I just returned from CES. Not many big stories, though it seems the computer and related technology industries have had an epiphany--fashion in product design is important!!! There was a lot of news about the colors, design, and other factors to increasingly appeal to the sense of fashion. This is not new news! Apple has had tremendous fashion forward design for years (and I'm a PC guy). There have been moments of inspiration in past years.
One of the things I think the press has missed, however, is that the while the final form and function are critical deliverables in fashion related businesses, the business management process that enables companies to make money from "fashion" provides important lessons for technology related businesses. The ability of these businesses to get close to their customers, to understand and quickly respond to trend in the market--to drive them where possible, and to make money in with fickle customers are all important lessons that can be applied to fashionable and unfashionable technology products.
Rather than writing more on this, if you are interested in understanding this more, I will provide a link to a paper I wrote on this topic in 2004. The paper; Technology Companies Must Follow The Fashion Leaders, can be found by following the links.
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