Kiwis are innovative people. We build, experiment and explore - it's just part of who we are. But innovation can be a difficult journey. This year's YIA Innovation forum brought together four of New Zealand’s innovation superstars to tell their inspiring, unique and untold stories.
'I reckon you can get an average kiwi, pop them upside down, shake them and an idea will pop out.'
Walking along the beach leaving footprints in his wake - this was the first time Ross realised he could mass produce; he just four years old. Fast forward a few years, a gentleman who thought he would become a car painter, found himself in the thrilling world of innovation development. Though he admits that innovation isn't for the faint hearted.
If you're on board the innovation train, how can you keep yourself from falling into an uncreative state?
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In one of Ross's earlier jobs, he was asked to design a toilet brush. Yes, a toilet brush. This eventuated into sword fights and a hilarious poem about a boy who ate too much asparagus, resulting in funny smelling pee (this is actually a thing!). While this may seem unproductive to some, it allowed the whole team to come up with some inventive and unique ideas, along with having a happy client. They had so much fun on this project, they didn't even realise that one of the team members wrote a poem instead of designing a new brush!
Explore culture
The best way to stay innovative is to explore: towns, countries, people, cultures - the lot. It's so important to expand your horizons and gather new experiences that can feed into your ideas and innovations. Ross spent many years overseas before returning to our little corner of the world and with him he was able to bring everything he learnt along the way.
Challenge yourself
After moving back to New Zealand, Ross set himself the task of designing a new home, in the hills of Wellington, out of refrigeration shipping containers. How you ask? Innovatively. Along with the shipping containers, he repurposed materials from old buildings to piece together his little slice of heaven. He even brought in a crane to steal someone's old fire escape to use as stairs! With challenging yourself comes new ways of doing things.
Have no fear
A student of Ross's was complaining about the sharp edge on her Macbook Pro. So he said, why not fix it? When did you stop thinking you could fix and change things? Together they filed it and sanded it (even using an iPhone as a sanding block. Eek!). Although this is slightly tear inducing to us Mac lovers, there's a very important moral to this story. She could change her own world – she's a designer! If you don't think you can change your own world, then who will?
3D print everything
It's hard to justify tooling that will make 1 million units, when we only have a population of 4 million people. So to get around this, we can 3D print. Everything. With technological developments, we can now print hard and soft materials, colours, and a blend of materials. You can make anything! So see the potential, and go for it. The only limit is your imagination.
'The best ideas were born years ago - they're a collection of experiences defined by the clarity of an idea.'
Calling in from the US, Andrew presented to us from a small white box, true to Apple style. This impressive Kiwi has lived in six countries in the last 30 years and credits part of his success to always being on the move - a running theme throughout his talk.
Andrew always wanted to do something that could transform lives, while allowing him to express himself creatively. And so he entered the mad world of advertising, fascinated by the impact that ideas could have on the world.
He spent eight years in Singapore, absorbing everything he could he help him on his creative journey. He strongly believes that travel helped him develop a unique perspective on the world. Your life journey is gathering momentum for your innovative journey and this has clearly been reflected in the projects he has worked on over the years. He shared a few with us:
The Drinkable Book
Andrew was part of the team that developed this special little creation. The pages of the book are printed onto advanced filter paper that is capable of cleaning water and killing waterborne diseases. Each book can provide a user with clean water for up to four years! Not only does it give safe drinking water to developing countries, but it teaches safe water habits - education is key, right?
Endangered song
There are only 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world and they are at huge risk of going extinct! Andrew and his team were asked to help spread the message about these endangered creatures. So what did they do? They created a record that would disintegrate after a certain amount of plays and sent it to 400 (see what they did there?) influencers asking them to help spread the word. If they didn't help recreate the music, it will be forever gone, just like the tigers. How's that for impact.
Liam, the recycling robot
True innovation is thinking about what happens to a product at every stage of its lifecycle. And so, Liam was created to disassemble iPhones so that Apple can recycle the technology and let the materials live on. It's important to be brave and innovate beyond just the product; packaging, sustainability, business plans, and team development are all part of the bigger picture.
