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Design Driven Innovation: Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Innovating What Things Mean Hardcover – August 3, 2009
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It's about having a vision, and taking that vision to your customers. Think of game-changers like Nintendo's Wii or Apple's iPod. They overturned our understanding of what a video game means and how we listen to music. Customers had not asked for these new meanings, but once they experienced them, it was love at first sight.
But where does the vision come from? With fascinating examples from leading European and American companies, Verganti shows that for truly breakthrough products and services, we must look beyond customers and users to those he calls "interpreters" - the experts who deeply understand and shape the markets they work in.
Design-Driven Innovation offers a provocative new view of innovation thinking and practice.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarvard Business Press
- Publication dateAugust 3, 2009
- Dimensions6.2 x 1 x 9.3 inches
- ISBN-109781422124826
- ISBN-13978-1422124826
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Editorial Reviews
Review
How should a company devise new meanings and create the designs to embody them? Mr. Verganti suggests that companies form relationships with "interpreters"individuals and organizations looking at settings similar to the one in which the company's products would be used. For Mr. Verganti, it might be said, if life imitates art, corporate life should imitate the making of art. - The Wall Street Journal, October 9, 2009
If you follow Mr. Verganti’s advice, it may take a while, but your competition will be left wondering how it was you managed to redefine (and capture) their business”. - San Francisco Book Review, September 2009
Verganti tells how design innovators add unsolicited meaning” that consumers don’t even know they’re craving and they create products people can’t live without. - BiZed, November-December 2009
One of the best books of the year is undoubtedly Design-Driven Innovation”. In it Verganti attacks one of the central mysteries of innovationhow can a company successfully create a product that is a radical break from the past, and which shows the way to a new future? - John Caddell on The Customer Collective, August 12th 2009
Consumption-driven wealth and status are being replaced by identity, belonging, and a strong desire to contribute and do something meaningful” rather than just acquire things. Roberto Verganti, in his new book, Design-Driven Innovation, argues that there is a Third Way of Innovation,” driven by meaning, or to be more precise, by those cultural interpreters” who have the ability to make sense of things” and give existing things new meaning and thus create new markets. - Design Mind, September 2009
From the Inside Flap
Roberto Verganti's fascinating analysis will stimulate all thoughtful business readers, students, and practitioners alike. This passionate and keenly observed book offers a valuable and provocative new view, and will be a fundamental reference for all those interested in design and determined to pursue innovation as a driving factor in their profession. -- Luca di Montezemolo, Chairman Ferrari S.p.A. and Fiat S.p.A.
Every manager interested in innovation should read this book. The perspectives it provides will make a crucial difference to managers in the twenty-first century. -- Marco Iansiti, David Sarnoff Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; coauthor of The Keystone Advantage
Verganti shares powerful insights into both the process and value of design-driven innovation, to the benefit of business leaders and, ultimately, the customers we serve. -- Brian C. Walker, President and CEO, Herman Miller Inc.
Can design save the world? No, but it can definitely help make it better, especially if integrated within the systems that already have direct impact on the economy and on policy making. Roberto Verganti belongs to a small group of enthusiastic experts and interpreters that have set out to explain the culture of design to the powerful but unaware, so that they can appreciate its full potential. -- Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator, Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art
From the Back Cover
Roberto Verganti’s fascinating analysis will stimulate all thoughtful business readers, students, and practitioners alike. This passionate and keenly observed book offers a valuable and provocative new view, and will be a fundamental reference for all those interested in design and determined to pursue innovation as a driving factor in their profession. -- Luca di Montezemolo, Chairman Ferrari S.p.A. and Fiat S.p.A.
Every manager interested in innovation should read this book. The perspectives it provides will make a crucial difference to managers in the twenty-first century. -- Marco Iansiti, David Sarnoff Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; coauthor of The Keystone Advantage
Verganti shares powerful insights into both the process and value of design-driven innovation, to the benefit of business leaders and, ultimately, the customers we serve. -- Brian C. Walker, President and CEO, Herman Miller Inc.
