Tag Archives: Design Mindset

After 40 Years, BRP’s Chief Design Officer Says Empathy Beats Perfection Every Time

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The tension between perfection and progress is something every designer grapples with, yet it’s rarely discussed with the kind of candor it deserves. In episode 11 of Yanko Design’s Design Mindset podcast (powered by KeyShot), premiering every Friday, we sit down with someone who has spent four decades mastering this delicate balance. Denys Lapointe, Chief Design Officer at BRP, leads a team of 135 multidisciplinary design experts from 21 countries, and under his stewardship, the company has accumulated an astounding 61 Red Dot Awards, culminating in the ultimate recognition: Red Dot Design Team of the Year 2025.

For those unfamiliar with BRP, this Quebec-based powerhouse is the global leader in powersports and the number one OEM in North America. They’re the creative force behind iconic brands that define adventure, including Ski-Doo, Lynx, Sea-Doo, Can-Am, and Rotax. With nearly $7.8 billion in annual sales spanning over 130 countries, BRP’s products traverse land, water, and snow. What makes Denys’s perspective particularly fascinating is his 40-year journey with the same company, witnessing his designs evolve from sketches to prototypes to products that millions use to explore the world. He’s learned when to push for perfection and when to embrace strategic compromise in service of getting breakthrough innovations into consumers’ hands.

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Why “Good Enough” Isn’t in BRP’s Vocabulary

When asked about embracing “good enough” as a design philosophy, Denys immediately pushes back. “Basically, I would say, Radhika, the word good enough is not a word that we use. It’s I see it a little bit like the passing mark,” he explains. Instead, BRP formalized a design philosophy built on three key pillars: innovative product architectures, high functionality (integrating ergonomics and human-machine interface), and the “wow factor,” which creates enough emotional content that consumers are drawn to products and want to possess them. The goal isn’t merely to meet customer expectations but to exceed them, benchmarking relentlessly against competitors to win consumers’ hearts.

The breakthrough isn’t in excelling at any single pillar, though. “We know that what’s important is not so much to overdeliver on one of those pillars, but it’s the equilibrium between the three,” Denys reveals. This balanced approach is enforced through BRP’s rigorous stage-gate process and Design Governance Committee, which reviews projects at each critical juncture, challenging teams on all three pillars and ensuring alignment with brand DNA. Younger designers might chase the “wow factor” at the expense of daily usability, but BRP’s structured governance forces timely decisions that maintain equilibrium. “As design leaders, we must teach and coach our young designers to strive for perfection, knowing that perfection is difficult to reach. Obviously, but they need to learn to make the right compromise so to deliver a compelling offer to our consumers, which will exceed their expectation,” Denys explains.

The Accessory Ecosystem: Where Great Ideas Go to Thrive

One of BRP’s most innovative approaches to balancing ambition with pragmatism is their accessory strategy. “I remember several projects where we had too many ideas. We just had too many ideas,” Denys recalls. When milestones force prioritization, rather than abandoning valuable features that drive costs too high for the base model, BRP shifts them to their accessory ecosystem. This allows consumers to opt into features they personally value while keeping base models at target MSRP. Ideas aren’t killed, they’re given to the accessory group to develop separately, ensuring that compelling offers reach consumers without compromising the product’s commercial viability.

Even better, accessories are designed to be compatible across product lines using a patented quick connect/disconnect system. “An accessory that is designed for a seat can go on a side-by-side, an ATV, and even a snowmobile. So it simplifies people’s garage,” Denys explains. Once consumers invest in this ecosystem, it creates powerful brand loyalty because switching to another brand means leaving behind a garage full of incompatible accessories. This strategy demonstrates how strategic compromise doesn’t mean lowering standards, it means finding smarter ways to deliver value. Some ideas work better as optional features than standard equipment, and recognizing that distinction separates good design leadership from perfection paralysis.

