Overcrowded: Designing Meaningful Products in a World Awash with Ideas
About this book
Overcrowded: Designing Meaningful Products in a World Awash with Ideas is a book on design-driven innovation for design students, product designers, and managers who work with design. Written by Roberto Verganti, professor of leadership and innovation at Politecnico di Milano, and published by MIT Press in 2017, the 264-page English-language hardcover argues that, in a world with too many ideas, the real opportunity lies in finding why people need things rather than how existing products can be improved. It describes a method built on a personal vision, tested through criticism rather than brainstorming or user input alone.
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Examples from companies such as Nest Labs, Apple, Yankee Candle, and Philips Healthcare show how meaning can create value. For coursework, the book gives students a framework for questioning briefs, developing a point of view, and defending it with critical feedback from peers and experts. On a university reading list, it complements practical design methods with strategic thinking, and it supports discussion on the role of meaning, culture, and vision in product development.
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