Tag archives: design

MUJI – Just Enough Design by Everyone

Posted by Shaun Abrahamson on Thursday, 23 October 2008

MUJI began life humbly, as a store brand sold in Japan’s Seiyu LTD stores in the early 80s. In 1989 it was spun off as its own company. The idea, still embraced today was simply to make what is necessary, nothing less and nothing more.  

MUJI was conceived to be different from the start. The complete name MUJIrushi Ryohin means “No Label. Good Products”, which is at the core of what the business is about.  MUJI was conceived to be different from the start. It was one of the first brands to spell out a Japanese word in English (English characters are not uncommon in Japan, but usually they are used to spell English words).

Beyond the name, the process of creating products was different. MUJI product developers would survey 1000s of customers to understand what they needed. And then they would try to meet these needs in the simplest, cheapest ways possible. The slogan for “R&D” was to “make what you want, as a customer”. 

The approach proved very successful. During Japan’s recession, MUJI flourished while other floundered. But between  1999 and 2001, the company suffered through a spectacular financial crisis. The company had expanded quickly into new lines and abandoned much of the focus on customers. Towards the end of the decline and just before their remarkable comeback, the product development team was ordered to oversee the dumping  of their unsold  product inventory as a sign that they would be starting again to refocus on what customers wanted. 

Today, the focus on the product development is evident in a number of ways, from Investor messages to the unbranded products which are increasingly recognizable by their simple forms and deliberately absent logos. Beyond the products themselves is a focus on the experience of buying these products. 

MUJI is not just a creator of products, they also take great pains to provide the right environment to show and sell their products. Many people who visit the stores, have commented on the sense of calm they feel when entering and walking around the stores. Try visiting MUJI online – its an experience unlike any online retailer, conveying the same peaceful this-is-enough-not-too-much philosophy of its products and stores. 

Perhaps most interesting, is what evokes the fanatical following they have developed, which caused much chatter and celebration in NYC when they finally launched their store here. Although not everyone believes MUJI’s approach will work in the US against the likes of Target and Walmart. We’ll see – MUJI’s prices are higher since they dont have much footprint in the US yet. Companies like Zara have had similar market entry economics issues. 

Perhaps most interesting is that MUJI shares openly their design philosophy at their core of their success. And they encourage others to help them create according to these rules. They actively seek out ideas from anyone who touches their business and then work hard, with employees and partners alike to design products to instantiate these ideas. 

The Best Ideas from Everyone

MUJI has a systematic way to constantly harvest the best ideas and present them, ultimately to the design team, for he creation of new products. The process makes use of all touch points. In stores, employees are encouraged to make and collect notes. MUJI.net has almost 500,000 members and is used as another source of ideas. And then anthropological opportunities are presented when people go to MUJI camps where people can be observed using products so that additional insights might be gained. 

Enough Design

At the core of the MUJI culture, is simple design – or more specifically, just what is necessary, simultaneously creating beautiful, simpler to manufacture and therefore cheaper, products. The cutting board example, explains nicely how MUJI approaches design to reduce products to their essential functions. 

Can you spot the difference? Its still a cutting board, just more so, or less so, depending on your perspective, but for sure it is likely cheaper, or for the same price, it can use better materials. 

I see some parallels with some of Apple’s recent work, as they talk about their latest Macbook in terms of simplifying, reducing the unnecessary and the focus on materials. Unlike Apple, MUJI will not allow disclosure of their designers, in keeping with the strong no-branding policy. But there is much speculation that many of its items are designed by some of the best desigers in the world. 

Finally, to get even more ideas, the Muji Award has been running for 3 years (although MUI ran prior competitions, I believe). The entries are solicited globally and has resulted in a number of products that have found their way into stores. 

If We Build It, Will You Come?

MUJI takes advantage of many opportunities to figure out what people want. But it goes a step further. Even when MUJI has a design, it takes the final step of checking who will by it, before it is produced. Easy way to avoid a complete flop.

In 2006, business week covered how MUJI.net, is used to solicity and select new product and design ideas.  And then:

MUJI then tests the market by soliciting customer pre-orders rather than conducting a focus group or survey, or using other traditional market research methodology. Simply put, if 300 customers pre-order an item online, it goes into production.

As the MIT Sloan researchers point out. MUJI in effect collaborates with customers to plan their products. By getting commitments upfront to buy, MUJI gets a definitive commitment beyond anything they might get through surveys and estimation. One might suspect that these initial commitments might correlate with lifetime value much like opening box office weekends can be good predictors of the lifetime value of movies. 

So enough with the boring analysis, lets just see what all the fuss is about. Buinessweek has a good slide show featuring some of the better known products. 

Special thanks to Makoto Arai (fellow Berlin School participant) for his help in researching, analyzing and translating coverage of MUJI in Japan. 

