> But I do think that it signifies something, a desperate need for attention, > a need to be seen as relevant, a distraction from the design of the actual > products?
I disagree. Creating concept videos like this is a common tool in the product design world to understand how an idea may be crazy or interesting. It's just another form of prototyping based on scenarios. It poses the huge WHAT IF? question to the company, often to simply secure the necessary funds for research. I imagine someone in marketing or development asked, what if we applied learnings in nanotechnology to a cellphone? Stupid question? As dumb as, what if we put a touchscreen with no buttons on a cellphone? What if we made an MP3 player with no screen at all? The What If questions drive, well, almost all invention. So they thought about how the technology could have bearing on someone's daily life, and made a video to show it. Companies like Nokia don't "need to be seen as relevant," they need to make sure they stay relevant. Where technology changes rapidly, companies can quickly lose their edge, fall behind, and die. This is a tool to look ten years out to discover where they should be investing their research dollars now. Development takes years, so they have to plan smartly. Exploring scenarios through concept videos is just a way to gauge the relative values of investments. It IS the design of actual products, just not products in the next sales season. - Bill ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