Can design save the world? No, but it can definitely help make it better, especially if integrated within the systems that already have direct impact on the economy and on policy making. Roberto Verganti belongs to a small group of enthusiastic experts and interpreters that have set out to explain the culture of design to the powerful but unaware, so that they can appreciate its full potential. -- Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator, Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : 1422124827
- Publisher : Harvard Business Press; Pocket Mentor edition (August 3, 2009)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781422124826
- ISBN-13 : 978-1422124826
- Item Weight : 1.2 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.2 x 1 x 9.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #624,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #406 in Strategy & Competition
- #1,106 in Strategic Business Planning
- #5,888 in Business Management (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

(More info at www.verganti.com)
Roberto Verganti is Professor of Leadership and Innovation at the Stockholm School of Economics – House of Innovation, where he is Director of The Garden – Center for Design and Leadership. He also in the Faculty of the Harvard Business School, where he teaches Design Theory and Practice, and is a co-founder of Leadin’Lab, the laboratory on the LEAdership, Design and Innovation at the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano. Roberto is an Ambassador of the European Innovation Council, at the European Commission.
Roberto’s research focuses on how to create innovations loved by people, both their users and their creators. He explores how leaders and organizations generate radically new visions, and make those visions come real. His studies lie at the intersection between leadership, design and technology strategy. In his research Roberto combines methodologies of in-depth analysis of cases with experimentations with pioneering firms, in a variety of industries and contexts.
Roberto is the author of “Overcrowded. Designing Meaningful Products in a World Awash with Ideas”, published by MIT Press in 2017, where he provides processes and methods to create breakthrough transformations. He is also the author of “Design-Driven Innovation: Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Innovating what Things Mean”, published by Harvard Business Press in 2009, which has been selected by BusinessWeek as one of the Best Design an Innovation Books, and by the Academy of Management for the George R. Terry Book Award as one of the best 6 management books published in 2008 and 2009. It has been translated in 8 languages. His research on management of design and design clusters has been awarded the Compasso d'Oro (the most prestigious design award in Italy).
Roberto has issued more than 150 articles, including “Developing Products on Internet Time” published on Management Science, and “Innovating Through Design”, “Which Kind of Collaboration is Right for You”, “Designing Breakthrough Products”, and “The Innovative Power of Criticism” all published on the Harvard Business Review. He is in the Hall of Fame of the Journal of Product Innovation Management, from which he received the 2020 Albert Page Award to the article “Innovation and Design in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” and where he acts today as an Associate Editor. He has been featured on The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, BusinessWeek. Roberto is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review online magazine.
Roberto, together with his team of likeminded researchers-consultants, has served as advisor to executives and senior managers at a wide variety of manufacturing and service firms including Ferrari, Ducati, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Gucci, Samsung, STMicroelectronics, Zappos, Microsoft, IBM, Johnson&Johnson, Nestlè, Philips, 3M, Tetrapak, ARUP, NTT, Deloitte. He has also helped national and regional governments around the world to conceive design and innovation policies.
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Customers find the book engaging and interesting, with numerous examples and case studies. They describe it as a good read and never-want-to-stop reading. Readers praise the practical, easy-to-understand method and writing quality.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book engaging and insightful. They find it a good introduction to design literature and mention it connects with creativity. Readers appreciate the insights into Italian design.
"...nor market pull: it is what the brilliant author refers to as Design Driven Innovation, and through which you can create new meanings...." Read more
"...between design for incremental newness and design for radical cultural innovation...." Read more
"This is a great addition to innovation literature...." Read more
"very interesting and good read, :)" Read more
Customers find the book interesting. They appreciate the stories and examples provided by the author to drive home the importance of design.
"...Professor Verganti takes you on an intriguing and never-want-to-stop reading that will introduce you to a new type of innovation...neither..." Read more
"This is a great addition to innovation literature. The author provides numerous examples and case studies to drive home the importance of innovative..." Read more
"Good Cases: All the stories / examples are interesting, and the dynamic nitty-gritties are pointed out, e.g. the highly circumstantial success of..." Read more
"...It is indeed interesting and valuable." Read more
Customers find the book's methodology effective and successful. They appreciate the practical, easy-to-understand approach with numerous examples and case studies.