Empathy Over Aesthetics: The MoMA Scissors That Cut Nothing

Perhaps Denys’s most powerful advice centers on empathy as the designer’s primary tool. When asked what he’d tell his younger self joining BRP in 1985, he immediately responds: “I think I would tell them to learn to dissociate their taste.” Designers must become ethnographers, deeply understanding users before, during, and after their journeys. “You need to learn to be able to project yourself as that consumer. The right trade-offs for that consumer ultimately. So learning to observe or observing, yes, with your head, but with your heart is the key to discovering the right insights. And I always say to the young designers that if you can identify the right problem to solve, you’re 50% there with the solution.” This empathy uncovers non-obvious insights that competitors miss, like noticing when users bend awkwardly, squint at interfaces, or stumble while dismounting.

His most memorable example of design divorced from empathy comes from an unexpected source. “One day I was in New York City buying, and I bought a lovely pair of scissors, and it was exposed in the MoMA as an object of art.” The perfectly symmetrical scissors intrigued him, but when he tried to use them at home, “the only thing it cut is the palm of my hand.” It was beautiful but functionally useless, highlighting the danger of prioritizing aesthetics over usability. When asked what matters more than perfection, Denys offers: “Equilibrium, holistic. We need to create holistic experiences that hit all aspects in the consumer’s rational way of criticizing a product and also on the emotional side.” A consumer might initially be drawn to something beautiful, but disappointment with the overall experience means they may never return to that brand again, making holistic balance essential for long-term success.

Safety First, Launch Dates Second

In the world of recreational vehicles, safety isn’t optional. “For us, safety is not an option. Safety is a prime focus for everything that we do,” Denys states emphatically. “We always strive for safe products. So I think basically we don’t compromise on safety. You should never mess with, you should never compromise on safety.” When presented with a hypothetical scenario where competitive pressure and board expectations push for an on-time launch, but a safety feature would delay production by six months, Denys doesn’t hesitate: “I think we would rally every member of the product steering committee to postpone our start of production.” The long lifecycle of BRP products (four to ten years) outweighs short-term market pressure every time.

This philosophy extends to BRP’s approach as market disruptors and first movers. The Spyder three-wheeler family exemplifies accepting that you can’t anticipate every need upfront. “We created something to attract the 95% of the population that drives a car instead” of motorcycles, Denys explains. After launch, new needs emerged that weren’t fulfilled by the first execution, but that’s the advantage of being first: capturing insights that inform the next variant or platform. “Consumers could not have told us because the product did not exist,” he notes, demonstrating how iterative learning trumps waiting for an impossible perfection. In the rapid-fire segment, when asked to complete “Perfect is the enemy of…,” Denys responds without hesitation: “time.”

Listen to the full conversation on Design Mindset (powered by KeyShot), available every Friday, to hear more insights from one of the industry’s most decorated design leaders.

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The post After 40 Years, BRP’s Chief Design Officer Says Empathy Beats Perfection Every Time first appeared on Yanko Design.

Crowdfunding vs. Awards vs. Media: A Design Insider’s Guide to the Best Path

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Design Mindset, Yanko Design’s original podcast series powered by KeyShot, has been steadily carving a niche for itself in the design world by giving listeners an inside view on how creativity becomes impact. Every Friday, the show brings together design’s top minds to share stories that go beyond the project and into the strategies, pitfalls, and breakthroughs shaping the industry today. Episode 10 is no exception, it explores the real-world effects of design publicity on careers, and the conversation is especially relevant to anyone hoping to turn a portfolio into a profession.

This week’s guest is Sarang Sheth, Editor-in-Chief at Yanko Design and a designer whose own path was transformed by media exposure. Few are better positioned to dissect the mechanics of design publicity, both as a former featured designer and now as a gatekeeper for one of the world’s most influential design platforms. The episode not only spotlights Sarang’s journey but also delivers a tactical playbook for designers seeking to amplify their work and maximize recognition.