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Method Products – Marketing Methods & Product Management

Posted by Shaun Abrahamson on Tuesday, 9 September 2008

What can we learn from the most valuable and fastest growing brands. We discussed 37Signals which might be a little esoteric given their focus on business software.

But Method Products makes, among other things, soap and cleaning products, so this should have broader appeal. And perhaps more interestingly, we found a few similarities to 37Signals in their approach, despite their very different business (I am sure 37Signals users, are clean, too). 

A brief history of fighting dirty

Method was inspired by the realization that most cleaning products such as Windex, Tilex, etc were born in the age of mass marketing – in the 50s. They almost seem like they would be perfectly at home in an episode of Madmen. So the questions then – what should updated cleaners look like? 

The founders, Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry don’t seem to be the guys who dreamed that one day they would make soap. But they did feel very strongly about a few things and they asked a lot of questions.  Why would I use poison in my home, to clean it? Why couldn’t I create better, more environmentally friendly products? Why should a more environmental product not work as well as traditional products? How do people feel about cleaning their homes and how has it changed? Eric Ryan goes into great detail in this aaaa.org 2007 video summarized nicely, here.

The result is not the conventional solution-for-a-problem product or a new marketing approach, but an emerging new culture of cleaning. A cleaner way of cleaning. A better way of cleaner being. Actually, lets look at some of the numbers. 

In 2006, according to Inc Magazine, Method Products was ranked the 7th fastest growing company. In 2007 it had slowed a little to only 508.4% growth, in business, known more for its flat or declining growth. Method competes against some of the best known players in the cleaning business such as P&G and Unilever. And as a clever calculation suggests that their competitors spend more on their toilet paper than Method spends on the advertiting ($15m vs $3m in 2006).

So how is Method managing to spread like the germs they vow to destroy?

They have a better product. Better for your health. Better for your home. Better for the environment. Better to look at. And yes, it will still clean. maybe even better. But when you throw the packaging away it wont live on to damage the envionment. And they seem like they dont take themselves too seriously – maybe you’d like to be invited to one of their parties. 

This doesnt just happen. The team recognized that cleaning has changed and rather than the old approach to storing products under the kitchen sink or hiding them in a closet, you might be inclined to leave them out. So why shouldnt they look alot better? Like perfume or other high end “lifestyle” goods?

Coming out of the closet (or out from under the sink)

Method focuses on Style + Substance. The ubstance comes from a commitment to research and find better ways to make their products better for homes, people and the planet. And their style, in some part comes from a well known designer - Karim Rashid.

As a result of their partnership, their products look like nothing else on the surrounding shelves – like placing a laptop next to a typewriter or they might say – placing a Mac next to a PC. In other ways it echoes Apple’s experience with the Mac – it just looked like it belonged to a different time. It held the promise of being better and different. So does Method. 

As Method sees it. Design is media. I love that and couldnt agree more. What best about it – people pay for your product and show if off in their homes! It a fashion accessory from something which used to be hidden away. What? Now that is a a real “media buy”.  Someone pays you  and gets you attention. 

The design angle probably also helped with their first distribution deal through Target. So the design focus had the additional benefit of enthusing their retail partners (particularly since not much was forthcoming in the form of media spend, for the startup company, but more on that in a bit). 

Advertising without advertising

From the beginning, Method has approached advertising, differently. Their first tiny budget went towards a booklet that told their story. They approached advertising like a media a publisher might. They became a publisher to sell a story- their story. And they chose a book, because there was a lot to tell. And as people learned about what they were doing, they would become “people against dirty”. In 2008 they published Squeaky Green, which they sell, which explains what they stand for and how to detox your home. Again redefining the “media buy”.

When they had the chance to buy outdoor, they decided on a “pop-up” store in places like New York and San Francisco, to better introduce the Method products and values. And they have worked with retailers to unify their product displays in retails stores in ways that others cannot (because the various soaps and cleaning products have little or nothing in common with one another), under the theme of Method Home. So in effect they create mini-stores within the retail environment. 

Perhaps most interestingly, in 2007 Eric Ryan stated that within 3 years Method planned to stop buying media. Their plan is to make use of the media they have. For example, they might spend $200k on a new design. $200k in media buying doesnt get the much, but a great design could get them much more. So their marketing budget includes design and media buying so the two compete for effectiveness. And design appears to be winning by their mesasures of effectiveness.  

And then of course, they have advocates to tell the story for them – the people against dirty. 

For the people (against dirty)

From the beginning, the response to Method’s products was somewhat unusual. It doesnt occur to most people to call or mail the cleaning product manufacturer and let them know how much they love them. But this is in fact what happened.

And today, Method is focused on their community against dirty. They look to them as the ultimate evangelists, unpaid but rewarded in various ways. They spread the word on everything from products themselves to educational ideas about making homes more healthy. They help bring Method Products to more homes. They think of their customer differently – they are Advocates. And they treat them that way. They share press releases with them and product samples. They treat them as an extension of the company. 

