Rinat Aruh and Johan Liden of the New York–based design consultancy aruliden explain how playing around can help designers create better products and benefit the bottom line. Using examples of recent work for Microsoft, Puma, and Kiki de Montparnasse, they outline their nontraditional approach to product design and brand development, a process they call "producting," which seamlessly integrates design and marketing to create well-rounded solutions for clients both large and small.
In keeping with I.D.'s exploration of Design and Play, aruliden explainhow they've recently begun mixing up producting with the idea of play, emphasizing collective thinking rather than singular thinking. Like any good game, you can't play by yourself, and business results prove it. As great design migrates from the sequestered shelves of luxury boutiques and into mass distribution channels, there's more opportunity than ever to engage customers in design, and in this context, play is more important than ever. Faced with growing economic realities, many clients and customers have found this approach to be a profitable way of delivering approachable, attainable products to customers without compromising a brand vision.
You'll learn:- Nontraditional ways to effectively work with clients
- The role producting can serve in developing new proucts
- The importance of play in the design process
About the presenters:
Aruliden is a brand strategy and product design consultancy formed by Rinat Aruh and Johan Liden in 2006. The pair builds on 20 years of collective experience in the fashion, automotovie, lifestyle, and cosmetics industries to help clients imagine, create, and shape the future they want through strategy, design, and marketing.
Prior to co-founding Aruliden, Rinat led and collaborated on diverse projects for retail environments, mobile communications, automotive launches, consumer packaging projects, and internet startups. She has served as Global Strategy Manager for MINI Lifestyle, overseeing the U.S. launch of the MINI brand, and later developed new brand initiatives as Vice President of Marketing for Gap Inc.
Johan's U.S. design experience began at Yves Béhar's fuseproject, where he worked with clients such as Birkenstock, Nike, BMW, Nissan, Herman Miller, Hewlette Packard, Microsoft, MINI, and Toshiba. He subsequently developed multiple product lines for M.A.C. Cosmetics, including the wildly successful Sean John Unforgivable fragrance, and later spearheaded new product launches and brand platforms as part of Nike's Converse division. www.aruliden.com