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When Five Views Become 450: The Career-Altering Power of Global Exposure

There’s a stark difference between being a talented designer and being a recognized one. This isn’t a lesson taught in most design schools, but it’s one Sarang Sheth learned firsthand in 2014. Fresh out of university and nine months into an unsuccessful job hunt abroad, he was sending portfolio links to companies and tracking their engagement. “I would see like, you know, I’m sending portfolios out to these companies and I’m getting like five views a day, three views a day. So I knew that people were checking their mails and at least looking through my work,” Sarang recalls. Then something shifted. He submitted work to Yanko Design, and editor Troy Turner decided to feature it. “Suddenly I saw like 300 views on my website and like 450 views. And I was like, okay, that’s a significant jump.”

But the numbers told only part of the story. The granular data revealed something more profound: views were coming in from Turkey, Croatia, and the UK. “This is incredible because A, I didn’t pay for it. And B, there was no extra work for me. All I had to do was share it with someone who was willing to talk about it,” Sarang says. This moment crystallized two truths for him. First, that international media exposure offered opportunities that local recognition simply couldn’t. As he bluntly puts it, “local recognition is like winning best dancer within your society, it does nothing.” And second, that storytelling itself could be a viable career path. The article about his work resonated with him as much as the traffic spike did. “I read the article and I realized that this is something I can actually do,” he remembers. That realization, combined with the viral reach of design media, didn’t just land him a job, it set the stage for his entire career trajectory. Today, Yanko Design reaches millions per month across multiple platforms, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and its newsletter. “Regardless of what your concept is, what your project is, there are multiple ways that Yanko Design can sort of get you to reach the audience that you’re looking to reach,” Sarang notes. Those eyeballs, he adds, increasingly include potential investors, jury members, and employers, all of whom can change the course of a designer’s career with a single connection.

Ideas Don’t Need to Be Real to Be Powerful

One of the most counterintuitive insights from the conversation is that conceptual work can resonate as powerfully as finished products, sometimes even more so. Sarang points to several examples that illustrate this phenomenon. Earlier this year, he featured a project by Indian designer Siddhant Patnaik, a Google-branded version of the AirPods Max. “People resonated with it so much that it ended up getting its own segment on Marques Brownlee’s Waveform podcast,” he shares. The design garnered hundreds of thousands of views not just on Yanko Design but across multiple media outlets, despite never being a real product. This isn’t an isolated case. Sarang has created his own conceptual designs for Yanko, foldable phones, patent-related concepts, and an Apple Pencil that docks inside a MacBook, which is still featured on Forbes. “I’ve seen reels on it and reels showing Yanko Design’s page. So, it’s great to see that people realize that they’re not necessarily fond of great products, they’re also fond of great ideas.”

This creates a fascinating dynamic: media visibility alone can stimulate demand and validate interest even before a product enters production. “A lot of times they’re concepts,” Sarang says about inquiries from potential buyers. “Which validates the fact that sometimes concepts are so much more exciting than reality.” The takeaway for designers is clear: don’t wait until you have a manufactured product to share your work. High-quality 3D renders and compelling narratives can generate demand, attract licensing interest, and open doors to partnerships. “Ideas are cheap, execution is tough, but something that I have also learned is that holding your cards close to the chest and not sharing those ideas with anybody doesn’t benefit anybody,” he advises. The key, however, is presentation. In the age of AI-generated imagery, granular control offered by professional 3D rendering can push a concept over the credibility threshold. “A pencil sketch has to be incredibly good as an idea to sort of translate to massive success. Whereas a really, really well-made render has a much easier path ahead,” Sarang explains.

Turn Ripples Into Waves: The Designer’s 48-Hour Action Plan

Getting featured is just the beginning. Too many designers treat media coverage as a finish line when it should be treated as a starting gun. Sarang is emphatic about this: designers need to move from passive observation to active amplification. “Don’t just repost initial coverage; turn ripples into waves,” he urges. The first step is preparation. Before pitching any publication, designers should have a press kit ready, complete with high-resolution images, project descriptions, and relevant context. “Please, it’s not that difficult. ChatGPT will literally write the press release for you and your images are already in there, you need to just compress them,” Sarang says. AI tools have made this process easier than ever, but the fundamentals remain: professional assets signal that you’re serious about your work.

