Hartmut Esslinger, Internationally Esslinger, Rst Time, Hartmut for the ﬁ and Apple

esslinger “A breath of turbo-charged fresh air...it’s about time we gained Hartmut’s “Esslinger’s work shows that taste praise for a fi ne line valuable perspective.”—GUY KAWASAKI can triumph, design and “A breath of turbo-charged fresh air that doesn’t regurgitate the ego-maniac production can be soul mates, CEO’s selective memory or an outside expert’s misinterpretations. Hart- a fi and the eye of an individual can mut explains innovation through the lens of design, and it’s about time we shape a product and a company.” gained his valuable perspective.” —GUY KAWASAKI, former chief evangelist, Apple and co-founder of Alltop.com ne line —From the Foreword by Michael Moritz, how design strategies are partner, Sequoia Capital “At Flextronics, we fell in love with Hartmut and frog, and their passion for bringing crazy great designs and design processes into the forefront of shaping the future of business For the fi rst time, Hartmut Esslinger, internationally great product companies. We used their expertise to help our customers, acclaimed designer and founder of frog design, inc., many of the greatest product companies in the world, including Apple, HP, reveals the secrets to better business through better Cisco, Microsoft and others. It is a credit to Hartmut that in the midst of a design. Having spent forty years helping build the shocking global recession, frog still sets quarterly revenue records. Theirs world’s most recognizable brands, Esslinger shows is a unique and fascinating story.” how business leaders and designers can join forces to build creative strategies that will ensure a more —MICHAEL MARKS, partner, Riverwood Capital LLC and former CEO, Flextronics profi table and sustainable future. “Hartmut’s new approach to design is felt in every room in every house A Fine Line shares the amazing story of Esslinger’s in every country and in every business around the world. He proved that transformation from industrial design wunderkind to thoughtful design is not only good for people but is good for business— a global innovation powerhouse, while detailing the very real challenges facing businesses in the new and that both are interlinked. I have been fortunate to have observed fi rst global economy. Offering companies far more than a hand his impact at Sony, Apple, and HP and have learned so much from ne line temporary innovation booster, Esslinger shows how he him. He is an unsung hero of our times! A Fine Line is a must-read for and frog build creative design into the framework of an designers and business people alike.” organization’s competitive strategy, the same approach a fi that has worked so well for leading edge companies Hartmut Esslinger is the founder of frog design, —SATJIV CHAHIL, senior vice president, Hewlett-Packard the future of business the future shaping how design strategies are such as Sony, Louis Vuitton, Lufthansa, Disney, inc., a leading global innovation fi rm, and one of the Hewlett-Packard, SAP, Microsoft, and Apple. most respected designers and business consultants in “A fascinating, breathtaking, and exemplary insight into a success story that the world. Esslinger founded frog design in his native never had so much topicality, and so much informative potential as just Offering a step-by-step overview of the innovation Germany and sparked a design revolution. His work now. Esslinger offers an honest and encouraging portrait of the incredible process—from targeting goals to shepherding new has defi ned the modern consumer aesthetic with power of the business and design alliance. A Fine Line is a handbook of products and services to the marketplace—Esslinger such revolutionary products as the Apple Macintosh reveals how to arrive at a design that refl ects an computer, Sony’s Trinitron television, Lufthansa’s brand design expertise and the art of business at its best, showing a variety of intensely human experience and will connect strongly and fl eet image, Disney’s Cruise Lines and Consumer radical solutions and fresh new ideas.” hartmut esslinger with consumers. With Esslinger’s unique perspective, Electronics, and Louis Vuitton’s brand aesthetic. His —PROFESSOR DR PETER ZEC, president, ICSID and founder, red dot awards rich stories, and global mindset, A Fine Line explores designs are in the Museum of Modern Art and the founder of frog design business solutions that are environmentally sustainable Whitney Museum in New York. He is also Founding LEADERSHIP and contribute to the future of a thriving and lasting Professor of the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe, U.S. $29.95 | CAN $35.95 global economy. Germany and Professor for Convergent Design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria. The blending of design and business intelligence josseybass.com holds the key for shaping a sustainable competitive For more information, please visit advantage in the rapidly evolving creative economy. A www.frogdesign.com/afi neline. Fine Line equips business leaders with the necessary tools to thrive in tomorrow’s world. Photo by Darius Ramazani Esslinger.ffirs.indd 2 4/12/09 2:38 PM a fine line Esslinger.ffirs.indd 1 4/12/09 2:38 PM Esslinger.ffirs.indd 2 4/12/09 2:38 PM a fi ne line how design strategies are shaping the future of business hartmut esslinger founder of frog design Esslinger.ffirs.indd 3 4/12/09 2:38 PM Copyright © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Published by Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103–1741—www.josseybass.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978–750–8400, fax 978–646–8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201–748–6011, fax 201–748–6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/ or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Jossey-Bass directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800–956–7739, outside the U.S. at 317–572–3986, or fax 317–572–4002. Jossey-Bass also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Esslinger, Hartmut A fine line : how design strategies are shaping the future of business / Hartmut Esslinger. — 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-470-45102-1 (cloth) 1. Industrial design. 2. New products. I. Title. TS171.E85 2009 658.5'75—dc22 2009011951 Printed in the United States of America first edition HB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Esslinger.ffirs.indd 4 4/12/09 2:38 PM introduction “Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” —Albert Schweitzer Where does creativity come from? Neurologists, artists, and many others have off ered plenty of answers to that question, but I think we are born with the seeds of creativity within us. It’s up to us to discover, develop, and defend our gift s and prove that we deserve them. As a very young man, coming of age during the social and economic upheavals that rocked post-World War II Germany, I had to make some diffi cult but necessary choices about how I would defend and develop my own creative gift —choices that began with a painful family rift and led to a rich and satisfying career as a designer, entrepreneur, innovator, global business strategist, and educator. Making those choices, I stepped over the fi ne line that sometimes separates creativity from comfort to found my own fi rm, frog design, which stands today as one of the world’s innovation leaders. Th is book explores the adventure that followed, as I learned to navigate and then chart new waters in collaborative business design. I’ve written this book as a guide to that process, with the goal of encouraging business leaders and designers to join forces in building creative strategies for a more profi table and sustainable future. As the most successful companies and brands know, design isn’t just about making something look good. Design enables a company to invent xi Esslinger.flast.indd 11 4/12/09 12:04 PM contents Foreword vii About Hartmut Esslinger ix Introduction xi 1 Design-Driven Strategy: Staking a Claim in the Creative Economy 1 2 True Lies: The Role of Leadership in Innovation 13 3 Designing to Win: The Creative Business Strategy 31 4 Minds Beat Money: The Innovation Process, Step by Step 55 5 A Business Design Revolution: The reeningG of Planet, Inc.

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