Vicki Matranga, Design Programs + Services
Retailers and media looking for trend-setting, high-design products at the 2014 International Home + Housewares Show head for Discover Design in SouthBuilding. The inspiring Discover Design Gallery, accessible to buyers and media, features products submitted for the Global Innovation Award (gia) for Design.
Specialty retailers, editors at influential websites and print publications, trendspotters and independent designers serve as Discover Design judges. They review exhibitors’ entries to choose six products as finalists, three of which will be honored as Global Honorees. They also select three companies as gia finalists for best product collection; one will be named the Global Honoree.
Let’s get acquainted with some of the industry experts who will determine the winners of the Show’s gia product awards. Today we are speaking with Dan Kraemer, co-founder, principal and director of design Chicago-based IA Collaborative. The firm practices User-Driven Design™ to create distinctive products, brands, environments, digital experiences and services that are market leaders in many categories.
Dan, what is the most fun or rewarding part of your job?
I’ve worked hard to establish IA Collaborative as a company that identifies and translates new opportunities into breakthrough innovations.
We are fortunate at IA to work on projects that make significant impact in people’s lives; designing the future of integrated home appliances, developing a drug delivery system that makes patient adherence easier and less painful, re-designing the future of travel for the world’s largest airline, and defining the future of wearable technology for the leading multinational electronics company. Every day we are leveraging design to inspire positive change and drive our clients’ success.
What motivates you in your work?
Over the years, we’ve assembled a team of diversely talented staff and clients. It’s a special group of people; passionate, innately curious and inspired by their work. Whether it’s bringing a new prototype to market, redesigning a product to be more user-centered or creating the business model and brand for a disruptive technology, each day I have the opportunity to tackle challenging projects with the team, learn something new, create true breakthroughs… and have fun doing it.
In the past few years, what has changed most in your business?
World-wide, we’re seeing more and more demand for user-centered design from the C-suite to engineering departments. This has resulted in an expectation that projects start from a place of user insight and leverage design through commercialization. I believe this has led to an accelerated pace of innovation and brought more awareness to the business value and impact of design — from global corporations to start-ups.
IA has also evolved. We’ve grown our company to 50+ full time staff of brand, product, digital and architectural designers; engineers; researchers and business strategists; and doing client work in nearly every continent. Additionally we are inventing, designing and manufacturing our own products. These IA-sponsored projects enable our teams to flex their core skills, feed their passions, and rapidly see their ideas commercialized in the world.
How many years have you been coming to the International Home + Housewares Show?
I first attended the Show in 2000.
Will you be searching for specific items or exhibitors?
We’ve been doing a lot of research globally on the emotional connection families have with the objects in their home from India to Brazil. We’ve been designing everything from home appliances to home medical systems. So I’ll be taking in a diverse range at the Show—connecting with some of IA Collaborative’s global partners like Bosch, Philips and Samsung. Also we typically meet new clients and partners who are interested in IA Collaborative designing, branding and commercializing new products.
Are you especially interested in any specific trends and products that fit those trends?
The world is embracing of “the internet of things” and quickly making it a widespread expectation for personal and home products. Also the proliferation of “good design for the masses” continues to be seen in more delightful, everyday useful objects. These are welcome developments for us at IA Collaborative. As a group of multi-disciplinary designers, we naturally bring together the physical and digital; brand and built environments— all through a human-centered lens.
How does Discover Design enhance the Show experience?
It’s interesting to see the work of small businesses and startups who are often more willing to take chances. Discover Design consistently brings this kind of fresh thinking to the Show.
What do you see as consumers’ biggest concerns regarding housewares products?
Product commercialization has never been more accessible; which has resulted in an influx of consumer products. People have more choices than ever before, which on one hand is fantastic. But on the other hand, I believe we’re starting to see a proliferation of product options that approach lowest-common-denominator design. The items in our homes should be special, personal and genuine.
What are some of today’s challenges that new product development professionals face in the housewares market?
In the sea of products available to consumers today, product development professionals must create products that possess true differentiation and are inherently user-centered. Their products must incorporate unique solutions for human need, intelligent use of materials and production processes, and lean-forward fashion that is both timely and timeless. Additionally, these products must be branded and positioned authentically to ensure consumer engagement and maximize market share.
What attractions, locations or stores do you visit while you are in Chicago?
IA is headquartered in Chicago, just one block from the Art Institute and Millennium Park along the city’s lakefront. Whenever possible, I visit the Art Institute’s Modern Wing (where curator Zoe Ryan does a fantastic job with the Architecture and Design exhibits).
As an appreciator of great food, I take advantage of the city’s diverse restaurants and fresh markets. Chicago’s motivated chefs and mixologists continue to push their menus, and every year a collection of talented entrepreneurs strike out to start their own restaurants.
The most progressive of these create holistically; challenging convention from how a customer makes a reservation to their core food, service, environment and brand experiences. Dinning is a fantastic place to leverage integrative thinking, and we’re looking to do more restaurant design this year.
Thank you, Dan, for such a thoughtful discussion of today’s design’s challenges and opportunities. And thank you for focusing your lens on the Discover Design entries to identify the most unique items at our Show. We look forward to seeing the products that the judging panel will select. Learn more about IA Collaborative’s varied work at www.iacollaborative.com.
Visit Discover Design and See the Products Chosen by the Judges
In these final weeks before the Show, our blog introduces Discover Design and Design Debut exhibitors to give you a glimpse of the inspirations, influences and ideas that go into creating the exciting products that you’ll see in March at McCormick Place.
Discover Design is the premier design destination at the International Home + Housewares Show. Located in the South Building, the invitation-only category features more than 100 exhibitors from around the world. Companies driven by innovation and design present distinctive products and collections in Tabletop, Gift, Textiles and Home Décor categories. Learn more about Discover Design exhibitors and their products by visiting www.housewares.org/discoverdesign.