Once a feature goes live, the real work begins. Designers should immediately reach out to other outlets, Designboom, Hypebeast, and niche blogs relevant to their work. “You should have at least five or six media contacts in your outreach,” Sarang recommends. Each additional feature compounds the impact of the first, creating what he calls a “cascading effect.” Media coverage also serves as social proof that can be leveraged in other contexts. “Use features to bolster award entries, multiplying reach and credibility,” he advises. But there’s a crucial caveat: not every design fits every outlet. Understanding platform fit is essential. “Each design blog or each design platform has its own visual ethos, has its own direction, has its own strengths,” Sarang explains. Yanko Design, for instance, may not be the right fit for highly technical architecture projects, but it excels with consumer-facing product design, EDC items, and tiny homes. Sarang is candid about this curation process: “If designers come to us with 2D sketches, we’re like, hey, you know what, render it out and then bring it back to us. We’d love to feature it then.” This isn’t gatekeeping; it’s guidance. The goal is to reach the right audience, and sometimes that means directing designers to other platforms where their work will resonate more strongly. As Sarang puts it, “You won’t go trying to plant a mango in winter.”

Crowdfunding First, Media Second, Awards Third

When presented with a hypothetical scenario during the podcast’s “Design Mindset Challenge”, a talented designer with budget and time to pursue one of three paths (major design award, crowdfunding campaign, or media features), Sarang’s answer was surprising and strategic. “Start with crowdfunding,” he says without hesitation. His reasoning is multifaceted. First, crowdfunding offers the strongest form of validation: real demand, backed by real money. “When you’re going down the crowdfunding route, it’s the highest form of design skill validation because you’re not getting clicks, you’re not getting a job, you’re setting up a company that is solely focused around your product,” he explains. Unlike media coverage, which generates interest, or awards, which confer prestige, crowdfunding forces execution. It demands prototyping, production planning, and supply chain management. “The people who look at the product and are like I believe in that vision, those are the people who are jumping on board, and that is the best way to put that stamp of approval on your product being a good idea,” Sarang notes.

Crowdfunding also offers pragmatic intellectual property protection. By being first to market, even in a crowdfunding context, designers stake their claim publicly. “When you share an idea on a design platform like us, we do share a lot of concepts, but it’s obvious,” Sarang says, acknowledging the risk of plagiarism. “First crowdfund, secure your IP in however, whatever way possible. Spend money on patents or copyrighting or whatever.” Once the crowdfunding campaign is live or funded, designers can leverage that momentum for media coverage. Publications are far more likely to feature a project with market validation than a standalone concept. “That will help you secure your idea and make sure that you’re not being plagiarized by other people who beat you to it,” Sarang adds. Finally, awards should come third. “Awards are a much more expensive bet, I would say. And the awards do have timelines,” he explains. Media can react quickly, publishing within days, while award results take months. The strategic sequence, crowdfunding, media, then awards, allows designers to build credibility at each stage, using prior success to unlock the next opportunity. This ecosystem approach doesn’t just maximize recognition; it creates sustainable business outcomes.

Why 2 Million Views Trump a Design Award

In the rapid-fire segment of the podcast, host Radhika Seth posed a provocative question: what’s more career-changing, winning a design award or getting 2 million views on Yanko Design? Sarang’s answer was immediate and unequivocal: “2 million views on Yanko Design. Wow. Because that has a cascading effect.” His response cuts to the heart of a broader truth about recognition in the digital age. Awards carry prestige and credibility, especially when backed by respected juries, but their reach is often limited to industry insiders. Media exposure, by contrast, casts a far wider net. A feature on Yanko Design doesn’t just reach designers; it reaches design consumers, potential investors, manufacturers exploring licensing opportunities, and employers scouting for talent. “Global features expose work to buyers, investors, co-founders, and employers,” Sarang notes, emphasizing that media responsiveness can even aid with time-sensitive opportunities like visa documentation.

