Invigorate the old, respect the new.

Too often, innovation takes one of two stances.  The most common is mild revision on existing products, adding no more than a bulleted list of minor improvements.  Or, on the other side, companies reinvent the wheel, generally landing squarely in the fad category. 

The most successful innovations combine existing technology and standards, but find new and unique ways to innovate in the name of the wheel.  Case in point: the Dyson Ball Vacuum Cleaner.  Three years after its debut, the Dyson Ball continues to rank among the top sellers at Walmart, Best Buy, and Sears among others. 

The lesson to be learned?  Products currently labeled as “working fine” may deserve another look, but any complete overhaul shouldn’t be visible to consumers.  As David DeRemer of Frog Design notes:

sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we don’t have to invent something earth-shattering or unseat a leading-edge product to be successful innovators.
If it’s your business to build an iPhone killer, or even a new sugar dispenser, don’t focus on making a slightly better version (you can bet that Apple didn’t create the iPhone to be a RAZR killer). Instead, find a simple way to do something different. It might not be as complicated as it seems.

It’s also important to note that this doesn’t purely apply to product innovation (as an aside, check out I.D. Mag for the best in product innovation). It’s relevant in the online and advertising worlds as well.  As I noted in an earlier blog post innovations resulting from the combination of Flash and video have elicited an amazing change in the realm of online ads. 

Even existing clichés can set a new bar in the world of “babies acting as adults” television commercials. Evian’s recent ‘Live young’ campaign was the first to bring a smile to my face since the eTrade ads, despite the dozens of campaigns featuring the concept. At the very least, it sets a new precedent in what could be done with cute babies and product placement.

When inventing, re-inventing, innovating or concepting, it’s important that we pay our respects to the design that our audience already embraces.  Apple’s Hartmut Esslinger, recently profiled in Business Week, makes many of these same points.  Most poignant among them:

A love for users and a focus on usability is a timeless formula for success [...] Lead with strategy. Support with design. As businesses adapt to meet new market needs and opportunities, strategy must lead, design must contribute.