Our new daughter was born – just a few weeks ago. It was the most amazing experience in my life. Now back to work, I reflect on her perspectives in my own life in design, perhaps in a far too holistic perspective for this blog, but it’s on my mind. Her world is entirely new. Sights, sounds, pattern recognition, and even the feel of her fingers are a new experience.

This is not totally unlike what exploring a new design idea should be like. Leaving behind the preconceived notions of what something should be, opens up the possibilities for what it could be. Much like Karl Friedrich Gauss’ numerical addition solution in elementary school, having a fresh perspective on a problem can provide a very elegant solution.

Many of our customers come with something to ‘just manufacture’. Although we are happy to take this task on, there is value in taking a step back to find an eloquent solution to a problem, often resulting in a product that is better, faster and cheaper. One of Starfish Values are to ‘Dig Deeper’, and the advantages of this investigation are best served before good money is put into the myriad of things required to bring a product to market.
In the mean time however, I just need to discover a way to get more sleep!