Defining Design

As humans, we have a remarkable ability to use the materials in our environment to create something new and useful. Through experimentation, inspiration, and blind luck, we’ve designed our way to survive and improve our lives. This amazing power to create new services and technology is what drives our economy. To build something functional can be defined as engineering, to make it useful to society can be defined as design. Good design is beyond aesthetics and personal taste, and contrary to popular belief it has more to do with practicality than creativity.

Data vs. Design

In most companies, data and analytical thinking is what drives new products and services. Data will only get you so far – it’s short term insight to solve an immediate problem. Design thinks in the long term. The residual rewards of building a product that inspires culture and an emotional identity is that it almost guarantees loyal customers.

A modern example of this is the recent competition between Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone. Google is widely known as a company of engineers that bases its decision making mostly on data and analysis. To know who is using your products and how is of couse important to decision making. However, basing a product design solely on data is at best a mistake. To be a design leader, to create something truly innovative and new, something that people not only need but want, the decision makers must have the vision and wisdom to let the design lead.

Apple is the best exmaple of a company that is lead by design. Their products aren’t a confusing maze of options and complexity where anything goes, but instead they are holistic, human-friendly devices that are a perfect balance between form and function. Not everyone will be happy with the compromise of “configurability” in favor of “usability” – but the incredible success of Apple products can not be argued with. Society at large agrees with simple humanized technology, and will increasingly demand products and services that display good design traits.

Design in Your Business

How can you take advantage of good design for your business? Think like a designer. Start to pay attention to the details, always think “how could this be better.” Listen to your customers and employees – they often know best – but don’t be afraid to try something new and innovative, just stick with it and refine. Use products or services that embody good design. Don’t merely copy the industry leader, design something new. Think about what positive elements define your company and your products, then try to design everything around those values to make a cohesive offering. And don’t wait for your competition to do it first!

The Blue Yeti microphone we ordered a few weeks ago to help with video recording finally got here yesterday (expect to see the first round of OpenCal online appointment videos soon!). It’s a quality piece which seems like it will do the job quite well. What really surprised me though, was just how sparse the packaging and box contents were.

Since going all Mac a few years back, I haven’t been buying many standalone components, so I was expecting a repeat of my past experiences: a huge box filled with thick instruction manuals and a bunch of device drivers CDs. Not so. Instead, there was the microphone, a small 5-page manual that told me exactly what I needed to know, and nothing more.

This is great — no one has time to read large instruction manuals, and both OS X and Windows now do a good job of supporting most devices right out the box, so there’s no need for drivers CDs. Apple has been at the forefront of this minimalist approach to packaging for a few years now (just take a look at the their latest iPod packaging below), and Amazon’s frustration-free packaging initiative is out to really improve things industry-wide.

As customers come to expect this minimalist approach to packaging, the laggards will be forced to follow suit. This is a really positive trend, and there’s a general lesson here for businesses of all types: give your customers what they need, and resist the temptation to shower them with things they don’t need. Everybody ends up winning from this approach: customers, companies, and the environment.

If you’re interested in package design, check out The Dieline Blog. There’s some phenomenal packaging work being done out there.

While we can probably all agree that nothing will ever truly be ‘the new black’, design makes a strong claim to that status.

There are a lot of books on how design will save business these days, and for people everywhere, that’s actually a good thing. Let’s take a look at design beyond OpenCal’s online appointment software, because the tenets of design, when applied properly, generally result in improvements to business, home and society.

“Just wherever you are, look around – the only thing that isn’t designed by someone is nature, so the trees are not designed by us, but everything else is. Everything you see, every light fitting, every flower vase, every scale, everything that is designed has to go through this kind of (design) process.”
- Dave Kelley, founder of IDEO

In many ways, the business case for design is almost irrelevant. Or rather, it should be. For the merits of applying design thinking run deeper than mere profitability or customer acquisition – the tenets lie at the heart of what it means to be human, of belonging to a society that is interested in improving the lot of all of its members, of making things better.

Here are our favourite examples of applying design thinking to a problem:

1. IDEO’s Shopping Cart

First aired on ABC’s Nightline, July 13, 1999, I didn’t see this video until September 2007, during the MBA program at UBC. We were working on a business plan and the video was to teach us about collaboration and teamwork; while I would say teamwork is present in spades at IDEO, clearly there is a lot more than that going on. They understand that nearly everything in this world is designed, and therefore you have a choice: you can spend time on design and do it right, or you can just do whatever comes to mind. (To watch the entire 30 minute video look for parts 2 and 3 at the end of the YouTube clip below.)

2. Apple’s Unibody Construction

Apple first unveiled its unibody construction method with new MacBooks about 2 years ago, and it has since made its way across their lineup. What makes the unibody so interesting is that it solves multiple design problems at once. It makes for seamless computer casings, provides higher structural rigidity, and it also drastically cuts down on complexity by eliminating the need for internal structural parts. And of course, Apple being Apple, they made a nice video about it.