Andrew pressed the point that you shouldn't fear innovation as it will block your creativity. So innovators, it's time to get comfortable with the unexpected and always start with a curious mind! Some other take away points from Andrew:
'Innovation is action – fail, take feedback and do something with it.'
Kiwifruit has five times the nutrition of apples, just FYI. It also has three times the amount of vitamin C as oranges! Bet you didn't know that.
As of last year, Carol took on the management of Zespri's Innovation team, on top of her current role as General Manager of Marketing. Not only have these positions given Carol an impressive bank of kiwifruit facts, but it has also given her insight into the innovation journey and how to navigate your way through it.
Innovation is an attitude; it's a way of life
Carol grew up on a farm, which meant she couldn't do many after school activities. So when she went to boarding school, she decided to put her hand up for everything. EVERYTHING. Even choir (even though she couldn't sing) -- and the reason she always got her foot in the door was attitude. If you show your drive and motivation, you will get where you want to be, as well as learning some fun lessons along the way!
Get knocked down, get up again
While in her final year at school, Carol decided she wanted to study abroad after falling in love with the idea of being in some amazing, buzzing city overseas. Instead, her school sent her to Finland. The family she went to stay with refused to speak English to allow her to become immersed in the country, language, and culture. With a lot of trial and error, Carol survived the language barrier (not without some hilarious mistakes!) and became more inspired because of it. Moral of this story is to keep trying; just like innovation, if you get knocked down, get back up again!
Walk in other people's shoes
An important part of innovation is to have empathy. Learn the differences in people and culture, look through someone else's lens and become immersed in the experience. Innovation is more than just creating apps and products. It's about an attitude, adding value to your ideas, and bringing them to life. Always experiment.
'I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn't for YIA'
Last but certainly not least, is Hannah Payne. Hannah is the creator of Handstands, a protective pad that can be attached to crutches to make the experience less painful and more comfortable. At the start of the year, Locus Research worked with Hannah in the development of her idea, along with Woods Creative, as part of her Internship Award.
Locus Research
While working with us, the product development team took Hannah on a journey of discovery, diving straight into user research. They went along to Tauranga hospital and spoke to nurses and patients and checked out the 'crutches cupboard'. Here they discovered a myriad of homemade cushions and wraps, proving the need for Hannah's creation.
According to ACC, up to 500,000 kiwis will be bound to crutches each year, which could last anywhere from a few weeks to six months. There are a few inventions out there designed to help tackle the pain that crutches can cause, but these are often costly, unbreathable, unhygienic, and don't fit all kind of crutches. So the solution? To create an adjustable, adaptable, breathable attachment that will make the life of kiwis a bit more comfortable while they heal.
The next task was to look into different materials, checking out their attributes and weighing up many factors including grip, hygiene, breathability, comfort, and of course, how this could practically work for all the different crutch designs.
Woods Creative
Next up was to create a brand. Previously named Charlie's Handgels, the Woods team took Hannah on a naming exercise, exhausting every avenue they could to come up with a new brand. Hannah wanted to ensure this brand was kept fun and light and so Handstands they became! Something that represents freedom, fun, and energy. Something users of the product will hopefully feel when they are using it.
More than just a name, Hannah and the Woods team developed a tone of voice, a logo, mock packaging, and everything that would be needed to allow Handstands to stand on its own two feet. They even created some great marketing that could be used to help set the product free in the wild.
Hannah attributed her experience with YIA the reason she decided to move to Wellington to study industrial design. Her love for product development was ignited when she set out on this project and is something she will take on throughout her life. We are so glad we could be part of your innovation journey Hannah, and welcome to the club!
A huge thank you to Priority One, Woods Creative, Plus Group and Blue Lab for bringing us the YIA Innovation Forum for another year. The BOP is a hugely innovative area to live in, so it's always great when we can come together and celebrate the success of other Kiwi's around us, including the Young Innovators of Today! If you would like to learn more about the Innovation Forum, head here. You can also learn about YIA by heading to their website.
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