A Fine Line: How Design Strategies Are Shaping the Future of Business

A Fine Line: How Design Strategies Are Shaping the Future of Business
by Hartmut Esslinger

A Fine Line shares the story of an industrial design wunderkind’s transformation to a global innovation powerhouse, while detailing the real challenges facing businesses in the new global economy.

Hardcover, 183pp

Wiley, John & Sons, Inc., June 2009

ISBN-13: ISBN-13: 9780470451021

Barnes & Noble online price: $29.95

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SYNOPSIS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword.

The Author.

Introduction.

Chapter 1: Design-Driven Strategy: Staking a Claim in the Creative Economy.

Chapter 2: True Lies: The Role of Leadership in Innovation.

Chapter 3: Designing to Win: The Creative Business Strategy.

Chapter 4: Minds Beat Money: The Innovation Process, Step by Step.

Chapter 5: A Business Design Revolution: The Greening of Planet, Inc.

Chapter 6: Design-Driven Strategies for Better Business-And a Better World.

Chapter 7: The Factories.

Epilogue.

Resources.

FROM THE PUBLISHER
Praise for A Fine Line:

“A breath of turbo-charged fresh air that doesn’t regurgitate the ego-maniac CEO’s selective memory or an outside expert’s misinterpretations. Hartmut explains innovation through the lens of design, and it’s about time we gained his valuable perspective.” -Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple and co-founder of Alltop.com

“At Flextronics, we fell in love with Hartmut and frog, and their passion for bringing crazy great designs and design processes into the forefront of great product companies. We used their expertise to help our customers, many of the greatest product companies in the world, including Apple, HP, Cisco, Microsoft and others. It is a credit to Hartmut that in the midst of a shocking global recession, frog still sets quarterly revenue records. Theirs is a unique and fascinating story.” -Michael Marks, partner at Riverwood Capital LLC and former CEO of Flextronics

“Hartmut’s new approach to design is felt in every room in every house in every country and in every business around the world. He proved that thoughtful design is not only good for people but is good for business — and that both are interlinked. I have been fortunate to have observed first hand his impact at Sony, Apple and HP, and have learned so much from him. He is an unsung hero of our times! A Fine Line is a must-read for designers and business people alike.” -Satjiv Chahil, senior vice president of Hewlett-Packard

“A fascinating, breathtaking, and exemplary insight into a success story that never had so much topicality, and so much informative potential as just now. Esslinger offers an honest and encouraging portrait of the incredible power of the business and design alliance. A Fine Line is a handbook of design expertise and the art of business at its best, showing a variety of radical solutions and fresh new ideas.” -Professor Peter Zec, president of ICSID and founder of red dot awards

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hartmut Esslinger is the founder of frog design, inc., a leading global innovation firm, and one of the most respected designers and business consultants in the world. Esslinger founded frog design in his native Germany and sparked a design revolution. His work has defined the modern consumer aesthetic with such revolutionary products as the Apple Macintosh computer, Sony's Trinitron television, Lufthansa's brand and fleet image, Disney's Cruise Lines and Consumer Electronics and Louis Vuitton's brand aesthetic. His designs are in the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum in New York. He is also founding professor of the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe, Germany, and professor for Convergent Design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria.