Definitions

Invention: the process of discovering a principle which allows a technical advance in a particular field that results in a novel/new product.

Innovation: making an invention useful and successfully entering it into the marketplace. 

Sustaining Innovation

Sustain innovation is the continuous development of a product throughout its lifecycle. The clearest example of this process exists in the cellphone market. The original iPhone, now over a decade old, is in a continuous state of innovation. Most breakthrough products will not last very long without a continuous process of sustaining innovation to give new life into new iterations and versions.

Companies may sustain innovation in several ways: 

• Adding new functions or abilities and/or improving existing functionality: Consider how the quality of cameras and batteries in phones have developed in each iteration. This informative article compares the features of the original iPhone with the iPhone X. 

• Cost reduction: As production increases companies can take advantage of economies of scale and pass on the savings to consumers. Also, innovations in materials and production processes may result in cost savings.

• Product expansion: As the product begins to grow in the market, companies may offer different versions, sizes, or colors to meet a broader range of user's needs and tastes. Apple has experimented with this approach by offering "s" models of some versions of its phones. These models come in different colors and different feature sets.

Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive Innovation is a product that challenges existing companies to either ignore or embrace the change. At their most powerful, disruptive innovations force existing companies to complete change their products or risk being obsolete. Some examples include:

• Digital music players 

  • The iPod revolutionized the way people purchased and listened to music. Existing portable music systems (CDs and cassette tapes) we obsolete within a decade. With the advent of iMusic and iTunes, people purchased digital versions of music and listen to it in a different - some would argue that iTunes killed the album, as most people list to just songs. 

• Web-based video / Video on Demand

  • Netflix, Hulu, and other Video On Demand (VOD) services change the way consumers watch video. We can now watch what we want, when we want. We can watch entire seasons in one sitting, if we want to. Traditional cable providers have had to change their pricing models, the types of shows they offer, and to even begin offering VOD options.

• Ride-sharing

  • Uber, Lyft, and other services have put the power of ride sharing in both the riders and driver's hands. This radical change has challenged existing traditional taxi services, not to mention laws and regulations that have governed them. Read more about ride sharing here.

• 3D Printing

  • As 3D printing continues to play an essential role in the 4th Industrial Revolution, they way things are made is changing. See Topic 3.5: Rapid Prototyping for more 

Process Innovation

Process innovation is an improvement in how a product is manufactured and distributed, leading to reduced costs or increased benefits for consumers. As companies have the most control over this type of innovation, it is one of the most common types. 

There are many examples of process innovation. Henry Ford developed the modern assembly line which enabled Ford Motor Company to offer affordable cars to the masses. Tesla is another automobile company that devotes lots of resources to innovating in the assembly line. Flat pack furniture is the key feature of IKEA, allowing for modern, stylish and affordable furniture. The retail experience of shopping at IKEA is also a type of process innovation. Learn more about IKEA here.

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Resources

• IKEA's Space 10 Innovation Lab

• Retail Innovation at IKEA

Architectural and Modular Innovation

Designers may approach innovation from two different directions: Architectural or Modulal. Key to understanding these two concepts is the type and degree of innovation. Let's look at two examples: Architectural innovation focuses on how the parts of a design are arranged and interact with each other. Modular innovation focuses on changing a single part of the design, while other parts remain unchanged.

Diffusion

Diffusion is the rate at which a new product is accepted by a market. It describes how the product moves from being used by a small group of users to becoming widely used. Once the product has been adopted by the market place, one of two things can happen: The product continues to dominate through sustained, incremental improvements; or its dominance is replaced by a new radical product.

Learn more about examples of Diffusion and Innovation in Topic 5.6: Roger's Characteristics of Innovation

ATM cards are good example of technology as they have become the de facto method for for accessing and using ATM machines and making purchases. Interestingly, these are now being challenged by digital payment services such as Apply Pay, Square, Google Pay and other systems, which use online, mobile, and wireless technologies to make payments. 

Suppression

Suppression is the active slowing or prevention of a new product entering the market. This is usually done by incumbent companies to protect their interests. Disagreements of patents on the new product may slow or prevent its entry and adoption into the marketplace.

Competing companies may use their large resources and power to make it challenging for a new company to introduce an innovative product. Competitors could lower their prices or use other marketing strategies that would make it difficult for the new company to gain market share. Government legislation could also be used by governments to protect national industries or companies.

Innovative products face many challenges to successfully entering a marketplace. Understanding these challenges can inform the direction of the design and design and marketing strategies that may need to be taken by the company.