January 23, 2008

Book Review - Something Really New

Something Really New: Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products
Denis J. Hauptly
HF 5415.153 .H38 2008

Hauptly takes the mystery out of creating products that have a lasting impact on the market. He discusses three avenues to innovation--novelty, appearance, and utility--but quickly concludes that only utility truly matters in a product's long-term market impact. The key to developing innovative products is to identify what they do, linking the product's basic functionality with many potential uses in daily life. Effective products, Hauptly argues, are those that make these tasks simple and efficient. This book is clearly written and full of examples of products that users will easily recognize from their own daily lives.