure By translating ideas into an activity system one can produce a desired business outcome by thinking about how a solution fits into a bigger system or a larger scheme of the business in which one operates. It creates further business opportunities and secures a meaningful payoff for the business.

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

Upcoming events... ...in Design Thinking Design Thinking Research Symposium - DTRS8 Starts: Ends: Event Type: Location:

Tuesday Oct., 19, 2010, 09:00am Wednesday Oct., 20, 2010, 06:00pm Conference University of Technology Sydney

Keywords: Design thinking workshop, Experiential workshop, user-centered Intended For: Marketing, R&D, Education, Design, Advertising, Strategic Planning, anybody interested in design thinking

Website: http://www.uts.conferenceonline.com.au/index. cfm?page=details_conference&pg=3&id=14650 Do you wrestle with finding the “right” ideas, selling your solutions, and managing the risk of failure when Industry: design working on innovative projects? Learn how the creaKeywords: design thinking, skills, transfer, tive-problem-solving process of design thinking helps non-design fields you innovate quickly and decrease risks and costs. Learn and apply the principles used by successful designers in This symposium will explore design thinking, what a variety of fields, as taught by the Haas School of Busiit consists of, what its strengths and weaknesses are, ness and the Stanford d.school and used at IDEO. The what skills, abilities and character traits support some- experiential format of this course guides you in learning one’s capacity to be successful in design thinking, and the process, then practicing your skills with real chalwhich key elements of design thinking are transport- lenges in a team environment. able beyond the core design disciplines. The objective of DTRS8 is to start up a broader intellectual discussion _________ on the nature, strength and value of design thinking. _________ Design 2010 Conference DesignThinkers Thinkers 2010 Conference Design Thinking for better innovation Starts: Tue., November 02, 2010, 06:30PM PDT Ends: Tue., November 16, 2010, 08:30PM PST Event Type: Training/Seminar Location: UC Extension San Francisco, CA US Price: Website: http://extension.berkeley.edu/cat/course2241.html Industry:

Location: Rotman School of Management Thursday, November 11, 2010 & Friday November 12, 2010 8:00 to 9:00am Registration & Breakfast; 9:00am to 6:00pm - Sessions; 6:00 to 6:30pm – Book Signings SYNOPSIS: This 11th annual international conference will focus on the role of design in shaping business and society.

SPEAKERS INCLUDE: Roger Martin, Dean, Rotman School of Management; Board Director, Thomson Reuters and Research in Motion and author of 5 books including “The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage” will be one of the keynote speakers. For a complete list of speakers

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Design Thinking Monthly | Issue 10 - MINI

and more information please click here PLACE: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front Street West, Toronto TO REGISTER: Click Here QUESTIONS: events@rgdontario.com ________

International Design Business Mngt. Event Location: Helsinki, Finland

Think design for change

When: Friday, February 18, 2011 11 & 12 November 2010 What: International Design Business Management 8.30 am - 6.00 pm (IDBM) Event M Hotel Singapore Why: 15th Anniversary of IDBM Admission is Free Schedule: Guest lecturers (to be announced) and handson activities between students, company employees, and Design Thinking is a powerful tool to spearhead inno- professors to promote design thinking. vation and creativity in organisations. It has transcend- Come and explore what it is like to go above and beed the boundaries of being used as a way of thinking in yond. the design arena and is applied to all organisations.

The theme for this year’s Design Thinking Symposium is Transformation: How Design Thinking Catalyses Change in Organisations. Participants will discover and experience first-hand the world of Design thinking through presentations and sharing sessions by renowned practitioners from the field of Design Thinking as well as sharing of real life case studies from local organisations. Come join us for an exciting time of learning about new possibilities of change.

Due to limited seats, registration is required. To register, email your Name, Organisation and Contact number with the subject title “Design Thinking 2010” to nlmarketing@nlb.gov.sg. Closing date: 8 November 2010.

Check out designthinking.sg for more details.

Presented by National Library Singapore and Union Experience. ___

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