The Value of Hypothetical Products

In this weekend’s NYT Magazine, Rob Walker has an interesting piece on ‘hypothetical products’ and their value to innovation. Using Green Cell as an example, one of the winning designs from this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition, Walker asks “what is the point of a product proposed by three guys who aren’t remotely in a position to make it a reality?”

According to the competition’s host, Core77’s Allan Chochinov, conceptual products have some very legitimate functions. Walker recounts Chochinov’s sentiment in regards to the hypothetical vending machine that pops out standardized batteries:

Actually, purely conceptual or “fictional” products are commonplace in the design world and, as Chochinov has argued, can have value that’s very real. Green Cell, he told me, is one example of “a graphic gesture” that shows the power of design to reveal an idea, a problem and maybe even a solution with unique clarity.

Commenting on his own article, Walker adds:

The non-marketplace context of hypothetical products frees the designer to leapfrog practical-minded meetings about market share and profit margins and the like and to land at the bigger questions: is this something companies should do — or must do?

Consumed: Dreaming in Green