Yanko Design’s audience, which Sarang describes as “design consumers” rather than just designers, is particularly valuable. “I like to believe that our audience are not only designers, but they also design consumers because I have seen so many campaigns, Kickstarter campaigns or the Indiegogo campaigns that we feature bring in so much of revenue for the campaigners,” he explains. Certain niches perform exceptionally well: EDC (everyday carry) items and tiny homes consistently generate strong engagement and conversions. “EDC content often drives campaign revenue,” Sarang says, noting that the writers at Yanko are genuine enthusiasts whose passion translates into the coverage. “A lot of our write-ups also come from a place of excitement and that just translates to the readers.” This isn’t to diminish the value of awards. Jury validation carries weight, and media partners often amplify award wins, creating a multiplier effect. But for sheer, immediate impact on a designer’s trajectory, media reach is unmatched. As Sarang puts it, “A 2 million-view YD feature can be more career-changing than a single award due to cascading recognition, opportunities, and serendipitous discovery by influential readers.”

From Designer to Storyteller: Why Context Matters

Sarang’s own career shift from designer to editor was inspired by filmmaker Gary Hustwit, an industrial designer turned documentarian whose films on Dieter Rams, Apple, and the Helvetica font have become cultural touchstones. “He was basically an industrial designer who also graduated and realized that his calling wasn’t industrial design, it was storytelling,” Sarang says. This resonated deeply. “Whenever I introduce myself, I say, you know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? I’m the guy who writes those thousand words.” For Sarang, storytelling is a design-adjacent calling, one that expands the impact of products by giving them context and accessibility. “A lot of designers are so involved with creating products that they forget sometimes that the products need context and explanations,” he observes. This is where design media plays a crucial role: translating innovation into narratives that resonate with broader audiences.

Sarang’s approach to writing reflects this philosophy. Yanko Design doesn’t just catalog products; it explores their potential, their cultural relevance, and the problems they solve. “Translating products into accessible narratives expands impact,” he says, framing editorial work as an essential bridge between creators and consumers. This storytelling function is especially vital in an era dominated by algorithmic feeds and unpredictable social media platforms. “Algorithms are unpredictable,” Sarang notes. “Editorial curation connects designers with targeted stakeholders, buyers, investors, co-founders, through trusted storytelling and focused audiences.” Unlike a viral TikTok or Instagram post, which might reach millions but lack context or credibility, a curated editorial feature provides depth and legitimacy. It signals that the work has been vetted, that it’s worth paying attention to. For designers, this means that presentation and narrative matter as much as the design itself. A well-crafted story can turn a good product into a great one, and in some cases, it can even turn a concept into a business opportunity before the product exists at all.

Design Mindset premieres every Friday on Yanko Design, bringing fresh perspectives from design’s leading voices. This episode underscores a critical truth: design recognition isn’t just about talent, it’s about understanding the ecosystem of media, awards, and crowdfunding, and knowing how to navigate it strategically. For designers ready to share their work, Sarang’s advice is simple: “Send your work to Yanko Design, publication@yankodesign.com. Send it to us on Instagram, send us links, Behance links, whatever, however you want to send it to us. Please keep sending your work. It can’t get easier.”

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The post Crowdfunding vs. Awards vs. Media: A Design Insider’s Guide to the Best Path first appeared on Yanko Design.

Insta360’s Design Chief Says Your ‘Perfect’ Product is Already Too Late

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Welcome to a new creative space at Yanko Design, where we explore the minds behind the products that shape our world. We are thrilled to introduce our new podcast, Design Mindset, your weekly dive into the philosophies and frameworks that drive modern innovation. Every Friday, host Radhika Seth sits down with leaders, creators, and thinkers who are redefining their industries. In our ninth episode, we explore a fascinating concept: the invisible grid. These are the seamless systems and technologies that, when designed perfectly, fade into the background, allowing pure creativity to flourish without constraint.