3. Trader Joe’s Grocery Stores

If you haven’t visited a Trader Joe’s grocery store in the States, then you should: it’s not your grandma’s Safeway. Their incredible success and $8 billion dollars of sales last year (equal to health food giant Whole Food’s) with only 344 stores is not by accident. Careful consideration and design went into planning everything about the store – from location to layout, to the limited but unique product selection, the private-label packaging, employee benefits, even the uniforms and friendly “tiki” atmosphere.

This attention to detail and design thinking adds up to an irresistible shopping experience that attracts a cult-following and “lifestyle” identification to the brand by both customers and employees. A great example of how good design and user experience can lead to success for the underdog via grassroots fan-building.

That’s our take – what’s yours? What are your favourite examples of great design, or of applying design thinking to a problem?

We’re getting closer to launch and so it’s time to get The OpenCal Blog rolling. We plan to cover a range of interesting subjects - small business strategy, online marketing techniques, the importance of design, interviews, new technology, and more. As this is the first post, we’re going to take some time to introduce ourselves and our premier product, OpenCal online appointment booking software made for service business.

Introducing OpenCal

In early 2009, we thought to ourselves “Hey, it’s 2009, we don’t have flying cars yet!” … Then we thought “We have the internet, why can’t we book our appointments online yet?”

And that was the start of a journey to build the best online appointment booking experience for business owners and their clients. OpenCal is built for service-based businesses (health & beauty providers, consultants, freelancers, designers, photographers, accountants, tutors, anyone who “sells their time”) to offer online appointment booking to their clients, simplify their business workflow, attract more clients, and make more money. If you take appointments, here are some reasons why you should consider OpenCal.

The benefits

You’re business is always open – Your customers will love the convenience of booking appointments online. It’s simple, faster than a phone call, and they can book with you 24/7, whether you’re open or not. You’ll attract new customers and keep your existing ones happy.

It’s a great way to promote your business online – The Book Online Now! button will convert more of your website visitors into real customers with a clear “call to action” on your website. If you don’t have a website, we include a free mini-website.

It’s better than an appointment book – Appointment management is as easy as drag-and-drop with OpenCal’s intuitive calendar, and because it’s online, it’s accessible by multiple people and always up to date. Everyone stays in sync.

Keep track of clients – Keeping track of all your clients is simple with the integrated contact manager. View appointment history, add notes, search for clients, update info and send timely marketing offers. It’s a great way to use data to optimize your online marketing effort and cater to your customer’s preferences.

Appointment notifications and reminders – Reduce no-shows and keep everyone in sync with automatic email notifications and reminders. No more phone tag! The time savings is huge.

Fast, flexible, and easy-to-use – As usability specialists, we designed OpenCal to be fast and super easy to use, but behind the simple interface is powerful functionality and a depth of options to customize OpenCal to your business workflow. Whether you’re self-employed or a busy multi-staff shop, whether you provide services in house or at your customer’s location, OpenCal is the best way to receive and manage your appointments.

OpenCal pays for itself in efficiency and new business – As business owners, we know anything that can save you time or increase revenue is a big plus. With plans start from only $19/mo, it will quickly pay for itself many times over in time saved and new online customers booked.

What makes OpenCal different

In the age of the iPhone, iPad, the internet, and ever improving technology, it’s not enough to just produce another average service. People today spend time online managing their bank accounts, booking travel, doing work, communicating with friends, researching businesses – and they expect a positive experience from it all. With the short attention span of online users, good design will make a difference in whether someone decides to become your customer or not.

The user experience for your customers, and the professionalism your service conveys through design is an integral part of your brand, and it’s as important to your business as your store design, your presentation, or the quality of your work.

“The details are not the details. They make the design.”- Charles Eames

When we looked at all the existing online appointment booking software options out there, we found nothing that really nailed the simplicity of use for the business owner, and a great user experience for their customers. So when we designed OpenCal we kept you, the business owner, and your customers in mind. In fact, we spent several months experimenting with different designs, refining and simplifying, obsessing about the details, before we even started a single line of code. This attention to detail directly translates to less frustration, more time savings, and more happy customers for you. We hope you enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed building it. And remember, this is just the start, we plan to relentlessly improve OpenCal to make it the best online appointment booking system for your business.

Meet the team

OpenCal was founded by Simon Vallee and Arash Shiva in 2009, two guys that love designing, technology, and adding value for business owners.

Irimia Suleapa is the lead developer and the 001001111001 guy behind OpenCal.

Darren Negraeff is the marketing director. He loves design and thinking about how ideas spread.

OpenCal is based in beautiful Vancouver BC, Canada.

Try if for yourself!

OpenCal’s online appointment software will launch shortly, but if you are a business that takes appointments, we’d love to hear your feedback.

Signup for a pre-release invite to start using OpenCal for your business.

See you next time!

P.S. Thanks to all the patient people that helped make OpenCal possible, and thanks to Mike Roh for our blog header graphic.