That means plenty of time for even more, new and exciting ideas- So I thought we could talk a bit about process and a couple of important aspects when it comes to designing a functional object while there is still lots of time to go innovative & develop-crazy.

I gather up some resreach and inspiration for this post I found When beginning to think about your design (and in general for any project) I always find it helpful to keep asking myself questions.

That’s why that I’d like to share with you a couple of suggestions that I gathered up from some research and inspirations (they can easily be turned into questions:-)

• Think about the goal of the product.

What is the main objective? Which problem is this thing solving?

• Think about who will be using it.

Who is your audience and what do they want from the product?

• Is it clear how to use it?

How accessible is your concept and idea of the product?

• Is it engaging to your audience?

Do people want to use this product? Is there a connection made, personality, aesthetics?

I think these questions are important and can be applied to any project or situation but I find it especially helpful when thinking about a functional design.

Here are some examples I found that do an exceptional job at combining functionality and design.

One item that has personality and so many uses. Bondi by Funky Rico Inc.

An item that is perfectly functional and just so nice to look at ! Dish rack by Veronika Paluchova.

These do their jobs and are just cool. Vintage Camera Nightlights by Jason Hull.

This solves a common problem seamlessly. The kettle teapot with built in tea steeper by Norm Architects.

I think the designers of these products must have thought about those questions! Well maybe not.. but they were definitely thinking about the intention of their product and topped it off with great design.

Tell us a bit about yourself, where are you from, what are you doing?

I am a teacher for music instruments and studied music pedagogy, psychology and arts in Passau. Now I live in the South East of Bavaria next to the border to Austria.

Is there any special story behind your username?

Not really, but if you want, you can find me on Youtube by searching for “MSTR” [check out his incredibly funny youtube channel here]

When designing where do you get your inspiration from?

I have the feeling, that the strongest ideas come out of nowhere, could happen when fixing dinner or at night when trying to sleep. Suddenly, WOOSSHH, I have a whole concept and in my case, I already see a whole Video and hear the music of it in just one fingersnap. So I guess, the idea already existed and just visited me out of nothing…

How would you describe the creative scene in your hometown?

Now that I live in a really quiet little village, there is no such thing as a big creative scene. I guess, that´s why I grew into this internet thing, to get to show my music or my videos to other people all over the world.

How did you find out about jovoto?

I found a video contest once, about Naturwatt. So I signed up and since then I am addicted! It´s great to give and get feedback, especially because there are so many great creative heads here at Jovoto. I feel honored that my ideas are among them and being rated and commented by the community.

And what are your favorite types of jobs?

Most of all I am a musician. I like to record all kinds of music, and I always try to make it entertaining. I´d like to do more team collaborations here, it was always great fun to develop ideas together with other Jovoto members.

Anything you want to share with the jovoto community?

I like the concept of Jovoto. We have a lot of great creative people here. Somehow I am still learning here and I seem to have a very different taste, because I don´t know how a lot of ideas can be ranked so high, or even so low. But maybe, one day I´ll understand and be able to produce jovoto-mainstream-like Looking forward to new contest, bring ´em on!

 What is the task exactly?

In the past two years there has been limited editions of new designs for the little, red pocket knife. Through their new design they could expand their target group as well as generating spontaneous purchases.

Now they need your help to come up with new design ideas for the the synthetic casing of the small Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. The task is only to redesign the synthetic casing, not the knife itself!

Have you heard about Victorinox?

Victorinox’s story dates back to the 19th century. Fast foward to 1921 when they invented rust-free steel! From there they became immensely popular with the world’s most famous cult Swiss items: the Swiss Army Knife with the classic red design and unmistakable white Swiss cross.

But enough talking, let’s get prepard for the contest start, stay tuned!

I just wanted to take a minute and talk about something that’s been wondering around the collective-community-management-consciousness.

So we’re all here on jovoto to collaborate and make great things together, right?

YES ! And we’ve been thinking about, what does it take to do all of these great things?

It takes the courage to use your voice and the courage to listen aka: giving & listening to feedback.

There are so many great examples on jovoto of, even if it is a bit harsh, feedback *when given in a constructive and helpful way* has helped ideas flourish and become not only contest winning but simply great ideas, designs, campaigns, you name it!

So it’s very important that if you ever have the feeling that your feedback is resulting in bad votes or “bashing” of your own ideas, don’t hesitate to contact us! This is what we are here for and we will always listen and have a look into the situation.

It’s a must that we all feel confident and comfortable to communicate. It is after all how collaboration works best,-with the willingness to learn from others and devotion to your ideas.

Today’s a treat because we he have the man behind the interviews- the man himself, Jeroen van Boxtel!

So your usually the guy doing the interviews! Now how does it feel to be interviewed?

Hah! Weird, but I guess it’s about time!

Well let’s start with, how did you find out about jovoto and what made you decide to apply?

