A competition in conjunction with the CIA Spring Design Show
In 2010, Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) and Weatherhead School of Management announced the 'Turning Designs into Businesses' competition in which MBA students were encouraged to identify a particular CIA project that they thought had business potential and develop a brief prospectus to describe how that potential could be realized.
The teams of students from both schools met and worked together to explore and understand the context in which the idea was developed. Together they considered what it would take to capitalize on the design's potential.
Judges were assembled from both schools and included Richard Buchanan, Professor of Information Systems and Design WSOM, Dan Cuffaro, Design Environment Chair CIA, Mark Inglis, Vice President of Marketing and Communications CIA, and Simon Peck, Professor of Marketing and Policy studies WSOM. The criteria used for making their final decisions were, Concept and Design, Level of Research, Production Plan, and Business Plan.
First Place
Receiving first place and an award of $3,000 was a product called Ivy. This is an excellent proposal and a very relevant product concept that touches on the need for patient care to move beyond science alone and take a more holistic approach. The submission easily oriented the judges to the idea and its benefits. It presented a very practical and feasible approach for development.
Second Place
Receiving second place and an award of $1,000 was a product called Daypack. The product concept and design realization are sound. The idea touches on the social changes related to childcare, while acknowledging that vanity often drives culture and progress. The product is not technologically complex and introduces some nice/simple innovations. The proposal was strong in its financial modeling.
Honorable Mention
Receiving an Honorable Mention was Safecue. The product clearly plays in a small market space. The strength of this proposal lied in the financial modeling, which was thorough and painted a clear picture of the business goals.
Honorable Mention
Also receiving an Honorable Mention was Olive. This is an intriguing proposal. Its strength lies in extensive market and technology research and the identification of specific features that enhance the sustainability of printers. The concept has some very innovative features and is well documented. The approach of selling the product to a current manufacturer was a good one.
Other Submissions
This is a very interesting idea that addresses the balance of personal and public space. The product depends on technology that could be important but is not yet convincing.
The use of salvaged building materials was quite appealing, and the appearance of the product also made it appealing. Visually it is an elegant design.
This would be very simple to manufacture and requires almost no assembly.
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