Design Series II. The Tetrahedron
Simple, and no simpler - The minimum number of moving parts
Take a look at this shape. Imagine pressing down on it. It won’t squash - as you push down on it, the bottom triangle keeps it together.
This is nature’s most strong, efficient shape. You can’t have a more strong, rigid 3D structure with just 6 elements. Unlike other shapes, no matter how you bend, twist, shear, squash it, its perfect tension-compression balance won’t allow it to deform. We call this structural efficiency.
Why is this important? Smart geometry is the first lever in building a great product or system. Think about it. If you had the same amount of elements/time/staff/money, wouldn’t you want to achieve your goals, without having to get any more?
Many things in the world are innovated with only smart geometry. Consider the doorstopper, funnel, paperclip, water filter, wings of a plane. It just takes some expertise to align a product/system for best results.
YOUR TURN
Business/System
Consider every product/service you have as an element. The joints are the overheads - time, resource, maintenance in keeping it all together. Consider even the action of explaining another part of your product/service to a client or employee as an overhead.
Product
Consider every function of the business/product as an element. For a product: I want to be able to subscribe to updates. I want to be able to save my favourite cat pictures. The joints are your interface, keeping it all together, how your product looks. Consider the time your user spends figuring out how to use your product as an overhead.
Both
What can I eliminate? What’s the best representation (shape) for this?
What are the minimum number of Vision Statements I can write to describe my vision perfectly? Can I take any out, or are there any that overlap?
RESOURCes
Tensegrity (Video - Your Own Body is Like a Sailboat)
Linear Independence
DESIGN CONCePTS
CONCEPTUAL INTEGRITY
FIGURE IN MARBLE