"...The author provides numerous examples and case studies to drive home the importance of innovative design practices in today's companies...." Read more
"...I also find it relevant, useful, and clear to the point...." Read more
"...from northern Italy to illustrate his well-considered and usefully described method for discovering 'meaning' in products and services...." Read more
"...After reading this book, I got the impression that DDI seems to have been effective and a successful methodology in smaller groups of people working..." Read more
Customers find the book readable and interesting. They say it's a good read that they don't want to stop reading.
"...Professor Verganti takes you on an intriguing and never-want-to-stop reading that will introduce you to a new type of innovation...neither..." Read more
"...But overall, a good read." Read more
"very interesting and good read, :)" Read more
"This book is good for students, start-ups, consultants. Interesting book!! ^^" Read more
Customers find the book well-written and structured. They appreciate the well-considered and usefully described method.
"...The book is very well articulated in two sections: the former focuses on products - taken from the Italian furniture landscape, the entertainment..." Read more
"...design plays in innovation, Verganti's book is a reminder that well-structured, entrenched design-driven innovation processes have been in place for..." Read more
"Well written, but lacks an international focus..." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2009If you want to be a real game changer and were highly disappointed by the homonymous book; and yet, if you are not a designer, but are eager to find out how design allows a breakthrough technology to disrupt an industry, then this book is certainly for you!
Professor Verganti takes you on an intriguing and never-want-to-stop reading that will introduce you to a new type of innovation...neither technology push nor market pull: it is what the brilliant author refers to as Design Driven Innovation, and through which you can create new meanings.
The book is very well articulated in two sections: the former focuses on products - taken from the Italian furniture landscape, the entertainment world, the watch and automotive industry, that Prof. Verganti uses as examples to get the reader familiar to this new concept of innovation. The latter, instead, becomes more theoretical as the author explains the Design Driven Innovation framework that will allow you to:
-Create a new meaning in the industry thus defining new rules of the game
-Overturn the competition with a sustainable advantage
-Create products with clear personality that stand apart
-Translate the uniqueness of the offering in higher profit margin per unit and product longevity
-Set new socio cultural models
The takeaway message is that, unfortunately, not anybody is suitable for implementing this type of innovation: you need to be bold, have a forward looking attitude and, more important, love the risk. Good luck with that!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2009Roberto Verganti finally translates into business-speak what every designer knows in their gut: that an innovative design process requires intuition AND a rational, analytic view. Informed intuition beats user-centered research. Truly innovative design happens when enlightened manufacturers trust design 'interpreters' to create new positions within the culture - to make a new proposal for how we live. For designers, this distinguishes between design for incremental newness and design for radical cultural innovation. Verganti provides this fantastic bridge between theory and practice to illustrate how radical new ideas can transform the market by proposing new categories rather than catering to existing ones. The hard lesson for business is this: real innovation is propositional and risky, not researched and proven. Twenty years after Branzi's 'Learning from Milan' we get the business version....
- Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2014This is a great addition to innovation literature. The author provides numerous examples and case studies to drive home the importance of innovative design practices in today's companies. However, after a while the book becomes a little repetitive. Almost all the examples seem to be of Italian companies. It would have been really nice to read about innovation practices and success stories from a more geographically diverse set of companies. Also, if the author condensed some of the repetitive narrative and focused on the core ideas, the book could be shorter and more useful.But overall, a good read.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2015Good Cases: All the stories / examples are interesting, and the dynamic nitty-gritties are pointed out, e.g. the highly circumstantial success of Fiat Panda.
Biased Opinion: In order to make a strong case for Design-Driven Innovation (DDI), the author has to antagonize the whole discipline of User-Centered Design (UCD). UCD is described as something similar to asking the users what they want, which is scandalously biased. It's true that UCD puts emphasis on users, but that in no way implies we can not articulate or facilitate brave new insights by understanding the users and their contexts. Thus DDI is actually NOT in any conflict with UCD. The author takes a very narrow view of UCD just to highlight how different DDI is, which a shame.