After I finished university I knew one thing, I wanted to go to Berlin, I had been here before and I liked the city.. I think, I’m pretty sure I found out about jovoto by just googleing.

What were you doing before?

I was a student in The big city of dreams, Tilburg, Holland. Nah, just kidding. Well I was in Tilburg. I studied Commercial Economics.. but they have a fancy name for it which is International Event, Music & Entertainment Studies. Which really means marketing and communications, with focus on the entertainment and media industry.

That sounds pretty interesting. And where were you before that, where did you grow up?

I’m from a really small village in the south-east of Holland. It’s called Haps. I lived there the first 17 years of my life. It can be such a quiet and beautiful place, but at the same time also incredibly boring.

So I guess I can understand why you wanted to move to a big city. What did you like when you visited Berlin & what do you like about living here?

I like the atmosphere in the city, the people in Berlin. There is more of a creative vibe, I hate that word but yeah, “vibe”. The beauty of Berlin is really the creative atmosphere. In Holland there is a creative scene but it seems over-structured and more money driven. It’s less of this free culture that you find in Berlin.

Besides that, the start-up scene is currently exploding here, so that makes things even more interesting at the moment.

And about jovoto, what do you like about working here? And what’s your job exactly anyway?

Above all the work and all the cool stuff we do, its the team! I think the team really kicks ass. We are a young team but we all work our asses off to move this thing forward. And everyone here gets the oppertunity to grow and take chances. It’s a really open structure and that’s really nice.

And what’s my job? I’m a community manager, and do a lot of stuff with our social media channels. And besides that I spend a serious amount of time in Google Analytics.

So enough about work, what’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not here?

Making music.

What kind or what do you like to make?

I would like to make singer song writer music but I have a terrible voice.. I used to be a drummer in a band, but all of that ended when I moved to Berlin. So yeah, since I also have a passion for electronic music, I’ve been making electronic music for the last couple of years.

And now, one of your questions, what’s the first thing that you’re going to do after this interview?

Rating monitoring!

Well thanks Jeroen, that was a nice little interview!

Extra time

To collect some more ideas and to give you some more time to develop your submissions further, the submission phase in Astra Goes Digital Contest will be extend from the 26th January to 2nd February, 2012. Also the prize money will be raised from 7,500 EUR to 10,000 EUR. On top of all that, Astra will licence at least one idea within three month after contest end!

Client’s feedback

First of all, there are some very high quality ideas which fittingly reflect the Astra brand and are on point with the briefing. Here, it is less important for Astra that the visuals look like Astra but the idea itself should fit the brand and match with the CSR-guidelines! So far, very good work jovotans!

For doing the refining here are some hints:

• Make sure that your idea is absolutely in line with the CSR guidelines (Marketing Communication Policy Carlsberg)
• Astra’s brand identity is totally different from other beer brands. Your idea should show that and represent Astra’s very distinct brand identity. Give Astra your concept and a unique and distinguishing appearance!
• Your concept should work for current as well as potential customers. So ideally your campaign idea shouldn’t require any brand knowlegde.
• Add an idea description as asked for in the mandatory requirements (question 1-5). That will make it way easier to understand, discuss and evaluate your idea!

If you have any further questions please contact us!

It’s feedback o’clock again! We are flying into the last submission week for the Connecting me with all contest, only 5 days left to submit your exciting ideas to connect guests visiting the “me and all hotels”. We just had our last checkpoint with our partners for the Connecting me with all contest and here’s their last feedback.

• To stress this once more. They are extremely satisfied with the results so far. The contest if full of well developed ideas that are full of potential.
• One of the discussions that popped up during the last weeks was the fact that perhaps some the ideas might be “too” geeky. The client stated that this shouldn’t be a huge issue. Me and all hotels are especially aiming for the tech-savy people.
• Usability is still key tough. So it’s perfectly fine to go for a really tech based idea, as long as it stays user friendly. Also important to state, the client told us that they already many great approaches that are perfectly on the right path.

Feedback from our side is vote, vote, vote. We know that a lot of the ideas are detailed and time consuming to understand, but I guarantee you that it’s absolutely worth the time. There are some truly amazing concepts in this contest.

19 days since we opened the creative playground for new Coke crate ideas – and over 100 ideas submitted already! Accompanied by a super lively discussion on design, usability and sustainability of new crate concepts.

As you can imagine we had a very long and intense „Bergfest“ (feedback talk) with the packaging and marketing professionals from Coca-Cola Germany, going through the ideas and the questions discussed in the contest.

Now we can give you a summary of the findings to help you develop your ideas further.

So here we go!

Descriptions

The Coca-Cola professionals are eager to understand your ideas *in detail* to be able to assess them better. So it is most important that you deliver a clear description on:

• What is your idea is?
• What problem does your solution solve?
• And *how* does your solution solve this problem (by using a certain function, by using a certain material, etc.)