Our guest for this exploration is Edward Mao, a product design lead and the head of the integrated design department at Insta360. Edward brings a global perspective to his work, having studied and lived across the US, Sweden, and Schengen. He leads teams that build the very systems millions of creators depend on daily. Insta360 is known for its groundbreaking 360-degree cameras and action cameras, particularly its “invisible selfie stick” technology, which serves as a perfect metaphor for our conversation. The best systems, like the best tools, should empower the user to the point where they are no longer thinking about the tool itself, but only about what they want to create.

Click Here to learn more about Insta360’s latest X5 Camera

The Innovator’s Mindset: Redefining the Rules of the Game

What truly separates an innovator from a follower? According to Edward, it transcends simple risk-taking and digs deep into one’s fundamental mindset. An innovator is driven by a desire to establish entirely new rules, to create categories that never existed before, and to set the benchmarks that will define the market for years to come. Their focus is on impact and purpose, a relentless pursuit of a unique vision that pushes the entire industry forward. Edward explains that this path is inherently harder, but the reward is a profound sense of satisfaction that cannot be replicated. As he puts it, “innovating makes you unique… the payoff, you can get the sense of purpose, the sense of satisfaction, right? It’s way bigger than the comfort of staying safe.” It’s a conscious choice to author the next chapter rather than simply editing a page in someone else’s book.

Conversely, the follower’s path is often a strategic one, focused on efficiency and execution. They excel at optimizing proven formulas and competing on established metrics like price and features, a strategy that allows them to catch up quickly and capture market share. However, this approach has a natural limit. Edward notes that many successful creators and companies eventually hit a “growth ceiling,” a point where the old formulas no longer yield the same results. This is the critical juncture where the question shifts from “How can we do this better?” to “What’s next?” This moment of stagnation often becomes the catalyst for a radical shift in thinking, forcing even the most dedicated follower to consider the daunting but necessary leap into the unknown territory of innovation, where the potential for true differentiation lies.

The Disappearing Act: When Great Technology Becomes Invisible

The ultimate goal of great design is to render itself invisible. This is the central philosophy Edward champions, where technology becomes so intuitive and seamless that it dissolves into the background, leaving only the user and their creative vision. The tool ceases to be an object of focus and instead becomes a natural extension of the user’s intent. Insta360’s “invisible selfie stick” is the perfect embodiment of this principle. When a creator uses it, they are not thinking about the pole in their hand or the mechanics of the software erasing it. They are thinking about capturing an impossible, drone-like shot, fully immersed in the act of creation. This is the magic moment Edward strives for, when “the tech basically disappears and the creativity takes over… that’s when you know you have built something truly invisible.” The technology becomes a silent partner, empowering the user without ever demanding their attention.

Achieving this level of invisibility is not a matter of adding more features, but of ruthless simplification and a return to first principles. Instead of asking how to build a better version of an existing product, the innovator asks what the user’s ultimate goal is and what the absolute, unchangeable constraints are. This approach fundamentally reframes the problem, steering the design process away from incremental improvements and toward breakthrough solutions that address the core need. By focusing on the “why” behind the user’s actions, designers can build tools that anticipate needs and remove friction points before they are even noticed. This frees the creator’s mind from the burden of technical problem-solving, allowing them to dedicate all their cognitive energy to what truly matters: storytelling, expression, and bringing their unique vision to life.

Paying the ‘Tuition’: The Unseen Investment of a Pioneer

Embarking on a path of true innovation is an expensive education, and as Edward suggests, the early struggles are the “tuition” paid for a future advantage that cannot be bought. Pioneering is a slow, arduous process, much like pushing a heavy flywheel. The initial effort is immense, with little visible momentum to show for it. These early phases are filled with setbacks, costly mistakes, and the constant feeling of pushing against inertia. However, this upfront investment in learning, testing, and overcoming unforeseen obstacles builds a deep well of experience-based knowledge. This hard-won wisdom becomes a strategic moat, a defensible asset that late-coming competitors cannot easily replicate. They may be able to copy the final product, but they cannot copy the years of struggle and learning that made it possible.