Trivial Theory: The framework the author presents is vague and close to truism. Saying something like "to implement disruptive innovation you need to gain the right insights, find the right people, etc." is similar to saying "to innovate you need to be innovative", which doesn't really yield any more useful information. Although the characteristics of successful radical innovations in the past are summarized, that alone by no means affords a proven theory - it's just a déjà vu case of correlation vs. causation. Just because many radical innovators have something in common doesn't justify that you can follow the same rule and succeed.
The book has a promising point that I can totally agree with, but the author simply fails to deliver anything convincing to make that point.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2016very interesting and good read, :)
- Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2014I had the pleasure to have Professor Verganty as a lecture for two days last week. This I do believe in.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2009This book is targeted toward professionals people who are involved in some way with the innovation efforts in their organizations. I also find it relevant, useful, and clear to the point. A must have book if you are an innovation manager confronting the problem of selecting an innovation portfolio.
Top reviews from other countries
Davide R.Reviewed in Italy on December 9, 20235.0 out of 5 stars A must have
Some examples might sound outdated, but the approach, the principles, and the depth of the arguments are remarkable.
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Jesús R. G.Reviewed in Mexico on January 7, 20175.0 out of 5 stars Un libro verdaderamente único, cambia la perspectiva amateur de un estudiante de diseño
Soy diseñador industrial y siempre trato de buscar una variedad enorme de libros que hablan de innovación the metodologías del diseño... pero todas las que he encontrado son vagas y poco profundas, no son críticos y terminan siendo inservibles.
Este libro es la excepción y una suerte que lo encontrara, es el mejor libro que puedes leer para cambiar el mindset de como se puede trabaja realmente para colaborar, crear productos y servicios con significado y que tengan una vida larga en el mercado, lo mejor de todo es que mostró demasiados ejemplos y sobre todo mostró la manera en que Alessi ha triunfado en su forma de trabajar. Para los que no saben, Alessi es una empresa a la cual no he encontrado información en internet tan fácilmente de su estrategia para ser competitivos y poder diseñar cosas únicas.
Es el libro indicado para cambiar la perspectiva amateur de un estudiante de diseño y transformar su visión a una mucho más profesional. Me dio la razón de por qué ser diseñar, tiene valor.
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Ari MassoudiReviewed in France on February 16, 20165.0 out of 5 stars Le Must-Read sur le sujet !
Tout est dans mon titre. Ce livre en anglais est vraiment excellent, l'auteur développe une théorie sur l'innovation qui a mon sens est la meilleure à ce jour sur le sujet. Je recommande ce livre à tous ceux impliqués dans l'innovation, consultants, journalistes, économistes, sociologues, chefs d'entreprises et managers en R&D, scientifiques universitaires ... .
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AliciaReviewed in Spain on November 8, 20154.0 out of 5 stars Retador
Trabajo con metodologías centradas en usuario y este libro me está aportando una visión distinta y complementaria a los procesos de innovación. Lo considero muy interesante y recomendable.
VidyaReviewed in India on June 3, 20145.0 out of 5 stars A refreshingly different book on Innovation.
The book stands out as one that is grounded in practical, yet refreshingly different and deep insights. The author has been able to succinctly bring out what is largely implicit knowledge amongst companies that actually are at the cutting edge of product innovation.
The idea I liked best was that Design is not just about product features, but a way of thinking, interacting and influencing.
Another common misconception about Innovation is that it involves Breakthrough technology, which the book dispels.
Of course, the challenge for people to be able to adapt these ideas is that unlike product features that can be copied or technology that can be imitated, a new approach needs a new mindset, which is not easy to drive. It has to be built into the DNA of the organization. Large organizations that have followed a certain approach will find it particularly challenging to change course. Start ups could start by building such ideas into their culture and way of work.
I actually read this book and the copy I bought was for a friend of mine who holds a position in Product Development.
