How to make better creative products. Creative Innovation 101.

The better you meet a need, the more awesome your end product will be.

We often begin the design or creative process with “what’s the problem we are trying to solve?”

This is not wrong, just myopic, in my opinion.

Because that starting point, more often than not, tends to focus on the CLIENT’S business goals above all else.

Somewhere along the line, the creative industry has left the USER/consumer/person out.

Example: Nokia and Apple make mobile phones.

Global mobile giant Nokia has lost out to Apple in the smartphone segment due to the latter’s broader product and services ecosystem and its smooth integration -meeting a need to fit everything together; its vast offering of entertainment (games, music and movies), practical apps, and other content (podcasts) – meeting a need to be entertained and learn; and a religious emphasis on usability and simplicity (notice how Apple devices come with minimal user manuals?) – meeting a need to use something quickly and effortlessly.

To end users, the iPhone simply meets needs better than Nokia.

Whether you’re making a digital or physical product, it all begins with the correct understanding of latent needs.

Upon that understanding or insight, build unmatched experiences and you will have a killer product.