This pioneering journey is fueled by more than just resilience; it is powered by profound empathy. Edward emphasizes that the most insightful innovators are often their own most demanding users. They relentlessly stress-test their own creations in the messy, unpredictable real world, uncovering failure points and latent needs that would never surface in a controlled lab or a market research report. This hands-on process builds an intuitive understanding of the user experience. Furthermore, this journey requires a pragmatic acceptance of imperfection. The goal is not to launch a flawless product from day one. Instead, the strategy is to release a solid, valuable minimum viable product and then iterate relentlessly with the market. As Edward advises, “perfection comes later iteration by iteration i think it’s less scary that way.” In this model, the community of users becomes a collaborative partner in the design process, their feedback shaping the product’s evolution.

Beyond the Product: Why Sustainable Innovation Lives in Ecosystems

In today’s hyper-competitive market, a single breakthrough product is no longer enough to guarantee long-term success. A brilliant feature can be copied, a clever design can be replicated. True, durable advantage, as Edward argues, comes from building a comprehensive ecosystem around the product. This system of interconnected value is far more difficult for competitors to duplicate. For a company like Insta360, this means the camera itself is just the beginning. The real strength lies in the surrounding ecosystem: the intuitive editing software that simplifies complex workflows, the active user communities that provide support and inspiration, the extensive library of tutorials that flatten the learning curve, and the wide array of accessories that expand the product’s capabilities. This holistic approach creates a sticky, high-friction-to-exit experience that compounds the product’s value over time, turning customers into loyal advocates.

This powerful principle of ecosystem thinking is not just for large corporations; it is equally critical for individual creators striving to build a sustainable career. A viral video or a popular design is fleeting, easily lost in the endless stream of digital content. A career built on an ecosystem, however, is enduring. Edward advises creators to think beyond the next piece of content and instead focus on building systems around their work. This could manifest as developing mentorship programs to nurture emerging talent, creating collaborative workflows with other artists to cross-pollinate audiences, or productizing their expertise through workshops and digital assets. By building a network of value around their core creative output, they transform their work from a series of replaceable artifacts into a resilient, interconnected enterprise that can withstand the unpredictable shifts of trends and algorithms.

From Follower to Leader: A Practical Guide to Making the Leap

The transition from a follower to an innovator can feel like a terrifying leap into the abyss, especially when a proven formula is already paying the bills. The fear of abandoning what works is a powerful deterrent. However, Edward’s advice demystifies this process, transforming the reckless gamble into a series of calculated, manageable steps. The core principle is to de-risk innovation by starting small. Instead of betting the entire farm on an unproven idea, he advocates for experimenting on the periphery with “low-stakes side projects.” This approach allows a creator or a company to explore new technologies, test radical ideas, and build new skills without jeopardizing their main source of income or alienating their core audience. As he simply states, “start small always start small.” It’s a strategy of quiet evolution, building the future in the background while continuing to deliver consistency in the foreground.

To guide this process, Edward offers a practical three-part test to determine if an innovative idea is worth pursuing. First, can the concept be explained in a single, simple sentence? This is a test of clarity and focus, ensuring the idea isn’t convoluted. Second, does it create a unique experience that nothing else currently offers? This validates its potential for true market differentiation. And third, does it address common user complaints? This is the most crucial test, as it confirms that the innovation is solving a real, pre-existing problem, signaling a clear and unmet demand. By using this framework, innovation shifts from being a blind bet to a strategic, evidence-based pursuit. It encourages prototyping, running small user tests, and co-creating with the community, allowing the audience to help guide the direction of progress and ensuring that when you do finally push the boundaries, you bring them along with you.

To hear more about Edward’s work and his systematic approach to creativity, you can follow him at “designer mr mao” on red note and tiktok, or go check out how Insta360 is revolutionizing how we capture our world. Be sure to tune in to Design Mindset next Friday for another look into the minds shaping our creative world.

The post Insta360’s Design Chief Says Your ‘Perfect’ Product is Already Too Late first appeared on Yanko Design.