In an ‘always on’ increasingly technological life it sometimes seems as though every time there is an increase in potential the solution becomes ever more complex. Our cars are engineered with ever increasing levels of complexity, sometimes it seems to the detriment of the user. Computer programs become ever more powerful and in the process require ever increasing processing speeds to make them work. Whole swathes of perfectly usable items are rendered unusable simply because they do not match with the latest specifications.
Does it have to be like this? We claim that the world is increasingly looking towards innovative solutions as the shapers of the future and yet one of the key features of an innovative solution is that it adds real value for the customer. Does an ever more expensive, ever more technological solution always add the value which the customer is looking for or should businesses be looking to provide the simple solution?
One person believes in delivering the simple solution. At the London Design Festival Petter Neby launched a back to basics mobile phone. The Punkt MP 01 is set up for calling and texting, and that’s about it. The phone is just the latest offering in a line of from Punkt, all of which are designed to just do one thing well. According to the company this enables people to concentrate on ‘having a life and living’ rather than being derailed by technology.
Do stripped down and simplified products pass the innovation test and add real value for the customer? Well partly that depends on the customer and their individual need but what Petter Neby is offering is an innovative alternative to increasing complexity.