Style

We see no limits to your ideas and how your Coca-Cola crates could be used and put into a living environment – which is a great inspiration. Sometimes the crates even cross the boarder of still being a crate – they could certainly win prizes in a contest for Coke branded furniture! 
But *please consider* the key use of the transportation crate is to carry the bottles from store to home – and back to the store.

So besides being an iconic accessory for every apartment the crate should never loose its function of bringing the bottles back! With all that moving around, (the main function of each crate!) – no matter what material is made of – will show traces of use, ware & tare. Consider this when you’re thinking of displaying your crate as a glossy icon for a living room.
With a lifespan up to 20 years, a crate will go through hundreds of returns! –This is why its so important to consider terms of stability and sustainability.

Brand

You guys are doing a brilliant job in putting the Coca-Cola brand on center stage. Many, many “got-to-have” crates in this contest! There are crates that are pieces of art and of course this aspect is very important for Coca-Cola. One important aspect to be considered (because crates are used up to 20 years) the branding must be timeless so it never interferes with the visual language & communication of Coca-Cola. And unfortunately the style question of “the everyday” is limited by requirements and functionality.

Form

Do round forms work? Triangles? Organic Forms? There’s one simple solution to this question. As long as you manage to stack as many bottles on the palette as Coca-Cola does today that is fine. If your solution wastes too much space – it’s not.

Function

In connection with the fact that a transportation crate has to be returnable, over and over again- is the fact that ALL PARTS have to be durable enough to survive this heavy use. Most thin and movable parts probably won’t last. Parts that can even detached from the crate will most probably get lost very quickly. Parts that stick out of the crate body are likely to break off or to get in the way and cause trouble in the process of stacking and shipping the crates. Snap or clip handles are an easy thing to do, but consider you would have to do this a million times every day. Machines and production line workers would have additional work and loose time with over complicated extra-solutions – practicability tests prove that after all, the client wants solutions that use as little intricate hand work as possible.

Production

As the briefing says, the crates have to be refillable in an automatized and mechanic way. Each extra step – like putting an extra lid or top to a crate – will make this process more complicated, will ask for more complicated machines and will slow down the process.Just imagine that in one day, tens of thousands of bottles have to be processed.

Price

Clients want great solutions but at the same time no one is happy to add additional charges. So if you ad an additional function to the crate, think how many people would profit from the solution and would agree to pay more for it. A crate with a cooling system e.g. is more likely to be an extra Coca-Cola item than to be used as the general transportation crate.

Transportation

Think about the people that carry the crates and give them solutions that are really comfortable. Observe precisely what fits human ergonomics & user-friendliness and what might not. Stackability – as often mentioned under the ideas – is a main issue.

Now that’s what I call feedback! So go on, undertake the challenge and carefully consider these tips. Keep asking questions, finding solutions and doing a great job!

hope you all arrived very well in 2012 – it definitely will be grand! And as every year, some of us last idealists still make New Year’s resolutions assuming we could make it past the 2 months. So how do yours look like this year?

Are you trying to abstain from meat …

illustration by Gabriele Quartero

… or to quit smoking? 

“Smoking kids” by Frieke Janssen

To do your own thing and not adjust to anyone or anything?

DESMARCOS - frames from Guillem Ferran

To fight against climate change,

Ice Typography by Nicole Dextras

… to start recycling …

by artist Meersau

… or to make the world a little greener?

Tapis Rouge in Jaujac by Gaëlle Villedary

What ever you do, don’t forget to…

… eat well …

Friday brunch @ jovoto HQ

… be prepared for anything …

… and always stay creative!

So long, happy 2012!

What a great wrap up to a contest! The second Cisco contest Why Collaborate? has come to a close and we are here and ready to announce the winners of the challenge.  With 162 ideas and over 3,626 commented this contest packed a punch! There was so many well thought out and successful concepts submitted! Great work to everyone who participated!

So with out further waiting, your Top 10 rated Community Winners:

#1 –  Remote Collaboration by Peregrino96

#2 – Tip Top Troop by markocezar

#3 - Eyes by Xavier

#4 - Soaring Ideas by gusmonk

#5 –  Collaboration Dream Team by chronorocker

#6 – Threads by creativespace

#7 – Collaborate.Innovate.Succeed by priyanka

#8 – Flags of the World by joanaf

#9 – Historical Collaborative Results by

10 -Complex world by rural_minds

Lets not forget the community winners of places 11 – 20!

11 – Share ideas, make it big by bobby_kanch

12- We are all the same by suyani

13- Dancing Queen ♫ by kaptn

14- Gobbledegook by svpribyl

15 – To get best RESULTS by LUGOS

16 – Without you by AnnaNuthaThang

17 – We Were Born by solo

18 – Gears by additio

19 – Puzzle by Xavier

20 – Weustogether by Xavier

Congrats again to all of you! This was such a fun challenge to work on and there was such great work submitted!