By the people behind the people against dirty

The organization reflects the company beliefs. Creative talent is drawn from a variety of disciplines including packaing and industrial design. And ideas are shared openly so that others in the company can comment and build on them, on large “wiki boards”. Even the elevator is designed to emphasize that you are going somewhere different. 

Much like some other innovative companies, they design for themselves. They hire their customers, literally. Prototypes are available in Methods’ office bathrooms with requests for feedback. And they dont succumb to Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome – when they saw a great idea for oncentrated soaps in Japan – they didnt hesistate to “borrow” the idea and make it their own.

The organization contrasts with their much larger competitors. Teams are led by product managers versus marketing managers. Teams sit as PODs working on a product, versus being grouped into functional specialties. And they company has built a number of other cultural elements including ways to ensure that they are hiring the right talent – you need to do a homework assignment and explain how you will keep the company wierd.

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What makes Zara work?

Posted by Shaun Abrahamson on Saturday, 16 August 2008

Its funny you ask.  Below is the answer, nicely spelled out, thank-you-very-much.

I am currently trying to understand, as part of a larger research project,  how a company that does little to no advertising (from what I can establish they spend .3% of sales versus 3-4% spent by their competitors), is ranked as one of the fastest growing brands. Oh yes, and they recently surpassed Gap (after passing H&M 3 years ago) to become the worlds largest clothing retailer.

Back to the image. Inditex, Zara’s parent, published this in their 2007 annual report. Its actually part of a more complex machine, highlighted in the upper left of the image. But we wont worry about that. What is interesting to me, is where they are focusing to enable them to build an industry-beating brand.

Customer at the center
As the picture shows. But everyone says this. According to Inditex, they focus on taking customer requests from the store and move it through the process of design and manufacture as quickly as possible.So each time they interact with customers there is potential for new inspiration. Its not clear exactly how this happens, but it is clear that new products hit the store twice per week, enabling them to respond quickly to new trends and ideas.

Zara only distribute in their own stores, as they want to control the entire experience with the customers. This too is highlighted in the image. From site selection and window displays to store architecture and service, the store is where Zara invests most, according to its 2007 annual report.

The store is the company’s main image vehicle

Zara has been expanding with openings in the world’s largest cities. Zara is very comfortable adapting prize locations and buildings to their needs, as you can see from these examples.

Projects are designed individually to take maximum visual and functional advantage for the store, by turning each establishment into a special place.

Approach to design and manufacturing
While competitors such as H&M outsource their production, Zara situates its 200+ designers alongside the manufacturing process – by collocating design and manufacturing, they are able to speed time to market. Zara is unmatched in the speed with which they take product to market (Harvard Business Review).

Openness
This is something Intitex is proud of, going to lengths to explain various ways in which it interacts with society at large and enables clear visibility into its activities.

At a tangible level this means it tracks on site visits and measures interaction with the media in a variety of ways. Metrics may be the key to understanding that Zara’s success is not just about one thing – it perhaps best reflected in the enormous number of metrics used to understand how the company performance in areas ranging from human rights in countries in which is does business to levels of waste produced for each garment created.

These types of measures are laid out in the annual report. And increasingly, these measures are not from Inditex themselves. In the same way that their financial are audited they have a range of 3rd party audits to help them better understand everything from how they are implementing their “code of conduct” to how they rank on a variety of sustainability indices.

All the details matter. In 2007 the company switched all store shopping bags to d2w which will result in plastics degrading (to water, CO2 and biomass) within 1-2 years versus 400.

Back to the question of how the company manages without advertising. Certainly the store experience has garnered them great “word of mouth” (I’ll need to come back to this and see if I can put some numbers against this claim, but Google clearly shows the trend in interest, which has ultimately been reflected in sales, too). And their first to market capability has to help too. But its clear that the magic of the machine, is the result of lots of moving parts and a focus on controlling the complexity which results from making these parts work together. In some ways this seems to follow the Apple script – control more of the key pieces that need to work well together, for example hardware and software or the in store retail and customer support experience.

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Simplicity is more complicated than complexity

Posted by Shaun Abrahamson on Sunday, 13 July 2008

To paraphrase “I am sorry this product is so hard to use, I did not have time to simplify it”. Its not just about design, but also business and life.

John Maeda has published a beautiful treatise on simplicity, in 100 clear concise pages.

Calls for simplicity abound. From the “elevator pitch” that should be all that is required to describe a great business, to the idea that great advertising ideas should fit into one sentence. From remote control designs to services such as Zipcar. We are increasingly being asked to invest the time to simplify and make things easier to use.

One of the longer term goals is to understand the impact of simplicity on business. I would hesitate to guess that is it profound – beginning with simplicity of purpose that aids communication and ultimately execution and evaluation. I’m looking forward to the results.

Achieving simplicity is more complicated than complexity.

[image from John Maeda's "The Laws of Simplicity"]

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