In the Archives: Disruption at its core - addressing consumer’s needs with intelligent design
Acacia Blocks — M.INT’s first line of modular products
In the Archives features articles written in the past where the presented views are in the context of the time it was written. This article was written in 2021-2022.
<TLDR>:
In 2019, M.INT was incorporated
Disruption of a traditionally-thought industry (furniture & furnishings)
Through intelligent design, M.INT can transform and create previously inefficient and value-reductive spaces into spaces that are maximised and efficient
Solving the Hexagonal shape first meant solving less-than-6-sided shapes was comparatively simple
The Furniture and Furnishing industry is dominated by a few large corporations
Profit margins and simplistic designs (Singular products, Similar shapes, Singular Usage) make up the majority of product offerings
The Mission
In 2019, M.INT was incorporated with the mission of disrupting the often traditionally-thought space of furniture and furnishings. From its inception, modular hexagonal blocks were offered as storage, shelving, room dividers, etc.. To exemplify the company’s determination in its mission, it was thought that the appropriate product and accompanying message that could convey what the company was all about was critical to the long-term success of the brand and business.
The Hexagon is an unusual and unconventional shape to work with in the industry. To the consumer, the hexagon shape is almost non-existent in the productive space; almost all hexagonal shape-related products are aesthetic furnishings with little to no function (basic yet limited functionality). However, where efficiency is concerned, the 6-sided hexagon is the most efficient. A shape that has more than 6 sides do not tesselate; it does not fit and connect to each other with no empty space.It is a pity that the most mathematically efficient shape is reduced to pure form and with little to no function in a industry where space maximisation and optimisation has became mantra.
Fundamental to this problem, it is hard to create and design a product that could achieve both form and function, a product that keeps the aesthetics of market-industry hexagonal products and offer an added characteristic of true modularity and transformative qualities. By offering the solution to hexagonal problem, it represents the culmination of the message which we seek to tell:
Through intelligent design, M.INT can transform and create previously inefficient and value-reductive spaces into spaces that are maximised and efficient.
The Industry Problem
Everyday furniture and furnishings are usually thought to be conceived and created through the compromise of intelligent design and profit. The two variables (intelligent design & profit) is often an inverse relationship. With a simple observation among our surroundings, we can deduce that the relationship while inverse, is not equal; profit margins and bottom-lines dominate the consumer market.
Singular products of similar shapes with singular usages (3S Products) are most common in our everyday lives. While the piece of furniture or furnishings may vary in terms of quality, so too does the price in direct symbiotic relationship to its cost variability.
Products that emphasises intelligent design and therefore offer more shapes, usages and functionality are often priced significantly higher. When margins and profit are a factor, intelligent design is usually the first to be sacrificed in favour for simple and reductive designs.
Creating for the Consumer
The common denominator/factor in the domination of these 3S Products is due largely to the fact that a large portion of market share is taken by large corporations and conglomerates.
The ability to scale manufacturing at economies of scale compresses the margins of smaller players that can now no longer compete and survive if they do not present a similar offering with a competitive edge. Given time, these products are now deeply entrenched into the psychology and trends of the consumer; they demand for similar offerings and products with little tolerance to shift expectations.
The design problem now turns to solving the consumer’s expectations with intelligent design as a competitive edge.
Connecting Articles:
Creating for the Consumer: navigating consumer needs with innovative solutions — Part 2
In Part 2 of this series, we talk about balancing innovation and profit and what happens when consumers in your industry isn’t quite ready for your product?
Signing off,
Ray
