April 02, 2009 · a href="/media/pdf/news/EDI_bottle_041409.pdf">PDF version of this press release

New: See McCormick news story on this project.

Innovation never ceases. Consider the ubiquitous ketchup bottle. Most of us can remember the ritual of unscrewing a crusted metal cap, flipping the bottle, and pounding away, but those days are gone. Today’s bottle has the closure on the bottom and nothing more than a gentle squeeze is needed.

Human-Centered Design – An Innovation Model that Works

During the fall of 2008, students in the Engineering Design and Innovation (EDI) graduate program at Northwestern University had the chance to envision the future of bottles and bottle closures. Could they take simple, everyday items and find ways to innovate? They could. Utilizing the “Human-Centered Design” methodology, a foundational principle of the EDI program, numerous new designs were tested. The client (confidential) chose to take licenses on two of the new designs.

The students developed exciting new concepts for the food, household and baby care markets by first observing and interviewing real people in their homes about the products they use every day. The students then spent 10 weeks sketching ideas, learning about bottle manufacturing methods, building mockups, testing with users and iterating again and again, until finally, they selected their most promising design concepts to present to the client.

Corporate Client Values the Human-Centered Approach

One team created a novel bottle top for cooking oil that flipped open for pouring, but also allowed a directed squeeze for covering a pan. Another team developed an environmentally sensitive and easy-to-use system for refilling dish soap.

Two of the final concepts were licensed to the client (confidential), a major manufacturer of plastic-injection molded bottle closures, for further development and possible commercialization.

“We were impressed with how quickly the students were able to research the subject matter and generate several very creative, yet practical options that met the design challenge,” said a representative from the client company.

Leveraging “Design Thinking” Strategies, Students find Creative Solutions

Design thinking is a process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result.[1] While analytical thinking, emphasized in most engineering disciplines, focuses on breaking down ideas in order to understand them completely, design thinking is a creative strategy based on "building up" ideas at a high level. The EDI program teaches students to use both strategies in balance, in order to discover exciting new solutions based in sound engineering knowledge.

About the Engineering, Design & Innovation (EDI) Program

Engineering Design and Innovation (EDI) is a one or two year master’s program, created in 2007 by the Segal Design Institute within the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. The EDI program is one of relatively few graduate programs existing today which teach the Human-Centered Design process to engineers.

Students in EDI learn how to solve design problems in ways that meet both the needs of people and the demands of business. Graduates of the program are prepared to collaborate on teams in industry with designers, researchers, marketers, and managers to create innovative products and services.

The EDI program is currently accepting applications for the 2009-2010 academic year. Learn more about EDI at segal.northwestern.edu/edi.